Writing Skills
Writing well requires:
- Clear thinking. Sometimes children need to have their memories refreshed about past events in order to write about them.
- Sufficient time. Children may have "stories in their heads," but need time to think them through and write them down. School class periods often are not long enough.
- Reading. Children who learn to enjoy reading will want to write. If your children read good books, they will become a better writers.
- A Meaningful Task. Children need meaningful writing tasks, not artificial exercises. Some reasons for writing include sending messages, keeping records, expressing feelings, and relaying information.
- Practice. Writing is a skill. Like any other skill, it can't develop fully unless it is used often.
- Revision. Good writers are rarely satisfied with a first draft. A good revision makes a piece of work easier to understand and more interesting -- often by making it shorter!
- Provide a place. It's important for a child to have a good place to write--a desk or table with good lighting and few distractions.
- Have the materials. Provide plenty of paper and writing utensils, including crayons or colored pencils for younger children who like to illustrate their work. Youngsters today often prefer word processing to conventional script!
- Allow time. Good writers do a great deal of thinking. Your children may seem to be dawdling -- sharpening pencils, arranging papers, or just staring into space! Be patient. Very few of us do our best work under pressure.
- Respond. Be sure to respond to the ideas your children express, verbally or in writing. The true function of writing is to convey ideas. If children think their ideas really count, they will want to write them down.
- Don't you write it! Never write a school paper for your child, and never rewrite a child's work. Meeting deadlines and taking responsibility are important parts of the writing process, and feeling ownership of the work is a very important reward.
- Praise. Always point out the best aspects of your child's writing, and the areas where you see improvement taking place. Is it accurate? Descriptive? Thoughtful? Interesting? Knowing when we get things right is even more important than seeing our mistakes.
Build on the basics:
- Make it real. Your children need to do real writing. Encourage them to write to relatives and friends, and encourage those relatives and friends to write back! Many children enjoy corresponding with a pen pal.
- Suggest note-taking. Encourage your children to take notes on trips or outings to help them remember what they saw. Give them a chance to learn how notes make descriptive writing much easier.
- Paint with words. Talk with your children as much as possible about their perceptions and impressions. Encourage them to describe people and events to you, and praise them when their descriptions are especially accurate or colorful.
- Encourage keeping a journal. This is excellent writing practice as well as a good emotional outlet. Encourage your children to write about their experiences, their pleasures, and their disappointments. If the child wants to share the journal with
you, read the entries and discuss them--especially the child's ideas and perceptions.
- Write together. Have your child help you with letters, even such routine ones as ordering items from an advertisment or writing to a business firm. This helps the child to see firsthand that writing is important to adults and truly useful.
- Use games. There are numerous games and puzzles that help a child to increase vocabulary and make the child more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms designed especially for children.
With writing, just as with any other skill or practice you want your child to learn, the most important thing you can do as a parent is to serve as a model. If your children see you writing letters, keeping a journal, making lists, jotting down jokes and stories, and using writing in other ways, they'll understand that writing skills are important. Your example will motivate and inspire them, and writing will become a regular part of their lives.