Ideas Helping Kids with Writing

Try writing with them in the form of writing a story together. You start off by writing a line in the story. Then the next person adds 1 more line. You keep it up until someone gets tired of writing and then you put it away for the next day.

I use to do this with my kids and the stories were hysterical. We'd have to read everything already written before starting that day's writing. It was fun practice for them to be creative story tellers and get in some writing practice too.

I think I would stay away from the computer for writing...it's really a physical process.

Besides that, allow them to ENJOY writing. I'm not sure where you can find them (I got some at Target in the dollar section a few years back) but they had these writing notebooks...the top of the page had a picture of an animal, and the bottom had handwriting lines. My daughter LOVED to make up a story for each picture. If you can't find something like that, cut pictures out of magazines, paste them to pages in a notebook, and have your children write stories about the pictures, poems, etc.

At this age, spelling and proofreading aren't priority...it's really handwriting skills and learning to write neatly, quickly, and with thought.

I do homeschool, and the handwriting curriculum I used was "Handwriting Without Tears." It's wonderful. My daughter has beautiful handwriting (she's 7)...better, move even, and quicker than most adults I know.

When I taught kindergarten, we had Writer's Workshop every day. It was a LOT of writing for those little kiddos - but by the end of the year, they were great writers!

Mondays we always did our "Weekend Report". We wrote about something we did over the weekend. Maybe that is something you could have them do. Instead of asking them what they did in school that day, have them write.

Or, maybe you could introduce a "journal". Each night, give them time to write something in their journal. Model writing something in your own journal, think out loud. "Today for lunch I had leftover pesto. Pesto is my favorite food so I was really excited about having it for lunch today, so I am going to draw and write about that!" Then write your sentence. Then draw a picture that "matches" your sentence.

Or, use a book as a prompt. My son (2.5) is into Cat in the Hat right now and I always used that one as a prompt. The last page of the book says "I didn't know what to tell mother about our day. Should I tell her about the Cat in the Hat? What would you say if your mother asked you?" So I would always have them write about what they would tell their mom...or Green Eggs and Ham...write about a food you do NOT like to eat...or Froggy Eats Out, write about a place you like to go out to eat. Read them a bedtime story and then give them time to write in their journal about the story.

I had students who would write "On Saturday I went to the zoo." and they would be "done". It is hard to get them over the hump to expand their ideas. So I would ask them, "What did you see at the zoo?" Then they would tell me what they say and I would say, "Go write that".

It is hard, but with consistent encouragement and practice, it can be done! I think workbooks or online tools would help more for actual handwriting/penmanship. If they need help writing about their own events, then that is what they need to practice doing...

Keep in mind, if they are up to par in other subjects, this will probably even out over time. It takes a lot of practice.

I've subbed over 10 yrs and one of the main things we do is take time for writing. I may put a topic on the board and they have (depending on grade level) so much time to write all they can about the subject.

In 1st grade they are now writing biographies. We read a LOT of biographies to them, they choose a person, they research on the computer, they have an outline, sloppy copy, edited copy and final copy. This is started in grade 1 and will get more difficult each year.

I would not worry too much right now or put pressure on them. You can, incorporate writing in your home as well. Just practicing making a sentence with spelling words weekly will be a good start.

Good luck!

Hey Lisa,

I just got my DS's standardized testing back and he is having exactly the same issue. He is 11 and attends a private school for the gifted in Bloomfield Hills. His vocabulary score is in the 98th percentile but his writing is barely above 60, which to me demonstrates a big disconnect. I have a conference scheduled with his teacher to find out how we can motivate him to push himself a little more in that area. For us, worksheets and repetition aren't effective. He is an avid reader but the whole writing thing is a challenge for him because it doesn't come organically. My hope is that these things will even out with time but I would be interested in any specific tools as well. Thanks so much for your post, I am sure many can related to this. :-) S.

I homeschool and my daughter is in first grade WAY AHEAD in writing skills from spelling, comprehension, grammar, handwriting everything. I have some great books that got her there. They all supplement important areas and I wouldn't skip ANY of them.

SPELLING: Spelling Workout Level A from Modern Curriculum Press.
GRAMMAR: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
GENERAL WRITING: Writing With Ease Level One (INVALUABLE and writing worksheets included with classic literature snippets)
HANDWRITING: Zaner Bloser manuscript and cursive workbooks.

And if they're having any trouble reading, The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is great. It also helps with writing as it reinforces spelling...

Most books are on Amazon, Zaner Bloser has website.

I'd avoid books and workbooks, personally. Instead, make their writing relevant to *them*. Short letters to loved ones, thank you notes, keeping a journal. They might like to do little 'books'... I use some regular printer paper, five or six pieces or so, staple them up one side; voila! If they need some support with their handwriting, Mead makes a "learn to write" pad of paper which has the lines/dots to guide early writers. I will cut one of those in half and glue that to the bottom of each page so Kiddo can draw a picture on top,then write the story below.

Are you talking about writing.... as in handwriting skills, or writing as in writing ABOUT what they read?

In 1st grade, writing/handwriting and reading comprehension (ie: writing about what they read) is taught and is part of the curriculum.
My son is in 1st grade, the Teacher, sent home a cute little flier to the parents... about HOW to help their child, with reading comprehension with anything they read. ie: then along with that, it entails writing... about what they read.
Now at 1st grade, they are not going to write a summary like how a 4th grader would.
But yes, my son writes about what he read, and it often entails 3 or more sentences or a 5 line paragraph. Kids this age, don't exactly write in paragraphs, yet.

For your child in Kindergarten, my son when he was in Kinder, also got worksheets in which they'd write a few sentences. Basically all that means is telling about something. So in the case about writing about an event in their lives, the child can simply write: "I like Christmas. It was fun. I got a new puppy. He is cute."
It doesn't have to be, complex... like how a 4th grader would write.
AND perhaps, ASK the Teacher, for examples. My kids' Teachers, especially in the lower grades, sends home an example flier... to the parents. And on the students worksheets/homework, there are ALWAYS examples about the assignment.

Even if a child is reading above grade level, writing/reading comprehension... is different.

My son's 1st Grade Teacher says, simply to ask your child questions... about what they read. And make sure the child knows what verbs/adjectives/nouns are. Because, when they write about what they read, then they can construct sentences, about what they read.

With my son, the Teacher says that all the 1st graders can work on writing... as in, writing sentences about what they read. Because, at this age... they often will just make simple sentences (ie: I ran in my yard. I like recess. My Mommy cooks dinner, etc.) They are not yet, making or constructing complex thought out sentences. But they are being taught, how.
Or, I just "chat" with my son about what he is writing in his assignments. So, for example, he will make a sentence saying "I like my ball." So then I will tell him "What about the ball, how can you make your sentence more interesting??? Any adjectives or descriptive words you can use???" So then he will think about it more, and you need to cue your child and prompt them. Then my son will write "I like my bouncy ball because it is red and blue and bounces high." So now, THAT is a well written sentence. More interesting, too. That is the gist, of what my son's Teacher tries to encourage in the kids' writing.

Or if my son is reading something, I will simply ask him about it. ie: what was the main idea in this story? Who is the main character? Did the boy have a friend? What was his name? What did they do? Why?

Just interact with your kid, about what they are reading. And then about writing it down.
But remember, this is only Kindergarten or 1st grade.
The kids are practicing these skills. It is not habit yet. Nor is it intuitive yet.

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/andrew-pudewa

I loved this program. When I was homeschooling, a group of us got together to watch his video series for parents on how to teach writing skills. My kids went to a seminar that Andrew Pudewa gave live. Both were entertaining as well as educational. The program is simple, easy to learn and teaches kids the basics of good writing. I learned a lot from it, too.