The effects of practicing words in sentences on generalization of spelling to written work with mildly mentally handicapped students

This study evaluated the effects of daily practice writing spelling words in sentences on the generalization of the spelling words to written work. Subjects were four (two female and two male) mildly mentally handicapped students aged 8 to 13 in an individual progress program. An ABAB design was employed to evaluate the effects of writing spelling words in sentences. During the baseline condition, spelling words were practiced without writing the target words in sentences. During the sentence practice condition, students were required to write the target spelling words in self-generated sentences. The results show that generalization of the target spelling words to written work was improved by sentence writing. A follow-up condition indicated maintenance of treatment effects over time.