Abstract
This study examined the composing process and communication of students aged 5-8 identified with intellectual disabilities. An open-ended writing activity called Big Paper was implemented at least once every 2 weeks for a 6-month period. Qualitative methods were utilized to analyze writing samples, videotapes of writing sessions, and transcripts of interactions during writing sessions. Students exhibited a range of communicative interactions during the writing sessions and varied improvement in writing quality along a scale of writing conventions. In addition, students demonstrated engagement in the cognitive process of writing (Flower & Hayes, 1981), and the community as a whole demonstrated engagement consistent with a social-interactive (Nystrand, 1989) composition model. Implications for defining composition, planning instruction, and assessing student growth are shared.