I’ve always been a big fan of writing across the curriculum. After all, it just makes sense to tie writing into as many subjects as possible. Why separate the two when they’re so much happier married?

It was’t hard to assign related writing when studying history, art, geography, Bible, or literature, though I must confess that dovetailing math and writing was a stretch for us. (I did sometimes have the kids write their own word problems. That counts, right?)

My new friend Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage took up Math Mama’s challenge to write a poem that puts a positive spin on math. I think it’s a brilliant idea, and both she and her daughter Sprite wrote some very creative math poems. Here’s one by Sprite. Isn’t it clever?

Untitled, by Sprite
Dividing is divine,
And four plus five is nine.
Adding is just fine,
Four plus five is nine.
Negative and positive are always great.
But four plus six is is not eight.

There are no prizes involved, and no deadline, so why not plan a time to squeeze this activity into your homeschooling—and join Math Mama’s challenge. And if you’d like to share your poems here as well, you know I’d just love to see ‘em!

Meanwhile, you can visit a page filled with fun number poems you’re sure to enjoy. Here’s the first one to whet your appetite!

Money Poem
Penny, penny, easy spent,
Copper brown and worth one cent.
Nickel, nickel, thick and fat,
You’re worth 5. I know that.
Dime, dime, little and thin,
I remember—you’re worth 10.
Quarter, quarter, big and bold,
You’re worth 25, I am told.
Half a dollar, half a dollar, giant size.
50 cents to buy some fries.
Dollar, dollar, green and long,
With 100 cents you can’t go wrong.

Edit: Jimmie duly chastized me, wondering where MY poem is. So I too am rising to the challenge! Here’s my humble offering.

Of Sides and Angles
Geometry, ordered and tidy,
Pyramid, circle, and locus;
Precision of sides and of angles,
A midpoint that keeps me in focus.

Symmetry, area, compass,
Diameter bisects a chord;
Distance, dimension, and drawing,
You see why I never get bored.

Parallel planes and perspective,
The measure and tilt of a line;
Volume and ratio and surface,
Geometry suits me just fine.

~Kim

This brings us to today’s article in the series on 10 Stumbling Blocks to Writing.

Stumbling Block #9

Problem: (1) Your student can’t see a purpose for the assignment itself, or (2) she can’t understand why she has to go through all the steps of the writing process.

Solution: (1) Make writing assignments relevant, and (2) help your student see the value of refining her work.

Make Writing Assignments Relevant

Though it’s nice to give our children choices and options, the kind of writing (such as a short report, book summary, or compare/contrast essay) — and even the specific topic of that composition — will be dictated to them from time to time. Like it or not, sometimes they have to write on a subject of our choosing, and there’s just no way around it.

Still, for the most part, students are more willing to write if the assignment feels purposeful. Writing for writing’s sake—to describe a sunset, for example—may not motivate them at all. But writing as it applies to their Civil War studies or a lesson on botany will make more sense to them—and may even spark enthusiasm—especially if it’s a subject they love.

So whenever possible, look for ways to tailor the topic to your students’ interests and passions. After all, the more relevant the writing assignment, the more likely they’ll cooperate.

Writing across the curriculum is one way to accomplish this. You retain control over the general subject matter while offering your child more specific topic choices. Some of these ideas may help get you started:

• Using diaries to write about history
• Projects: Great writing alternatives
• Journaling . . . with a twist

Demonstrate the Value of the Writing Process

Getting kids to write can be challenging enough, but getting them to embrace the whole writing process is another thing altogether. Each step of the writing process is vital, from brainstorming to final draft, but students often think of these “extra steps” as time wasters.

Editing, revising, and rewriting, for instance, can be downright painful—for both of you! Most kids hate this part of the writing process. They like what they wrote; therefore, they’re highly resistant to making any changes. Regardless of how loudly, tearfully, or convincingly they protest, this is a necessary part of the writing process, and something all writers—including your children—have to do.

Other Skills Take Many Steps

Illustrate how other skills require many steps too, and how these steps are quite similar to the prewriting, brainstorming, drafting, and revising that comprise the writing process.

For instance, playing a musical instrument, a sport, or a video game requires investment of time and a working out of many steps. After all, how do you get to a new skill level except by practice? This makes perfect sense to your teen.

She can also grasp that in order to create a new recipe, a chef has to prepare a dish several times so he can figure out how to improve it. Is it too bland? Too dry? Could it use a topping? Is the texture pleasing to the palate? How would it taste with less salt? More vanilla?  

The chef tastes each batch, adds or removes seasonings, and adjusts ingredient quantities. When he’s satisfied, he prepares the dish for others and asks for feedback. Then it’s back to the test kitchen once again! 

No Author Publishes His First Draft

A chef would never add an untested item to his restaurant’s menu until he’s sure it’s the best it can be. Refining and perfecting his recipe is a process, and it takes time and patience.

Would your child dream of playing a brand-new or unfamiliar sonatina at her piano recital? Of course not! It’s the piece she’s practiced and refined that she feels more comfortable presenting.

Similarly, no author ever publishes his first draft. His book or article goes through repeated self-editing—and numerous revisions—before he feels ready to submit it to his editor, who in turn adds his own suggestions for improvement. Your child would not enjoy her favorite novels nearly as much had a wise editor not repeatedly put the author through the steps of the editing process.

Remind your resistant writer that she goes through the writing process with a goal in mind: the final draft. After all, it’s not the rough draft that becomes her published writing project; it’s the polished and revised version that she’ll want to share with others.

Once she’s gone through the revising process, ask her to compare her first draft with the final version. When she can see the progress she’s made from that rough beginning to her very best attempt—the final draft, the purpose for the steps in the writing process becomes clearer. Hopefully this means less whining as she learns to approach the steps of the writing process with an improved attitude!

Next week we wrap up our 10 Stumbling Blocks to Writing series with a special focus on special needs: Stumbling Block #10– Learning Challenges.

Share a comment: Which step of the writing process does your child most resist—brainstorming, writing, or revising?

Leaving a comment at any Stumbling Blocks article enters you into a drawing for a $25 WriteShop gift certificate. You can earn up to eleven chances in the drawing by commenting on all eleven articles. There’s still time to comment on any previous post!

2010 © Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

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The Teacher’s Manual for WriteShop I and WriteShop II includes ideas for writing across the curriculum. Suggestions for applying each lesson’s skills to a topic of current study appear in Appendix B. 

Photo of girl courtesy of stock.xchng

Last week we talked about skills and tools a student can use to make his writing more interesting. As we continue this series on 10 Stumbling Blocks to Writing, today’s focus turns to a very common writing issue.

Stumbling Block #3

Problem: Lack of motivation.

Solution: Provide a wide variety of writing experiences as well as flexibility of topic choices.

Offer a Varied Writing Diet

Uninteresting or irrelevant topics often produce unmotivated students. One solution? Give your child greater options. Don’t limit him to one kind of writing, like essays or factual reports. Instead, vary his writing diet so he feels more motivated to write!

• Offer experiences with descriptive, informative, and narrative writing. Let him describe people, places, foods, and objects.
• To dabble in expository writing, encourage him to explain a process, write short reports or biographies, or write news articles.
• Teach him to write narratives from varying points of view or in a different voice or tense.

Allow Freedom to Choose Topics

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, try give your less-than-motivated student a bit more flexibility of topic choices. Nothing stifles creativity like saying, “You MUST write about this.”

I’m not saying your student should run the show. After all, you’re still the teacher! But if you’re teaching a particular kind of writing, such as describing a place, you can give freedom of choice—anything from a baseball stadium to a tea room, from a mountain wilderness to a busy street corner—while remaining within the lesson’s framework. It’s the best of both worlds when you establish some parameters but offer freedom too. When your child feels more “ownership” of the subject matter, you’ll find he’s much more likely to invest himself in the writing.

Tie Writing to Other Subjects

Also, incorporate writing across the curriculum whenever possible. Instead of teaching writing as a separate subject, writing across the curriculum lets you dovetail writing instruction with your study of history, literature, art, music . . . the opportunities are endless.

Write with Delight

And consider delight-directed learning, which allows your student to explore a favorite topic—hobby, sport, historical period, whatever his passion—and write about it in many ways:

• Using vivid description
• Explaining a process (“how-to” composition)
• Writing stories and narratives
• Writing essays and reports
• Developing news articles

The beauty of delight-directed learning? Each writing project focuses on a different aspect of your child’s topic of interest, whether it’s Legos, gardening, horses, or antique guns. You may grow tired of reading essays, stories, and reports about Tiger Woods, choosing a golf club, the history of golf, and “My First Hole in One,” but if it means your student is writing . . . well, rejoice!

To see if limited writing vocabulary is an issue for your student, check out Stumbling Block #4.

2009 © Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

. . . . .

If your writing curriculum limits your student’s writing experiences or stifles topic choices, you might want to take a look at WriteShop I for your 6th – 10th grader. Each lesson provides the framework for a particular kind of writing but gives the student options to pick his own topic.

Golf ball photo courtesy of Stock.Xchng.

Q: Can you help? I’d like to learn how to use Write Shop II with topics from my high schooler’s history studies. For example, I’d like to give her an assignment such as: “Write a 3 paragraph paper on Gregory The Great.”

A: You will be glad to learn that you can use almost all WriteShop lessons to write about things you’re studying in history.

Writing Across the Curriculum

To write about history, you have several choices. First, take a look at Appendix B of your Teacher’s Manual, specifically TM pp. B-4 to B-7. This section, called “Writing Across the Curriculum,” gives you all sorts of ideas for using each WriteShop assignment as a springboard for writing about other subjects such as history or art (the WriteShop II ideas begin on TM p. B-6).

This way, you could give your daughter important practice writing the short report from Lesson 19, having her write a biography instead of an animal report. She could certainly write about Gregory the Great or any other figure from history. This important assignment is the first WriteShop lesson that teaches how to organize a longer composition.

History-based Essays

The remaining essay section (Lessons 25-30) will then teach a new set of skills: beginning with Lesson 25, your student will write short essays that give her opinion, compare or contrast, and describe or define. Each one of these essays can be used with history lessons.

In addition to the suggestions on TM p. B-7, you can also find loads of recommended topics and essay ideas on TM pp. B-21 to B-25. For example, here are some ways you could use Gregory the Great as a subject for some of the upcoming essay assignments:

• On TM p. B-23, one of the suggestions says: “Discuss the significance of a famous battle.” You could tweak this topic to say: “Discuss the significance of the reign of Gregory the Great.” 
• Also on TM p. B-23, instead of describing “what made George Washington a great president,” you might suggest: “Discuss three major accomplishments of Gregory the Great.”
• On TM p. B-25, one of the suggestions says: “Compare or contrast two presidents (scientists, explorers).” Instead, have her compare Pope Gregory I with Pope Leo I.

Once you’ve completed the lessons, it would be wise to continue re-assigning essays from Lessons 25-30 on a regular basis to keep your daughter in practice. So, once she’s used up her lesson-specific checklists, you can provide her with photocopies of the all-purpose essay checklists on pp. C-3 to C-6 (Teacher’s Manual Appendix C). With these checklists, you will be able to give your own parameters for each assignment’s length, enabling you to teach longer essays if you so desire.

.  .  .  .  . 

WriteShop I and WriteShop II have a proven track record! Using the program will help prepare your teens for advanced high school and college writing. 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.

Studying Real Historical Journals

Here’s a great idea for for a project that springboards from actual historical diaries—true living books written by men and women who lived and experienced the times. 

Because of the more challenging vocabulary found in most old journals, this activity is probably better suited for your high-school aged students, though some junior highers with more advanced reading skills could do this as well.

Writing Diary Entries 

1. Historical journals, narratives, and diaries abound, both in books and online. Have your student read the actual narrative or journal of a person you’re learning about in history.
2. Ask her to choose five key events or times in this person’s life.
3. Then, in her own words, have her write five diary entries for those pivotal times or incidents.
4. She must include the time and location for each entry.
5. If the incident is a major historical event, she must show the role the person played.
6. In addition, she needs to weave into her diary entry any background information that’s needed for context and understanding.

Below you’ll find some links to resources for online journals. As always, parent preview or supervision is recommended.

The Diary Junction – Internet resource linking to hundreds of historical diaries. Search alphabetically or chronologically

American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology

First-Person Narratives of the American South

American Journeys: Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement – Columbus, Cartier, Sir Frances Drake, Lewis and Clark, many more

Copyright © 2008 by Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

. . . . . 

Looking for a more structured program to incorporate writing writing across the curriculum? WriteShop lessons can help your teens learn important writing skills while offering flexibility of topics. Visit our website at writeshop.com to learn more!

A More Painless Approach

Ben wasn’t so keen on writing when he was a kid. Even as a young teen, writing gave him no end of grief.  Imagine his joy when I would give him a choice between a history report and some sort of project. The project always won.

One year, he made an amazing tri-fold display of the Renaissance and Reformation. He loved searching through old National Geographics (bought for a dime apiece at our library bookstore) for the perfect photos. Then he spent hours arranging them just so for a beautiful display. Writing a short report on the Renaissance didn’t seem so painful when it accompanied the project.

And what young boy doesn’t love all things soldier-ish and warlike? So it came as no surprise that Ben opted to make a Greek Hoplite helmet and shield as his 6th-grade Ancient Greece project. The little article that accompanied it, on the subject of Hoplite soldiers, was actually fun for him to write because he’d had such a great time learning about their armor, weapons, and ways of war.

Projects as Writing Alternatives

Special projects allow students to explore a subject in more depth without having to prove their knowledge the “traditional” way—via a long, dreary report.

Projects make great hands-on ways to study topics of special interest. Sure, some might end up as reports, but often a project will incorporate writing while allowing the student’s skills, talents, and passions to shine through. A project can:

• Appeal to different interests and learning styles.
• Immerse your student in a subject he’s crazy about.
• Call upon his unique skills and talents to create the project.
• Incorporate writing without the need for the writing to dominate.

One of Ben’s favorite projects was the construction of a sand pyramid and Sphinx. Living just an hour from the beach afforded us the freedom to head south for the day so Ben could make his project. He carefully carved and sculpted a fabulous Great Pyramid with a really cool replica of the Sphinx. We preserved his efforts on camera, and for his actual project, he made a flip book detailing the steps of the process in photos and words. The waves long ago washed away his sculptures, but they remain forever captured in his imaginative flip book.

Disguising the Broccoli

Writing across the curriculum gives students a chance to dovetail writing with other subjects you’re studying. Combining writing with history, art, music, or literature gives a child greater reasons for writing than “because I told you.” And just as hiding broccoli under cheese sauce makes it easier for veggie-phobes to eat their greens, combining a writing activity with a fun project makes the writing part easier to swallow too.

So as you begin to plan your lessons for summer or fall, why not provide your struggling or less-than-enthusiastic writer with an opportunity to gain some success through a project?

Projects shouldn’t take the place of other writing. After all, your kids still need to know how to write stories, essays, reports, and letters. But a project that includes writing will expand your student’s knowledge, vocabulary, and writing skills as he builds, draws, sculpts, paints, cooks, compares, or composes.

I’ve got so many great ideas for projects that appeal to all sorts of learners. Check back now and then for more ideas to spark writing in a brand-new way!

And if you’re a WriteShop user, you’ll be excited to know there’s a Writing Across the Curriculum section in Appendix B to help you tie each WriteShop assignment into other subjects you’re studying. No projects here, but at least you can direct the lesson toward history or science and kill two birds with one stone!

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Attending the CHEA Convention in Long Beach, CA next week? I’m presenting a Writing Across the Curriculum workshop with lots more great ideas! –Kim

When we were homeschooling, I absolutely loved writing across the curriculum with my kiddos. It was such a natural way for them to write about the very things we were studying for history, geography, or science.

I’m excited to share one of our family’s favorite writing exercises—journaling with a twist—where kids write first-person diary entries as if they were someone (or something!) else. This is a great activity for kids of all ages—kindergarten through high school, pre-writers or prolific, reluctant or motivated.

I LOVE that this basic concept can be applied again and again throughout the year, no matter what you’re learning about! One particular year, when my kids were in 2nd, 5th, and 8th grades, we must have done this writing activity half a dozen times, spending 3-10 days on each topic. So whether you’re studying ancient Greece or Egypt, the Reformation, the Civil War, or animals of the desert, consider this fun exercise for drawing more topic-related writing from your kids. Here’s how:

Read about the Topic

First, read a passage, excerpt, article, or short book on a particular subject (the Pilgrims’ experience aboard the Mayflower, how black bears fish for salmon, how Hebrew slaves made bricks for the pyramids, how spiders spin webs). Read aloud to your younger child while allowing older children to read on their own.

This is NOT the time to read the entire story of Columbus! Break long narratives like this into segments, reading just a portion a day—an excerpt about his childhood, perhaps, or his audience with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. If necessary, read several passages about the same subject to give a broader perspective or to provide more detail. An encyclopedia article may have two or three sentences about a narrow topic. A book, however, may offer several pages or even a whole chapter about it.

Pre-Writers Can Narrate Their Journal Entries

Next, have a reluctant or pre-writer narrate the information while you write. Ask him to tell the story in first person. Remind him that he is the early Christian hiding in the catacombs of Rome or the lion hunting in the Serengeti. Encourage him to walk a mile in his subject’s shoes (or paws!), and to imagine what it would be like to be in this situation, this place, this moment in time.

Prompt a child by asking, “What did we just read? What was this story or article about?” Draw out of him feelings and experiences he may have if he were this particular person or animal. “How did you feel when you heard the guard’s footsteps?” “How did you know which zebra to pick?” Feel free to give him a word bank from which to choose vocabulary. Write down his narration word-for-word.

Here’s an example from my then-7-year-old.

Dear Journal,

Today we went fishing! Mommy and me went down to the stream and she walked right into that cold water and watched the water with her sharp eyes. Then she swooped with her long claws. Then she catched a fish with her claws! And then it was my turn and I went into the stream and it was SO, SO cold! I saw a fish swimming near me so I swooped with my little paw and I missed. I just splashed water. But I tried again and on my second time I catched my own fish! Mommy was proud of me for learning how to fish all by myself.

From Bear Cub

Doesn’t that sound more fun than writing a report about how bears fish? Yet the important information is still there!

Planning a Series of Journal Entries

This journaling activity is especially useful when you want to interlace writing and history. One year, my kids retold the Pilgrims’ journey in their own words just as if they had been Pilgrim children, choosing names for themselves appropriate for the time period—John, Faith, and Prudence. Every day we read something new about the Pilgrim experience—a snapshot to give them just enough to write about in a diary. Here’s what we read about each day:

• Day 1: Persecution in England
• Day 2: Journey to Holland
• Day 3: Eleven years later, preparing to leave for the New World
• Day 4: Hardship aboard the Mayflower
• Day 5: Land sighted!
• Day 6: The men go ashore to find food
• Day 7: Building Plymouth Settlement
• Day 8: The harsh first winter
• Day 9: Samoset greets the elders
• Day 10: The first Thanksgiving

Older or Confident Students Can Write Their Own Entries 

Here’s one of my then-10-year-old daughter’s journal entries as a Pilgrim whom she called Faith.

Dear Journal,

Governor Bradford declared a feast to thank God for all He has done. We were all very happy. It has been a long, difficult year. We women had three days to cook and get prepared for the feast. We plucked and stuffed and roasted the fowl. We made stew in great pots. We also made sallet out of wild onions, lettuce, cucumbers and carrots. Meat pies were a favorite. We also had eel, many fish, and shellfish.

We invited Chief Massasoit. And with him he brought 90 braves! We didn’t have enough food so the Indians went out and brought back five deer! After the feast there was singing and dancing and games. It was a joyous celebration!

Faith

Look for Opportunities to Journal with a Twist 

The possibilities for your child are limitless! She can journal for one day or for ten. She can write as she “experiences” the life cycle of a butterfly or a maple tree. Or she can journal as an explorer, a pioneer, a disciple of Jesus, or an Egyptian servant to the wife of Pharaoh. The point is to help your child take in a small amount of information about a topic or event and make it personal. Over the course of several days or a week, the amount of information learned will grow. And in time, your child will produce many memorable diaries stamped with her own personality and style.

Copyright © 2008 by Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

Looking for a more structured program to incorporate writing writing across the curriculum? WriteShop lessons can help your teens learn important writing skills while offering flexibility of topics. Visit our website at writeshop.com to learn more!