|
The best way to become a good writer is to WRITE, WRITE,
WRITE.
Let your child see you
writing every day with your grocery lists, recipe directions,
messages to family members, reminders on the
refrigerator, notes in their lunchbox,
e-mails, etc.
Encourage your child to write.
As you write to family members and friends,
ask your child to write or draw something especially for them to add
to your letter. Give your child various topics to
think about and then sit down together and write a story.
Give them story starter ideas.
It is always nice to web the topic
and then it is easier to have the thoughts you want to write about
right in front of you.
Cut out pictures from magazines and write a sentence about
that picture. Getting
started is the key and then your child will blossom with
writing. They tend to
fear what to write and how to spell the words. This
comes with practice and experience.
Do not be concerned with the mechanics of writing. Don’t
be concerned about the spelling of words
and the grammar in the sentence. We
use our word wall for basic words.
We invent the spelling and then as we progress,
we check for correct spelling on our finished copy.
We always start off with our first
draft (sloppy copy as they love).
The teacher is the editor and we
have to sometimes rewrite a story several times to come up with a
finished copy.
We always compare it to writing a book and corrections are
good if they are needed.
We always discuss our thoughts first and see where we
want to go with the topic. We
have a “writing meeting” to encourage creative thoughts
to flow into a good story. Our
stories are usually centered on a theme in
the classroom that we are studying for that month/week.
But, they can be on any topic that
a child chooses during free creative writing time.
Read aloud to your child as often as possible. Reading
to you is the most excellent way to encourage good fluency and a
love for reading. Reading from varied
authors encourages them to compare styles of
writing and also see different illustrators artwork.
Part of the writing process is also
illustrating the story if they wish. Have your child write their
own short book and bring to class and share with
their friends.
Save your child’s writing in a special writing box.
Sit down at various times to reread
the stories and compare the growth he/she has made. You’ll be
glad that you saved their stories of their early
years of writing.
Write to your child.
Put notes in books, lunches, napkins, pencil cases, book
bags, pockets. They
will be so blessed when they find that special note to
them. Encourage them to
do the same thing for others.
Subscribe to children’s magazines.
Children are thrilled to receive their own
mail (even e mail). It
is a good idea to see which magazines accept student writings
or illustrations. It
would be a thrill for a child to see their own work published.
Calendar contests are wonderful ways for a budding artist to
see their art shared with others.
These are just a few ideas to help your child become a better
writer.
|