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Ask an Expert - 'Replies' Teaching Tips July 2010 |
Part 6 - Learning to Write
Q: How do I get my child to write? What writing curriculum do you recommend? Short Answer: Over the years I have found that problems with writing boil down to six issues: 1. what writing involves and why it is so hard for many students 2. different types of writing require different skills 3. the thinking process 4. mechanics of writing 5. grading writing 6. the child's age and developmental level Since each of these issues requires some explaining, we will look at them individually over the next few months. Part 6 Writing for Elementary Students Writing is the last level of language skills to be developed. This is why it often lags behind a child's spoken vocabulary and reading ability. Writing involves a lot of multi-tasking and combining of many basic skills. When the basic skills aren't practiced enough, writing becomes much more difficult. Likewise, if the child is young, the brain doesn't multi-task as well as after puberty. Think for a moment what all is involved in writing a paragraph. First the child must remember how to form the letters, space them properly, and write them legibly. The child must be able to figure out what he wants to write and keep that thought in his head long enough for him to put it down in print all the while remembering how to spell the words that form the thought. The thoughts must be written in a way that others can read, with the words in the correct order, following recognized rules of grammar. The thoughts must relate to the topic at hand in a way that makes sense to the reader. And the thoughts have to have some sort of logical flow to them without being repetitive, redundant, or vague. On top of all this, the paragraph must be indented properly, with correct capitalization and punctuation. Whew! That's a lot to think about, especially for a young child. Unfortunately, state standards and the public school systems are pushing formal writing instruction sooner and sooner often before basic penmanship, reading, and thinking skills have been practiced sufficiently. One state curriculum test even requires a second grader to write a multi-paragraph essay presenting the child's point of view about a topic that includes evidence to support the view taken. No wonder so many children hate to write these days! To put things back in perspective, there is plenty of time to develop writing skills once the previous language levels have been practiced and mastered. Of course, this doesn't mean a child should not write. It just means that systematic, formal instruction should be postponed until the child is ready usually around puberty, when the student recognizes the need for clear self-expression. Once the child is ready, the best way to learn writing is to write. This may seem obvious, but many children do not understand that even the best of writers use multiple drafts. Writing is a process. prewriting brainstorming ideas, researching topics, narrowing the topic, thesis statement, note-taking, organizing writing rough draft to get the thoughts from the prewriting step down on paper, usually double-spaced to make it easier to revise revising modifying the content and flow of the writing, usually two to three more drafts editing correcting step, focusing on the mechanics of writing publishing final assignment Needless to say, the average budding writer is probably not prepared for this amount of work. He or she just wants to get the assignment over with. But if you keep the assignments short, the rewriting isn't as bad as having to rewrite a whole page over and over. Younger students should work on mastering a good sentence. Then a good paragraph. Writing good paragraphs consistently often takes some time (even several years!). Sequential students tend to write down every single detail, whether or not it's important or to the point. Global students tend to get lost in all the possibilities, writing down sentences as they come, with no particular order (or even relevance!). Once good paragraphs have been mastered, then it's just a matter of adding good transitions and developing a style where the child's personality, interests, and personal experiences can be seen in the writing. One final note about readiness. WHEN a child is ready to tackle writing varies greatly. A lot depends on the development of basic skills handwriting, organizing thoughts, recognizing the main idea, recognizing supporting ideas, and what makes a complete sentence. If you remember the four levels of language, the more a child hears good writing being read aloud and reads quality writing in classic books, the easier it will be for the child to recognize good writing and model it in his own assignments. Trying to write when these basic skills are underdeveloped is a lot like working on comprehension skills when a child is still learning to read. The struggling reader is still so focused on the mechanics of reading that the thoughts and meaning of a passage are lost in the process. The same is true in writing. Incidentally, the reason boys often struggle with writing is because the necessary basic skills tend to develop later. A big stumbling block is that the fine motor muscles used in handwriting develop slower than in girls. Having to write a lot at this stage forces boys to tense up and tire easily, which makes writing that much harder. Also, boys tend to be concrete, active learners at this stage, which means the necessary abstract thinking skills and organizational skills develop later, too. You can still practice good writing habits in context even before the child is ready for systematic, structured writing practice. When a child answers a question whether it is written or oral have the child use a complete sentence. If the child writes the answer, have him get in the practice of checking the spelling and punctuation. Some families use copywork to expose the child to good writing. The child literally copies passages, which offers practice in penmanship as well as developing a writing bank that helps the child recognize good sentences and paragraphs. The next step is to develop writing thinking skills. Many children have a hard time just getting thoughts down on paper. In this case, have the child keep a simple journal (you can combine Bible and language arts by having the child keep a spiritual journal, recording what he learns in family devotions, personal Bible reading, and prayer time.) It doesn't matter what it's about just that the thoughts are being recorded. And don't worry about punctuation, spelling, and grammar. The goal here is to record thoughts. Then every once in a while have the child take one of the entries and rewrite it into a full-fledged paragraph, complete with revisions and editing. This way the writing exercise is in context and is personal. The problem with many elementary writing programs is that they use artificial writing prompts that mean nothing to the children. They spend so much time just trying to figure out what to say that they get down on writing. Writing becomes busywork instead of a means to express themselves. 1193 Words To view more 'Teaching Tips' Articles please 'Log In' and visit the 'Achives' page. |
