Writing essays is a skill that students start as early as first grade. First they learn to write a sentence, then to put those sentences into a paragraph, then to combine paragraphs into an essay.

For students with dysgraphia, the actually writing with a pencil is often really difficult. Even if they master the visual spatial coordination to form letters, putting thoughts down on paper becomes a whole other challenge. They can often tell a great story, but the minute you put that pencil in their hand and they have to write it, it’s as if all the words fly out the window.

Both my boys have dysgraphia, and despite my searching, we have never found a quick fix. The schools have worked hard to help them, and they have improved, but still writing remains as their one academic nemesis. So we rely a lot on graphic organizers to help them get going when they have to put their thoughts on paper.

My 9 favorite graphic organizers (and they’re free!):