Entries Tagged 'Reluctant Writers' ↓

How many times should a student rewrite a composition? Depends on who you ask. If you ask the student, she’ll emphatically reply, “Once!” Not only that, she wants you to love that paper, slap a gold star on it, and pronounce it stellar. Should you suggest a revision, you’re met with howls of protest.

But in the real world, rough drafts—unpolished writing—go by other names: phone messages, shopping lists, e-mails, timed essays. Chances are, just about anything else that’s printed and published has gone through more than one revision.

Tip 2: Explain that writing is the process and the composition is the product.

Start early. Children as young as kindergarten can discover the simplest steps of planning and writing. They can also learn to make changes such as adding detail or ending a sentence with a period. WriteShop Primary is a great way to introduce your early elementary student to the writing process in the gentlest way.

The benefits for older students are many. Through the writing process, they learn to follow a routine, pace themselves, and become accountable to deadlines. Here’s a brief overview of the five steps.

• Brainstorming: Thinking through a topic using a graphic organizer or planning tool.
• Rough draft: Putting words and ideas onto paper without fear of perfection.
• Self-editing: Using a checklist to identify measurable errors and make simple corrections, and then writing a second draft.
• Parent editing: Using an objective checklist to suggest improvements to the second draft.
• Final draft: Polishing the composition so the student can share it proudly.

For students in junior high or high school, you’ll find WriteShop to be one of the most effective tools for teaching the writing process. For beginning and average writers in 7th-10th grades, consider WriteShop I. For students in grades 8-11 who need a bit more challenge, take a look at WriteShop II.

Also see Writing Tip 1: Set Boundaries, Writing Tip 3: Write Often, Tip 4: Give wise feedback

Teaching writing is one of the most daunting tasks homeschoolers face. But once you discover how to teach in measurable, objective ways, your confidence will soar. And guess what? When you radiate confidence, your kids pick up on it too!

Over the next few days, I’ll be offering simple, practical tips to help the writing atmosphere improve at your house.

Tip 1: Build confidence through guidelines and boundaries

Offer Topic Suggestions

Many children fear the blank page. But believe it or not, saying “Write about anything you want!” actually contributes to the problem. Instead, suggest topics while still giving freedom.

• Let your student write from observation or personal experience. It’s easier than making up stories.
• When possible, let him write about things that matter to him so his passion shines through. If the topic bores your child, his readers will yawn, too.

Set Boundaries

Make sure the assignment includes clear expectations and instructions. Your child should never have to wonder, “What, exactly, am I supposed to do?”

• Define the nature of the composition. Is it a descriptive writing assignment? Narrative? Biography? Book report? Be clear with your student so he knows what you expect.
• Limit composition length. If a reluctant student knows he only has to write one five- to seven-sentence paragraph, his confidence gets a boost!
• Give step-by-step instructions. Unclear directions create anxiety. It’s not enough to just say, “Write.” Kids need to know how to write, so you’ll have to guide them through the steps. If you need help teaching the writing process, look for writing programs that give this type of guidance.
  • Early elementary: WriteShop Primary
  • Late elementary: Wordsmith Apprentice
  • Middle and high school: WriteShop I and WriteShop II
• Provide a list of required elements, such as:
  • Describe the object but don’t tell a story about it.
  • Use one simile.
  • Begin a sentence with a prepositional phrase.
  • Find synonyms for uninteresting or overly repeated words.

Also see Writing Tip 2: Process vs. product, Writing Tip 3: Write often, Tip 4: Give wise feedback

Narration is a wonderful tool for coaxing stories, descriptions, and letters from a young writer, especially a more reluctant one. Previously (Tip #1), I talked about using a tape recorder to encourage verbal storytelling. Sometimes, though, a child is still not ready or eager to tell entire stories. That’s OK! Just break it down into smaller pieces. Ask your child to describe what she can readily observe without the pressure of turning it into a published piece. 

Let’s describe!

Take a closer look. Begin to prepare your child for a lifetime of observation. Start by helping her describe familiar objects and foods. The key? Ask lots of questions about:

• Color, shape, and size
• Texture (how it looks and how it feels to the touch)
• Sound
• Smell
• For a food, also add questions about its taste and feel when eaten

Suppose you’re enjoying cinnamon rolls for breakfast. As your child eats her treat, keep a pad and pen nearby and write down her observations. Ask her questions to prompt her. ”Tell me some words to describe your cinnamon roll. What color is the bun? Is it soft and squishy or dry and stale? What smells and flavors do you notice? Take a bite and tell me how it tastes and feels. Does the roll have frosting? Is it a hard glaze or is it soft and creamy? Any raisins or nuts? What textures do they add?”

Describe a person. Suggest that your youngster describe family members, friends, and pets. If she tells you that Grandpa has gray hair, ask, “Is it gray, or is it closer to silver or white?” Have her tell you about his hair length and texture, too. Next, ask her to tell you about his face, eyes, and smile. What about his clothes? His personality? His posture? With younger children, it helps to describe people and pets they can observe firsthand. But a photo also works well to draw responses.

Study your world. It’s so much fun to describe a place with a young child. Even now, as I type with the window open, I can see grass, trees, bushes, and flowers; mountains topped in low clouds; my neighbors’ houses and cars; and fences, rocks, and telephone poles. In addition, I can hear birds chirping, a dog barking, a car horn honking, a lawn mower humming in the distance. Since it rained recently, the air has a fresh, sweet smell.

If you’re doing this exercise with your child, wander out into the front or back yard so he can touch the roughness of tree bark, the smooth finish of the car in the driveway, the prickle of a thorny plant, and the moist, dewy lawn. Let him crush leaves to release their scent, smell flowers, and observe insects and birds.

In the city, sit on a bench and pay attention to traffic sounds, horns, voices, and other city noises. Look at the buildings. Are they old? New? Made of brick? Concrete? Glass? Do any of the buildings have interesting features? Do you see traffic signals or road signs? Trees or flowers? How about shops, stores, or other businesses? What’s in the windows?

Next, people-watch! You’ll see old and young, tall and short, serious and smiling. Are they walking or hurrying? Talking on cell phones? Alone or with a friend? What colors are they wearing? Are they carrying packages, bags, brief cases, or purses? Wearing backpacks? What kinds of shoes can you see?

Finally, notice the smells. Is that garlic wafting from an Italian restaurant? Do you smell fresh bread from the bakery on the corner? How about fumes from the bus that just pulled away from the curb? The whiff of someone’s perfume as she rushes past?

As your child makes observations, write down what she says in a small spiral notebook.

No composition required

Make this a fun learning experience for your child as you give her a chance to become a keen observer of her expanding world. Sure, there will be times when you’ll want her to develop her observations into a paragraph or story. But for now, focus more on the process of gathering and writing down ideas. The value comes from teaching your child that she really does have a great deal to say about different topics!

Visit Walking Therein to visit this week’s Carnival of Homeschooling (the 150th edition, BTW)!

City photo by Kim Kautzer

Here’s something almost everyone can agree on: writing is one of the most intimidating, scary, overwhelming subjects to teach.

You struggle with your own inadequacy of never having been taught to write. Or perhaps you’re an intuitive writer who has no clue how to teach your children. Plus, writing just seems so stinkin’ subjective? How do you grade a composition effectively without making random stabs in the dark?

Then there are the kids. So many of us have children who live in terror of the blank page. Even if they’re verbal and always seem to have a lot to talk about, it just never manages to translates to their writing. It’s as though they’re crossing a bridge between Brain and Paper, but along the way, half of their ideas tumble off the bridge and into the canyon below (along with everything you ever taught them about spelling and grammar).

Our twofold goal at WriteShop is to equip parents to teach with confidence and to encourage students that writing doesn’t have to be scary or hard. Though we carry materials for a variety of ages, today I’m going to zero in on our flagship program, WriteShop I.

Who Can Use WriteShop I?

The beauty of the program is its flexibility and ability to encourage success in a wide range of students, whether they’re struggling seventh graders or articulate, motivated sophomores. Each student improves according to his or her own ability, depending on factors such as age, vocabulary, maturity, and life experience. Students are not measured against one another; rather, their work is evaluated based on each lesson’s expectations.

Working with Different Levels

A tenth grader with a mature writing style and broad command of language may easily earn an A on a given paper. But an eighth grader with a limited vocabulary and little writing experience can also pull off an A on the exact same composition. Why? Because working at their own level, both students can follow the directions and meet the lesson’s expectations! Sure, one paper may be stronger—more interesting, descriptive, or stylistically mature. But it doesn’t make the other paper bad.

Both types of student will grow in their writing abilities. Both will learn to brainstorm effectively, organize their writing, self-edit and revise, and submit to parent feedback. Through this process, the tenth grader will hone her style, learn to write more concisely, and develop a stronger vocabulary. The eighth grader will begin to write longer, more concrete sentences, and discover some new sentence variations that make his writing sound fuller, richer, and more alive.

Help for Parents

For parents, we’ve tried our best to make WriteShop user-friendly. If you start with our Basic Set, it includes a wonderfully resourceful Teacher’s Manual as well as a student workbook. Where editing and grading writing has always seemed so subjective, we’ve made it as measurable and quantifiable as possible so that you can really, truly offer objective input—regardless of your own confidence or experience. And you can always email us or give us a call if you have questions or need encouragement.

Suggested Placement for WriteShop I

• 5th grade or below: It’s best to wait a year or more before beginning WriteShop I. For 4th-6th graders, consider Wordsmith Apprentice.
• 6th grade: Proceed into WriteShop I with caution, holding off another year if the student is reluctant. However, for a strong 6th grader who loves to write, is pretty motivated, and has good basic writing skills. WriteShop I should be a good choice, especially if you take two years to go through the program.
• 7th-10th grade: The average student in these grades can launch right into WriteShop I regardless of past writing experience or skill level. The program works for almost every learner in this age range.
• 11th-12th grade: Older students can certainly benefit from WriteShop I, but we usually recommend starting them directly in WriteShop II. Or, you can use WriteShop I during the first semester and WriteShop II during the second. However, if your student plans to take the SAT at the end of the junior year, you’ll probably want to use WriteShop II, which teaches both standard and timed essays.

I hope this sheds a little more light for those of you who are deliberating about a writing program. There’s a lot to think about, and I know it always helps to go into a new situation with as much information as possible.

We often get letters from moms who don’t quite know what to do with their reluctant fourth graders. This email is a pretty typical lament:   

My 9 year old and I haven’t done any routine writing projects together. He hyperventilates (not really but you get my point) when I try to do any kind of writing with him.  I’ve tried story starters, but he just doesn’t want to participate, [or] he comes up with a totally silly story. I know he can do better, but he has this thing about writing.

Writing Stories: Too Abstract? 

It’s so normal for a nine-year-old to be a reluctant writer. And believe me, I understand. My son was the same way! I’ve found that often, storytelling can be too abstract for such a child. Even kids who are slightly older (junior high) will do better when asked to write about more concrete topics, such as events they have personally experienced or objects they can observe firsthand. That’s why descriptive writing or personal narratives usually produce better results than made-up stories from the child’s imagination.

Why do such activities bring about success? The child can actually see and touch a toy car, taste and smell a ripe peach, or recall a story that happened to him.

But don’t throw out the baby with the bath water! You might still want to use a story starter now and then. And when you do, know that it’s really OK for the story to take a silly tack. Sometimes writing should be just for fun!

If you need some ideas, you’ll find two inexpensive StoryBuilders card decks in the WriteShop store—World of People and World of Animals. By mixing and matching story element cards, children can create lots of different stories, from serious to silly. Each StoryBuilders set includes activities that will appeal to students of all ages and writing abilities.

Journaling Idea 

With my own reluctant son, we did Journaling…with a twist over and over again. Because this type of “journaling” is based on facts gathered through reading, your child won’t get stuck trying to invent details or a come up with a story line. It’s also much more entertaining to read and write than a report!

Overcoming Writer’s Block

What’s one of the most frustrating assignments you can give a reluctant child? Believe it or not, just ask her to “write about whatever she wants.” While it seems that this should be freeing for her, it actually has the opposite effect: it contributes to writer’s block!

That’s why it’s really important to establish parameters for your budding writers. Just as a sturdy fence helps a child feel safe in a big back yard, clear boundaries and expectations help young writers feel secure about putting pencil to paper. The blank page can be pretty intimidating, so instead of asking her to “just write,” be very specific. For example:

• Write a paragraph of 3-5 sentences
• Describe a __________________ (taco or Tonka truck, for example).
• Do not tell a story about it. Just use your five senses to explain how it looks, feels, sounds, tastes, or smells (as appropriate to the object).
• Use your thesaurus to include one new word.

You can probably see how this sort of guided writing helps inspire confidence. Start small and don’t expect too much at first. If you were teaching a child to play the piano, you’d give her exercises and simple tunes to practice long before you asked her to compose a piece on her own. It’s the same with writing!

. . . . .

If you’re looking for a writing curriculum for your 9- or 10-year-old, a gem of a book is Wordsmith Apprentice. We love to recommend it for the 4th-6th grade set.

Young children in grades K-2 are usually considered “pre-writers”—just learning to write letters, words, and groups of words. Their writing experience should be fun! After all, isn’t our goal is to help our primary-age children build confidence as they gain the ability to write?

Daily Guided Writing 

Because children learn best by example, take time to model good writing techniques to your child. Let her narrate her words to you through a daily time of guided writing. This gives her that predictable, shared writing experience that’s so important to her development.

For beginning readers, the predictable patterns and easy sight words build confidence. For more confident readers, narration gives daily practice in reading and writing harder words and sentences.

Most importantly, this time of guided writing gives kids the freedom to put together ideas and create word patterns without the limitations and fear of having to write them down. So even if your child already knows how to write simple sentences, you can often get more from him if he is allowed to dictate his words to you rather than write on his own.

How to Elicit Narration from Young Children

Together, you and your child can write several short sentences about simple, familiar topics such as animals, friends, the weather, or upcoming events. Sounds easy, right? But if you ask your son to tell you all about friends, for example, he’ll probably say, “I don’t know.” It’s an awfully broad topic, after all, and his little mind may be all a-jumble. Most kids need direction, but some will need more help than others to formulate their thoughts into simple words.

So how do you get your child to dictate to you? It’s all about asking questions! For the youngest or most reluctant kids, begin by writing three to five predictable sentence starters, such as:

A friend is
Friends like to
Friends are special because

Next, discuss various options for ideas on how to complete each of the three sentences. Ask questions to lead and prompt your little one and to keep the dialog on track. Here’s one idea:

You:  Let’s think of some words that tell us about friends. I’ll go first. A friend is funny. Now it’s your turn.
Child: A friend is happy.
You:  A friend is important.
Child: A friend is kind.
You:  These are all great. Which one should we choose for today?
Child: A friend is kind.
You:  Let’s write that. A friend is kind. Here’s the marker. Can you help me write the word kind?
You:  What do friends like to do together?
Child: Play games.
You:  Let’s use complete thoughts. Friends like to play games together. Say that. “Friends like to play games together.”
Child: Friends like to play games together.
You:  Great. Let’s write it down. Friends like to play games together. Can you help me with the marker?
You:  Tell me—why are friends special?
Child: Because they share their toys?
You:  Yes, that’s a very important reason. Can you finish this sentence to make a complete thought? Friends are special because ____.
Child: Friends are special because they share their toys.
You:  Good job. Now let’s write that down. Friends are special because they share their toys.

When you’re done, you might end up with something like this:

A friend is kind.
Friends like to play games together.
Friends are special because they share their toys.

Not only have you modeled thinking skills to your child (by asking questions like who, what, and why), but you’ve also demonstrated simple techniques of beginning with a capital letter, ending with a period, and using a complete thought. See how a simple five-minute dialog can go a long way in teaching basic writing skills?

Copyright © 2008 Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

. . . . .

This dialog comes from Lesson 4 of WriteShop Primary Book A. WriteShop Primary is filled with dialog examples to help you prompt your child during daily guided writing times. Book A is now available in our store. Book B should be released later this year.

Does your reluctant writer hate journaling, dictation, or narration? Do you need a way to encourage him? Try becoming your child’s pen pal!

This activity is best for children in the 8- to 12-year-old range, but you might also try it with other writing-phobic kiddos who live at your house.

Getting Started 

First, buy an inexpensive spiral notebook or composition notebook. If a colorful or thematic cover helps to wow your child, so much the better. Otherwise, a plain one will work just fine. Begin by writing a prompt at the top of the first page. Here’s a good place to start if you need ideas.

Tell your child there are no rules, no right, no wrong. She must simply write about the given topic and express herself however she chooses. No critiquing is allowed!

At first, don’t expect much. All she may give you is lists! But eventually she’ll begin to write more, especially if she finds the prompt particularly appealing.

Turning the Tables

Next, let your child choose a prompt for you on the next page so you can write back to her. Offering her the chance to ask you questions can give her the sense of fairness and control. Who knows what she’ll want to know!

As your child’s confidence grows and she becomes more willing to write, you’ll start to get glimpses into who she is and how she thinks. Plus, you’ll have a treasure of recorded “conversations” between the two of you.

Give it a try!

. . . . .

Kim Kautzer is co-author of the WriteShop program. Visit writeshop.com to learn more.

Another question from the WriteShop mailbag . . . 

Q:  My 12-year-old is a very reluctant writer who has done little writing. I want to know if he is supposed to write each of the assignments by hand, or can he type them? I want him to be creative and hopefully begin to like writing, but if he’s having to concentrate on his handwriting I’m afraid he’ll never learn to enjoy it. Is it okay to let him type each copy of the assignment?

A:  Kids should start getting comfy with a keyboard at an early age. After all, they’ll use computer skills all their lives! But unless students have a learning disability, we generally encourage them to handwrite the sloppy copy (rough draft) and type the next two revisions.

The Benefits of Writing by Hand 

It’s important for students to keep up this skill. Even though you might hear that typing is the wave of the future, rest assured that your kids will always face situations where they must write by hand—notetaking, job applications, and timed essays come to mind. If they’ve had very little practice putting pen to paper, trust me, they’ll have a tough time of it when faced with an SAT question that must be answered without the benefit of a laptop!

Writing by hand also allows your child to proofread for spelling and grammar errors without depending on spell-check. Kids need to practice the lifelong skill of self-editing because, among other reasons, spell-check isn’t always accurate.

Making Exceptions

Your student may be on the younger side, extremely reluctant, or struggling with the physical act of writing by hand. This describes our own boys before they turned 13! In this case, you might bend a bit to let him type his sloppy copy, especially in the beginning. Another idea: Have him dictate his sloppy copy to you first. Then ask him to copy it onto fresh paper before he begins to self-edit.

As his small-motor coordination, hand strength, and overall handwriting skills improve through exercises like copywork and dictation, he can eventually begin writing the sloppy copy by hand.

Typing Is a Good Thing! 

Once your child has self-edited his rough draft using the Student Writing Skills Checklist, he can go ahead and type his first revision. When we were teaching WriteShop classes, we actually preferred that our students type their revisions!

Not only is a neatly typed paper easier for the parent to edit, it’s also easier for the student to make changes before printing out a polished final draft.

. . . . . 

Curious about all this talk of sloppy copies and parent editing and polished final drafts? This is all part of the writing process, which is incorporated into every WriteShop I and II assignment. To learn more about WriteShop for your junior high or high schooler, visit our website at writeshop.com.

Big Things Come in Small Packages 

You will LOVE meeting Molly Fox! This young entrepreneur created a fantastic website, HomeschoolWriters.com, featuring a one-stop shop for dozens of writing contests for homeschool students.

I’m so glad you joined me today for this very special interview with Molly (pictured right). And once you’ve seen her thoughtful and articulate answers and visited her website, you’ll find it hard to believe she’s just eleven years old!

So pull up a comfy chair, grab a cup of cocoa, and come along with me to meet this extraordinary young lady! 

Kim: Welcome, Molly! I’m looking forward to our interview today. First, I’d love to hear how you decided to launch a website centered on writing contests. Continue reading →

As promised…the final installment in our three-part series called Teaching Writing.

• In Part 1, we talked about the struggles and the anguish common to reluctant writers and to parents who feel insecure about teaching writing. 
• Part 2 introduced some simple steps you can take to begin to make writing more enjoyable.

Today you’ll learn how the writing process can help free your struggling or reluctant writer from her self-imposed torture. And of course, reluctant writers aren’t the only ones who benefit. Make sure that your eager, motivated writers take their compositions through these steps as well to ensure a well-written final draft.

Continue reading →