Description: When They Can't Write is an essential text for teachers who work with secondary students who have not yet mastered the basics of composition. The multisensory, structured, interactive strategies described in this reference have enabled students with learning disabilities to succeed with writing in high school - and beyond. This teacher's resource covers the basic composition tasks expected of secondary students. The opening chapter describes instructional strategies appropriate for middle and high school students. The following chapters are organized for sequential instruction of: * sentence patterns * signal words within more complex sentence types * descriptive and anecdotal paragraphs * journal writing * personal letters * news paragraphs * academic paragraphs