When the literature about the writing expression of hearing-impaired students is reviewed, it is seen that there arestudies in which the effectiveness of several approaches and the writing process are analysed, assessment andevaluation aspects are considered and comparisons are made with the level of skills of non-impaired peers. On theother hand, there is a need for researches regarding the method of implementation of writing lessons. In this study, it isexplained how the pre-writing stage for the writing of a text is performed with hearing-impaired students throughInteractive Writing. The study, based on the action research method, was conducted during the Fall term of the2015-2016 academic year, at the Integrated School for the Handicapped of Anadolu University, located in Eskisehirprovince of Turkey. Participants of the study were seven hearing-impaired second-year students enrolled to theComputer Operating department. During the study, nine lessons were made based on the principles and components ofthe Balanced Literacy Instruction Approach (BLIA). Among the nine lessons, four of them were performed withinteractive writing. When the language skill levels of the hearing-impaired students group of the study was considered,Interactive Writing was determined to be the most effective writing component for the group. However, the mosteffective writing component can be different for another hearing-impaired student group. Writing levels of the students,the types and amount of support they need and their level of knowledge about the text to be written were decisive in thedetermination of writing components.
Balanced Literacy in an Urban School District
