Need writing help, is this okay for 10 yrs old?

[Janeway]

My 10 yr old loves to read and reads a TON. Yesterday, she was supposed to write a paper. It was supposed to be four paragraphs and about a family vacation she wants to take. This is how it turned out....My question is, should I worry and add in a writing curriculum? Or should I just not worry for now and concern myself more if it is still like this when she is 12 or so? I know years ago I read that forming a good sentence and paragraph is all a child should work on before 12 yrs old or so. But I am not sure if this is really true. I want to keep things as natural as possible, but also want her to move forward in a developmentally appropriate way toward her academic goals.

 

PaperSample.pdf

[Ting Tang]

I have a ten year old, and he is a reluctant writer. It’s been baby steps, but he is doing well with our MP classical composition. Kids learn to write by imitation, but it’s procedural, and it helps them expand, alter, enhance, etc. I look back on my own education and even to public school standards. Length is emphasized, but I think it should be quality. CM style curriculum says to start written narrations around this age— so personally, I would not worry. It looks like your daughter has a good start. Maybe a writing program would help develop her style. 

[Kezia]

I wouldn’t worry. Kids are literally all over the place at 10 years old. I would find something to work on and work on that one thing until it is mastered. 
 

It is neat and legible. Spelling looks good. Punctuation is mostly good. She didn’t really list the two reasons she said she would though. 
 

Did you all talk about it a bit before she started writing? Discussing the structure and main idea behind each of the 4 requested paragraphs might have made it easier for her to stay focused on developing the reasons behind why she wants this particular family vacation.

Has she done writing like this before? 

 

 

 

 

[Brittany1116]

I like that her writing is very conversational. It's as if I can imagine her saying this to a friend.  Her handwriting is also very neat. 

If I didn't know her age, I would assume it was from a slightly younger student. However, that is based only on my experiences with my 10 year old son and my 8 & 9 year old sisters. 

One thing that has helped my son greatly this year is a $3 graphic organizer from Target. There are various sheets to organize thoughts on, such as beginning/middle/end or character development or paragraph organization. He gets his plans out on that with dry erase marker and we talk through it before he writes. This year he is doing a creative writing prompt book, but next year he will begin a more formal approach with IEW.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

What guidance has she had regarding paragraph formation?

Did she know you expected a four-paragraph essay?

Has she ever written anything of that length?

I wouldn’t be concerned if she hasn’t had much instruction, but I wouldn’t expect those skills to simply appear at a given age, either. You don’t necessarily need a curriculum, but formal academic writing is a very different skill from casual note- / letter- / journal-writing & does generally need to be explicitly taught. 

She’ll need guidance on the purpose of a paragraph - why do we group information in this way? When does a paragraph start? When does it end? 

Then the various components of a paragraph: hook, topics, details, clincher. Once she has a basic paragraph down, she can write two-paragraph mini-essays such as a “compare / contrast” or “descriptive / expository” essay.

Next come introduction  & conclusion paragraphs. These can be really challenging for kids to feel comfortable with, so expect to spend some time here.

Transitioning fluidly from one paragraph to the next is typically the final skill set before attempting formal essay-writing. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Shoes+Ships+SealingWax

[BusyMom5]

I think she needs more organization and an example of what you wanted.   I like Winning with Writing, but it gets to be too many writing assignments for my writing-averse kids.  It does a good job of organizing ideas.  If I spend time talking it out with my 10 year old, helping organize,  she can do better.  If I don't, writing is all over the place.  At this age, I hope to get real ideas on the paper. You've got a lot to teach, but part of that is maturity.   Your DD didn't do the assignment.   If you want to help her redo,  sit with a marker board and ask her to tell you why she wants to go to Hawaii. As she talks,  write down key words and phrases.  You can number them to keep them straight.   If she overlaps, let her know she's already used that, she just put it in other words.  Once you get 3 or so ideas, tell hercto write it into a paragraph,  and help her with the first sentence.   I find a lot of teaching writing is spending time talking out ideas. Good luck!

[8filltheheart]

What were her actual instructions?  Did she brainstorm?  Organize? Create an outline? Revise and improve?   How much time and effort did she put into producing the sample?

Writing is a process and should take time to complete.  If she sat down, wrote that out, and then handed it to you 10 mins later, no, I wouldn't be concerned.  The sample shows that level of commitment from a a 10 yr old.  If she was given the assignment and she worked on it and this is meant to be her final copy, then the sample demonstrates gaps in avg 10 yr old writing skills both at the sentence and paragraph level.   

If this was produced with actual effort on her part, I would focus on having her breaking apart good paragraphs to understand how paragraphs are constructed and then have her summarize in writing.  I would work on developing skills together step by step before assigning independent writing.

 

 

[madteaparty]

My 10 year old is supposed to write weekly responses to her reading for a class. Minimum 250 words and the prompt can be fairly abstract “what does xYZ mean about relationships between humans and animals?” Or fairly concrete “lists the ways X character is selfish”. It’s a total pain for her to write this and I sit next to her and try to brainstorm (though sometimes I haven’t done the reading so I can’t help). Major reluctance especially with the abstract prompts and especially when she disagrees with the prompt lol. But it is getting better. Like a muscle. I dread her writing sessions though and make extra coffee 🤣

[8filltheheart]

I meant to add that based on the sample that I doubt she is ready to write multiple paragraphs.  I would focus on writing 1 paragraph well. Actually, I would even back up further and focus on what constitutes a well-written sentence.  FWIW, while some kids can write well naturally through exposure to good writing in their reading, that is far from a universal truth.  Plenty of students need direct instruction with scaffolded supports in order to write well.