Developing writing skills by identifying the writing difficulties of primary school students

The purpose of this research is to determine the writing difficulties of primary school 4th grade students, to prepare action plans for students with writing difficulties, and to determine whether the action plans solve the students' writing difficulties. In this research, which is designed as an action research, the researcher is the practitioner and at the same time the researcher. Working group; It consists of 3 students, 1 girl and 2 boys, who have writing difficulties among the 4th grade students studying in one of the primary schools in the Ayvalık district of Balikesir province in the 2020-2021 academic year. Three separate action plans have been prepared according to the writing difficulties of these students; The implementation of the action plans took 10 weeks. Each student's progress is evaluated on their own. Data in the research was obtained with Multidimensional Legibility Scale, Spelling Errors Form, Researcher and student diaries, copying, dictation and free written texts, worksheets, parent and student ınterview, audio recordings and student files. In the research, Individualized Education Program (BEP) and related to these programs Individualized Education Plans (BÖP) were prepared for the development of the writing skills of three students in the fourth grade. Ten different plans- once a week, were prepared for each student. Each plan consisted of two sessions and was carried out for an average of 4 hours per week. Every tool used and every activity performed during the research was adjusted to be adapted according to the situation of the students and the letter to be taught. Before the programs were prepared, all aspects of the students were tried to be addressed. In this context, BEP files prepared for students were used. These files include students' current performance levels, long and short-term goals, and Individualized Education Plans and BÖP Evaluation Follow-up Forms prepared accordingly. In addition, in this process, opinions of teachers, parents and students, notebooks of students, writing evaluation tools and researcher observations were used. Then, in each program prepared for the students, first of all, the identification of the letters with difficulty, the letter teaching activities, and then the activities and strategies for teaching syllables, words and sentences were included. The activities and strategies in the programs were determined by expert opinion and a detailed literature review. In the research, process evaluation was made and activities created for each problem that would arise were used. This study lasted approximately 40 hours for each student; It was completed in about 2.5 months. In order to examine whether the applied programs were effective or not, the post-application writings of all three students were evaluated according to the Multidimensional Legibility Scale and Spelling Errors Form according to the evaluators. In addition, the evaluation of the student diaries of the first and last week is included. According to the results of the research; When the scores obtained from the Multidimensional Legibility Scale are compared for all three students after the application, it is seen that there is a significant increase. In addition, when evaluated before and after the application according to the Spelling Errors Form and student diaries, it was seen that all three students improved in terms of both spelling errors and meaning. As a result, the programs prepared during the research process, the applied methods, techniques and strategies made a positive contribution to the elimination of the writing difficulties of the students. In this study, in which action research was used, the results can be investigated by applying different methods for writing difficulties, since the results are not generalized. In addition, applied research can be increased to improve the writing skills of students with writing difficulties. Keywords: Fourth Grade, Writing Difficulties, Writing Strategies, Writing Teaching