| Stage | Description |
| Stage 1: Build background knowledge | - The teacher and student work together to develop background knowledge about the strategy by:
- Identifying vocabulary words that are used in writing in general ("character," "setting").
- Identifying the words associated with the strategy ("Pick your idea," "Organize your notes," etc; the "POW" and "TREE" mnemonics are discussed in their own table).
- Identifying information that might need to be included in the composition.
- Using graphic organizers, such as thinking maps, to organize ideas.
|
| Stage 2: Discuss it | - Benefits and limitations of the strategy are identified (eg, "this strategy is good for writing a story").
- Goals are discussed and determined.
- The student is asked to think about their own personal understanding of the strategy as the teacher describes the strategy and explains each step.
|
| Stage 3: Model it | - The student observes a teacher or peer models the strategy and self-instructions.
- The student personalizes the strategy and self-instructions. Self-instructions include statements, such as "Which step in the strategy am I using?" and "When I'm frustrated, I should remember that I have a strategy and that I can use it," and self-reinforcing statements, such as "I am good at this part" or "I like what I wrote here." Self-statements are modeled, as is the completion of each of the steps of the strategy.
|
| Stage 4: Memorize it | - The student memorizes the steps of the strategy and the meaning of any mnemonics (eg, "POW," "TREE") used to represent strategy steps (the "POW" and "TREE" mnemonics are discussed in their own table).
- The student memorizes one or more of the self-instructions generated in stage 3.
|
| Stage 5: Support it | - The teacher continues to scaffold the student's strategy use as the strategy is practiced on transfer tasks.
- Additional self-regulatory procedures, such as goal-setting, self-monitoring, or self-reinforcement, can be discussed, determined, and implemented on an individual basis.
- Prompts, interaction, and guidance are phased out at an appropriate pace. This stage is often the longest of the stages for struggling writers.
|
| Stage 6: Independent performance | - The student makes the transition to covert use of self-instructions as he or she uses the strategy independently.
- The teacher and student individually evaluate the strategy effectiveness and the student's performance.
- To ensure that the strategy is incorporated into the student's repertoire, plans for maintenance and generalization are implemented.
|
