[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-597901-105":59,"doc-detail-597901-en":134},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":127,"head_meta":129,"extra_data":131,"updated_unix":133},105,"en","leveling-the-playing-field-the-efficacy-of-thinking-maps-on-english-language-learner-students-writing","Leveling the Playing Field - The Efficacy of Thinking Maps on English Language Learner Students’ Writing","","Examining writing challenges faced by English language learners (ELLs), this study evaluates the impact of Thinking Maps (TM) and related prewriting and scaffolding strategies on students’ expository writing. Eight students in grades 3–5 participated in an after-school writing class twice weekly for six months. Results show increases in average rubric scores for “Ideas” and “Organization,” though overall scores remained below the stated proficiency level, indicating a positive instructional effect.",{"@graph":69,"@context":126},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/leveling-the-playing-field-the-efficacy-of-thinking-maps-on-english-language-learner-students-writing/597901/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/leveling-the-playing-field-the-efficacy-of-thinking-maps-on-english-language-learner-students-writing/597901.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"SANS","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118,122],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the purpose of the study?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To determine whether ELL students can use Thinking Maps and other prewriting strategies to express ideas more effectively and write more organized compositions.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Who participated in the study and how long did it run?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The study involved eight students in grades 3–5 in the South Bay School District, attending an after-school writing class twice a week for six months.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What outcomes improved according to the rubric scores?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Average writing scores in the rubric areas of “Ideas” and “Organization” increased over the study period.",{"name":123,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":124},"Why are ELLs described as having difficulty with writing?",{"text":125,"@type":113},"The text attributes challenges to limited English proficiency and the lack of native language literacy skills, which reduces students’ ability to demonstrate what they know in content subjects.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":128,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":130,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":132,"site_id":62},597901,1792189692,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":135},{"doc_id":132,"user_id":136,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":137,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":138,"file_id":139,"file_url":140,"file_type":141,"file_size":142,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":143,"language":144,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":145,"faqs":146,"seo_title":147,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":148,"read_time":149,"preview_page_count":4},962090760505,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Leveling the Playing Field: The Efficacy of Thinking Maps on English Language Learner Students’ Writing  \nMany students, especially English language learners (ELLs), struggle with writing expository texts. This study examined the impact of several writing strategies on ELLs’ writing skills, including prewriting strategies and scaffolding strategies inherent in the Thinking Maps (TM) program. The purpose of the study was to see ifELLs were able to use these strategies to express their ideas more effectively in compositions in a more organized way. The participants were 8 students in grades 3 through 5 in the South Bay School District. The students were participating in an after-school writing class 2 days a week for  \n6 months. As a result, the overall average of students’ writing scores in the areas of “Ideas” and “Organization” increased. While the overall averages were below the proficiency level (3.0), these writing strategies can be seen as having a positive impact on ELLs’ writing skills.  \nIntroduction  \nAs educators who focus on working with urban students from  \nlow socioeconomic backgrounds, we have tried to find ways  \nto improve the teaching and learning of literacy skills, particularly because writing is a gatekeeper to academic success. One writing strategy that has been used in elementary schools is Thinking Maps (TM) . The program was created by David Hyerle in 1990. He based Thinking Maps on the belief that people’s ability to learn visually is greater than their other senses (Hyerle & Yeager, 2007) . As with concept maps and graphic organizers, the nature of this program is constructivist in that students can make meaning of an abstract concept by reducing it to paper (Hyerle, 2004) . Although there have been studies on using Thinking Maps (TMs) for standard English-speaking students (Brooks, 2005; Burden & Silver, 2006; Gallagher, 2011; Hyer-  \n24 • The CATESOL Journal 25.1 • 2013/2014  \nle & Williams, 2009; Sunseri, 2011), there are few studies that examine their use for teaching English language learners (ELLs) (Holzman & Gallagher, 2006) .  \nHispanic students, especially those who are ELLs, appear to struggle with writing, as documented by their performance on standardized tests. According to the results published in 2003 by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), there was a significant difference in fourth-grade writing scores between white and Hispanic students. While 10% of white students scored “Below Basic,” 23% of Hispanic students received that score. Also, 31% of white students scored “Proficient” while 16% of Hispanic students received that score. Further, the scores for eighth-grade white and Hispanic students mirrored those of the fourth graders (Grigg, Daane, Jin, & Campbell, 2003). In 2011, fourth-grade writing was not assessed but eighth-grade writing was. White students scored 13% in the “Below Basic” category and Hispanic students scored 31% . In the “Proficient”category, white students scored 30% and Hispanic students scored 13%, according to The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011 (2012) . These scores appear to indicate a gap in writing achievement between white and Hispanic students, including ELLs, that does not appear to be narrowing through time. ELLs have particular struggles with writing because they do not have native language literacy skills, as do their classmates whose first language is English (Echevarria, Short,& Powers, 2006) . Without oral and written proficiency in English, these students are at a disadvantage because they are not able to show what they know in content subjects such as mathematics and science (Banks et al., 2005) .  \nA major concern in teaching ELLs is the reclassification process that moves these students from being limited English proficient (LEP) to fluent English proficient (FEP) . Although students’ scores on the California Standards Test (CST) and the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) are generally high, these same st","cbCaikclH6IM1Axa","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikclH6IM1Axa","pdf",593006,17,"English","# Introduction\n## Relevant Literature\n## Training and Writing Strategies\n## Participants\n## Data Collection\n## Procedures\n## Results\n## Discussion","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of the study?\",\"answer\":\"To determine whether ELL students can use Thinking Maps and other prewriting strategies to express ideas more effectively and write more organized compositions.\"},{\"question\":\"Who participated in the study and how long did it run?\",\"answer\":\"The study involved eight students in grades 3–5 in the South Bay School District, attending an after-school writing class twice a week for six months.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes improved according to the rubric scores?\",\"answer\":\"Average writing scores in the rubric areas of “Ideas” and “Organization” increased over the study period.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are ELLs described as having difficulty with writing?\",\"answer\":\"The text attributes challenges to limited English proficiency and the lack of native language literacy skills, which reduces students’ ability to demonstrate what they know in content subjects.\"}]","Leveling the Playing Field - The Efficacy of Thinking Maps on English Language Learner Students’ Writing | PDF",1792085915,43]