Authentic Writing
Opportunities
Have your student participate in "real life"
writing activities such as writing out notes to teachers (make sure you proof it
and sign it too ☺), notes to other family
members, writing post cards, writing in their baby books, writing out grocery
lists, etc. This helps them realize that writing is a life long skill that is
important for all people of all ages.
Keep a Journal
Professional writers often keep journals in which they note experiences,
remember phrases, or paints pictures of interesting characters. Encourage your
child to keep a journal, and keep one yourself. It is a way to capture ideas
that can be more developed later. Since these ideas are often in a raw or
awkward form, it is important that the author knows that others will read it
only with permission.
Keep a writing portfolio at home over
time
The important thing to remember is that writing is developmental and you
should want to see improvement over time. This may come in the form of more
advanced ideas, better organization, advanced word choice, or more technical or
advanced forms of writing. For example a student may still have spelling errors,
but the words they are using in their writing may go from the word BIG to
ENORMOUS. Another example may be that they go from post card writing to three
paragraph friendly letters.
Model the writing process
Children often assume that adults write perfectly on the first draft. This
happens because all they see is the final product. To help them, explain the way
you use the writing process at home or work. You could say, "I am going to draft
a letter now. I won't care about having perfect punctuation at this point. I
will be sure to check for that in my final editing." "I put my first draft of my
article aside for several days so I could look at it later with fresh eyes. I
will work on revisions now." Seeing your enjoyment, your child will also choose
to write too.
Encourage your child to self-assess
Good writing becomes better through revision and editing-and these are grounded
in your child's ability to asses his or her own work. Students who depend on the
teacher or parent for assessment will always view revision as a chore, not a
joy. It is the special pleasure of the writer to be able to revise.
Read aloud
"Listen to this-isn't it great!" Share examples of careful word choice, deep
ideas, beautiful language, and unique organization as you bump into it everyday.
Examples of good writing can be found in the newspaper, novels, poems,
cookbooks, or the Internet to name a few.
Word Processing
Encourage your children to use a word processor as part of the writing process.
Help them learn how they can use the cut-and-paste function, spell-check, and
the thesaurus as part of the editing and revision process.
Software or other
Educational Resources
For some students using the computer as a
tool helps them be more organized or motivated to write. For example some
students may benefit from using Kidsperation or Inspiration (software that help
map out or organize students ideas) before they start their rough drafts. Some
students may benefit from extra grammar practice that can be found in grammar
workbooks or software programs. There are some writing books available for
parents to use with their students that teach basic writing skills and formats
such as essays, poetry, or letter writing.