Afterschooling Writing

[vonfirmath]

My son is going into 4th grade and I do not think he has learned at all enough writing.  I asked on these forums for recommendations, but I cannot find the thread so I am going to put what worked for me here in case someone else has the same problem.

 

I first tried having him journal on his vacation.  He wrote a little, but really struggled and was not getting enough writing in.  It seemed he had problem coming up with a topic, or even the words to go with the topic (When we provided one)

 

Instead of a paragraph everyday, I backed off on expectations.  I found a few writing organizers (though the Flower one and the 5Ws and H have become the most used) and had him map out a paragraph one day and writing it the next.

 

Flower Worksheet: https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/featured-items/pz-paragraph-writing-flower.html

 

5Ws and H from this set: http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/free-graphic-organizers-w.html (I find both sets of writing graphic organizers very useful though and plan to keep them in my arsenal).

 

When he maps out the paragraph, then writes it, the paragraph comes out much better. Some editing is still needed (Capitalization/spelling, etc.) But it is at least readable.  (And this is a kid who gets perfect scores on spelling tests. So it is difficult for him to think of spelling and writing at the same time.  So we're building in days to go back and revise as well.) And I've noticed him mapping his own paragraphs now on empty sheets of paper even without having a form to fill out.

 

I have seen an improvement in the paragraphs he is writing already!  And am quite pleased.

 

[Earthmerlin]

Thanks for these ideas. Writing with my rising 2nd grader is on my 'to-do' list this upcoming school year & reminders of using graphic organizers is quite helpful.

[mayathiagarajan]

I'm a high school English teacher, and what I find is that a lot of kids come into high school without much understanding of grammar and punctuation. A lot of kids tend to have fantastic ideas, but they have a really hard time organizing their ideas and then communicating them in grammatically correct sentences. As far as I can tell, most schools seem to have abandoned traditional grammar instruction, and the grammar/writing instruction that kids do get is very haphazard. Schools and educators tend to prioritize ideas/thoughts/creativity over grammar/punctuation/clarity. I personally think that we need to encourage kids to think deeply and creatively, but we ALSO need to help them learn how to express those ideas as clearly and powerfully as possible.

 

So here's what I do with my own kids:

- Encourage lots of reading (there's such a clear and obvious correlation between reading and writing)

- Some explicit grammar instruction on weekends (parts of speech, capitalization and punctuation rules, active versus passive, dangling and misplaced modifiers, subject-verb agreement etc.)

- Occasionally (maybe once a month), I get my kids to write paragraphs. I expect my DS, now 11, to write analytical paragraphs, where he analyzes a character or theme in a book he has been reading. I work with him on planning his paragraphs with a topic sentence + supporting evidence and analysis.

I ask my DD, who is 7, to write on any topic of her choice, and I focus more on helping her hone her control over language. With both kids, I'll make them do at least two drafts of their paragraphs, so that they begin to understand the importance of revising and editing their work. I would love to do more writing with them, but between their schoolwork and my work, we don't have as much time as I would like.

 

And here's a blogpost I wrote some time ago on grammar instruction.

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2016 by mayathiagarajan