| The term scaffolding is used widely in literacy instruction but often in broad or conflicting ways. Drawing on Wood, Bruner, and Ross's original theory of scaffolding and Langer and Applebee's theory of instructional scaffolding in English language arts, in this article, the author examines scaffolding in the context of secondary writing instruction. The author draws on seminal literature to frame scaffolding as a process that begins with selecting an appropriate task and is facilitated by the teacher's instructional decisions and demeanor. Then, the author provides examples from current research for each of these areas of the scaffolding process and concludes with recommendations for using scaffolding effectively in adolescent literacy instruction. |