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USING ERRORLESS SENTENCE HELPERS TO TEACH WRITING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Updated: 13 minutes ago

As a middle school special education teacher, I worked with students with significant disabilities. Every year, I dedicated a lot of time to teaching the parts of a sentence and helping my students learn to write complete sentences. For many of my students, this is a critical life skill—something they absolutely need to know!

But let’s be real: sentence writing can be tough for our students. A few years ago, I found myself really struggling with my writing instruction for a certain group of learners. Despite my efforts, sentence structure wasn’t sticking.

I had to ask myself, "Does it really matter if my students can tell me what a noun or verb is?" And the answer was clear: No. What really matters is that they can write a complete sentence that makes sense.

That’s when I decided to change my approach. Instead of focusing on parts of speech, I started teaching with fill-in-the-blank sentences.

Example:

The __ jumps.

And here’s what I got: "The pencil jumps."

Not quite what I had in mind!

Then it hit me: my students needed errorless learning opportunities to build the foundation. So, I created my Errorless Sentence Helpers. These activities allow students to generate their own sentences without the possibility of errors. Any word they choose is correct!

animals themed sentence helpers errorless sentence writing for sped

How It Works: Errorless Sentence Writing for Special Education

Here’s the magic: once students practice sentence writing without making mistakes, the skill starts to click! This bundle moves through three scaffolded phases to ensure success at every level:

Phase 1: Errorless Learning

Students can choose any word to complete the sentence, focusing purely on sentence structure.

Phase 2: Discrimination

Students learn to distinguish between what makes sense and what doesn’t by choosing from word options.

Phase 3: Independent Generation

As prompts are faded, students generate their own words to complete sentences.

What Teachers Are Saying

Teachers who use this resource are seeing incredible results:

“This resource has been a wonderful addition to my classroom. My students are gaining confidence in their writing skills!”
“I love how the 3 phases scaffold instruction. My students are growing in independence, and the picture-supported text is a game-changer!”
“Perfect for virtual and in-person learning. The Google Slides version is great for data collection and typing practice.”

These reviews highlight what I love most about this resource: it’s low-prep for teachers but high-impact for students. It builds confidence, independence, and positive writing experiences—and isn’t that the goal?

Tips for Teaching Sentence Writing with Errorless Learning

If you’re ready to try Errorless Sentence Helpers, here are a few tips to get started:

Don’t rush the process. Stay in the errorless phase until your students are ready. Lots of errorless practice helps build a strong foundation for success as you fade prompts.
Model, model, model! Talk through your thinking as you model sentence writing. Let your students watch you complete a few examples. When you introduce a new phase, always model first.
Be clear about expectations. Especially in Phase 2, make sure students understand they must choose the word or picture that makes sense.
Practice makes progress! Our students need repetition to master skills. That’s why the bundle includes 10 themed sets—perfect for providing variety while practicing.

Why You’ll Love the Errorless Sentence Helpers Bundle

Whether you’re teaching students in a self-contained classroom, virtual setting, or during ESY, this resource is designed to meet their needs. The bundle includes: