This project brief describes why effective writing instruction is important for students with intellectual disabilities. It includes a description of how writing develops and how students who cannot use a pencil can write.
Shared Writing Instructional Model (SWIM)
SWIM is a new, research-based approach to writing instruction for students with intellectual disabilities. SWIM is aligned to grade-level expectations and designed to improve English language arts outcomes.
What is Writing and Why Does Writing Instruction Matter?
Writing is a special form of communication that allows authors to communicate with readers using text. Writers translate ideas and information into words, sentences, and paragraphs that convey meaning to others. Teaching writing is an important part of comprehensive literacy instruction. High-quality instruction that emphasizes learning how to use writing to communicate benefits all students, including students with intellectual disabilities.
SWIM Instructional Cycle
Teachers use the SWIM Cycle to plan, deliver, and evaluate instruction. Each phase of the cycle includes tools and resources to support teachers in delivering writing instruction as a part of a comprehensive approach to literacy. SWIM professional development resources and coaching can support teachers in implementing the SWIM Cycle.
Plan
The cycle begins with a learning map tool that recommends a location on the learning map to begin instruction for each student. Teachers then receive instructional plans that show how evidence-based practices can be used to teach different types of writing.
Deliver
Teachers use their plan to teach students using the SWIM sequence. The sequence is a five step, flexible instructional routine that gets students excited about communicating their ideas through writing.
Evaluate
Teachers use the SWIM Cycle Tool to reflect on the lesson, what the student learned, and where to begin teaching in the next cycle.
SWIM Sequence
1
Choose a Topic or Purpose of Writing
2
Learn about the Topic
3
Plan for Writing
4
Write with a Purpose
5
Review and Evaluate for Purpose
All Students are Writers
All students can engage in meaningful learning about writing. The SWIM approach gets students with intellectual disabilities excited about communicating their ideas through writing.
Explore the SWIM Resource Collection
The SWIM Resource Collection is an open-access library of educational resources for professional learning leads, coaches, and teachers of students with intellectual disabilities.
Project Briefs
SWIM Project Brief 2
Shared Writing Instructional Model
This project brief describes the Shared Writing Instructional Model and its components, including an instructional cycle and a flexible instructional routine for teaching students to write.
SWIM Project Brief 3
From Understanding Symbols to Constructing Text
This project brief describes pre-emergent, emergent, transitional, and conventional writing. A set of vignettes describe examples of how all students, including students with complex support needs, can work on learning to write.
SWIM Project Brief 4
Effectiveness of the Shared Writing Instructional Model
This project brief describes evidence of the effectiveness of the Shared Writing Instructional Model based on findings from the project evaluation.
