Helping Your Child Write

Young children begin writing freely in journals with little attention to the formal writing process. As a child matures, he/she becomes ready to focus on the stages of writing. The formal writing process comprises of pre-writing, writing, revising, editing, and publishing.

PREWRITING STAGE
A child generates topics for the writing assignment. Topics can be formed from books, movies, memories, and any other subject of interest to the child. Then, he/she brainstorms. Graphic organizers are often helpful in organizing a child's thoughts.

WRITING STAGE
The child selects from the brainstorming ideas what to write about. He/she writes and does not worry about conventions. It is important for a child to get his/her words on paper first.

REVISING STAGE
At this point, feedback is required. A parent may provide constructive suggestions, but the child should also be looking for ways to improve and clarify his/her work. Who is the reader? Does the reader have enough information? Are the events in sequential order? Can anything be added to make the writing more interesting?

EDITING STAGE
It is time for attention to conventions. This is the moment to spell and grammar check. Encourage the child to read his/her work aloud. This will help him/her check sentence structure. Do the words flow well or should the sentence arrangement be adjusted? Are all the sentences short or long? A mix is more interesting for readers. Is punctuation used correctly? How is the word choice? Nice is not nice when used too often. Introduce the thesaurus and dictionary.

PUBLISHING STAGE
Final copies may be handwritten or typed using a computer. Children often resist the rewrite stage. Let them choose the format and method to encourage completion. Celebrate the final product by sharing it with others and giving positive feedback.

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
*Venn Diagram: A child can compare and contrast using this graphic organizer.

*Description Wheel: The wheel helps children organize adjectives that describe one item. Try to guess what he/she described. Take turns.

*Five Ws Chart: These are questions children should think about when writing a story.

*Story Map: This sheet is helpful in organizing story ideas into paragraphs.

*Sequence Chart: The chart helps organize a story, retell a story, or write a 'How To' (example - How to Make a Sandwich).

*Persuasion Map: Perhaps the child is pleading for permission to do something. Have him/her persuade you to YES.

TIPS TO MOTIVATE YOUR CHILD TO WRITE
*Use a variety of writing styles to keep the process exciting and appealing.

*Create silly stories together by taking turns writing a sentence to form a one-paragraph story.

*If the child is musical, he/she may want to write song lyrics.

*Keep journal entries of daily activities.

*List and organize items needed from the store for a party.

*Communicate via letters with either a relative or a pen pal.

*Write and perform a play.

Provide informal and formal writing opportunities for your child. Modeling both types of writing is an effective method for helping your child write. Incorporate writing into daily activities to make the process more meaningful.