PINE STATE
LEARNING

Writing Tutoring

Our writing intervention gets to the heart of writing difficulties. We design programs for students who are struggling with handwriting, conventions of written language (spelling and punctuation), syntax, grammar, sentence complexity, paragraph writing, even those who just don't know where to start.

A student looking down, writing with a pencil at a classroom table

Writing requires a combination of many cognitive processes working together. From letter formation, spelling, holding a sentence in mind, and organizing ideas, there are a lot of places where it can break down. For each learner, we assess the root cause and design a learning plan from the foundational skill up to make sure they will meet with success.

Handwriting difficulty. The motor act of forming letters is slow or effortful. When handwriting is not automatic, it consumes the working memory the student needs for spelling and ideas, so output stays short and effortful no matter how much the student knows.
Spelling difficulty. Spelling breaks down because of the same phonological and orthographic processing weaknesses that underlie dyslexia: mapping sounds to letters and storing the visual patterns of words. A student who cannot trust their spelling swaps in easier words and writes less.
Executive writing needs. Planning, organizing, and revising written language is difficult. The student has ideas and can talk about them, but cannot get them into structured written form without explicit strategies for planning before drafting.

Assessment first

Every student at PSL begins with a comprehensive assessment. Pre-assessment allows us to create each student’s learning map: identifying the specific processing and academic skill gaps underlying the difficulty. For writing, we look at many sub-skills: handwriting automaticity, spelling (encoding), sentence construction, written expression, and the phonological and orthographic processing that spelling depends on.

Those results determine which methodology to use, directly shape the individualized learning plan, where to begin in the curriculum, and what goals to set for instruction. Because spelling and reading share the same underlying processing, writing assessment often reveals the same gaps as reading assessment; instruction addresses them together.

Progress monitoring

Instruction is structured, cumulative, and monitored continuously to ensure measurable progress. Each lesson is tailored to the exact level and need of the student, using the structured, research-based program or combination of programs indicated by their learning profile.

See a sample skills assessment (redacted) →

We report progress every 20 hours of instruction. Parent updates include detailed tracking of where the student is in the curriculum, what they have mastered, what they are currently working on, and what comes next.

See a sample parent update (redacted) →

Methodologies

We assess each student’s cognitive and academic profile before instruction begins so we can select the right program(s) for how they learn. We separate transcription (the physical and spelling side of writing) from composition, and build each explicitly.

Orton-Gillingham spelling
Encoding (spelling) taught as the mirror of decoding: the same phoneme-grapheme correspondences, syllable types, and spelling rules, practiced through structured dictation from sounds to words to sentences. Used when the profile shows gaps in phonological skills and the logic of the code; students learn why words are spelled the way they are, which holds better than memorized lists.
Seeing Stars® for orthographic memory
Seeing Stars®: Symbol Imagery for Phonological and Orthographic Processing builds the ability to see a word in the mind's eye and check it. We choose it over rule-based spelling work when the profile shows weak orthographic memory, because rules alone cannot cover irregular words or make proofreading possible. Recognized by the What Works Clearinghouse and validated by the National Center on Intensive Intervention.
Handwriting and transcription fluency
Letter formation taught explicitly and practiced to automaticity, so the physical act of writing stops competing with thinking. When handwriting remains a barrier for an older student, we build keyboarding fluency and work with schools on appropriate accommodations.
Sentence to composition
Written expression built from the sentence up: expanding, combining, and revising sentences, then paragraph structures, then longer forms. Visualizing and Verbalizing® supports the planning side, giving students imagery to organize before they draft.

What a typical plan covers

●Explicit handwriting or keyboarding work until transcription is automatic
●Structured spelling through dictation: sounds, then words, then sentences
●A bank of correctly spelled high-frequency words for writing
●Sentence-level instruction: expanding, combining, and revising
●Paragraph and essay structures once sentence writing is solid
●Spelling rules and conventions applied in the student's own contextual writing

Our pretesting determines the areas of need and we teach them sequentially. Some students begin with letter formation, others with paragraph organization.

Lisa Murphy, founder of Pine State Learning

Start with a free 15-minute consultation.

This quick conversation helps us hear your concerns and guide you to the next steps. We will get you set up to start tutoring, an independent academic evaluation, or a home learning kit, or send you to the professionals who can help if we cannot. If asynchronous works better for your schedule, please feel free to send an email with your initial questions.

Book a free 15-minute consult
207.426.4267 lisa.murphy@pinestatelearning.com
Our Commitment to Equity

We are committed to working against the way that racial and socioeconomic privilege manifests itself in the identification and remediation of learning disabilities.

We do what we can by offering need based scholarships, providing services in some of Maine's lowest resource schools, and working pro-bono with grant based educational advocates for Maine's most economically disadvantaged students with the toughest cases. This is how we do what we can to help ALL students get what they need.