American children must be ready to
learn from the first day of school. And of course, preparing children for school
is a historic responsibility of parents.
Should you help your child with writing?
Yes, if you want your child to:
Do well in school
Enjoy self-expression
Become more self-reliant
You know how important writing will
be to your child's life. It will be important from first-grade through college
and throughout adulthood.
WRITING IS:
- PRACTICAL: Most of us make lists,
jot down reminders, and write notes and instructions at least occasionally.
- JOB-RELATED: Professional and
white-collar workers write frequently--preparing memos, letters, briefing
papers, sales reports, articles, research reports, proposals, and the like.
Most workers do "some" writing on the job.
- STIMULATING: Writing helps to
provoke thoughts and to organize them logically and concisely.
- SOCIAL: Most of us write thank-you
notes and letters to friends at least now and then.
- THERAPEUTIC: It can be helpful
to express feelings in writing that cannot be expressed so easily by speaking.
Unfortunately, "many schools are
unable to give children sufficient instruction in writing." There are various
reasons: teachers aren't trained to teach writing skills, writing classes may
be too large, it's often difficult to measure writing skills, etc.
Study after study shows that students'
writing lacks clarity, coherence, and organization. Only a few students can
write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many as one out of
four have serious writing difficulties. And students say they like writing less
and less as they go through school.
That's why the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement (OERI) suggests that you help your child with writing.
OERI believes you, a parent, can make a big difference. You can use helping
strategies that are simple and fun. You can use them to help your child learn
to write well--and to enjoy doing it! This leaflet tells you how.
THINGS TO KNOW
Writing is more than putting words
on paper. It's a final stage in the complex process of communicating that begins
with "thinking." Writing is an especially important stage in communication,
the intent being to leave no room for doubt. Has any country ratified a verbal
treaty?
One of the first means of communication
for your child is through drawing. Do encourage the child to draw and to discuss
his/her drawings. Ask questions: What is the boy doing? Does the house look
like ours? Can you tell a story about this picture?
Most children's basic speech patterns
are formed by the time they enter school. By that time children speak clearly,
recognize most letters of the alphabet, and may try to write. Show an interest
in, and ask questions about, the things your child says, draws, and may try
to write.
WRITING WELL REQUIRES:
- CLEAR THINKING: Sometimes the
child needs to have his/her memory refreshed about a past event in order to
write about it.
- SUFFICIENT TIME: Children may
have `stories in their heads' but need time to think them through and write
them down. School class periods are often not long enough.
- READING TIME: Reading can stimulate
a child to write about his/her own family or school life. If your child reads
good books, (s)he will be a better writer.
- A MEANINGFUL TASK: A child needs
meaningful, not artificial writing tasks. You'll find suggestions for such
tasks in the section, "Things To Do."
- INTEREST: All the time in the
world won't help if there is nothing to write, nothing to say. Some of the
reasons for writing include: sending messages, keeping records, expressing
feelings, or relaying information.
- PRACTICE: And more practice.
- REVISING: Students need experience
in revising their work-- i.e, seeing what they can do to make it clearer,
more descriptive, more concise, etc.
POINTERS FOR PARENTS
In helping your child to learn to
write well, remember that your goal is to make writing easier and more enjoyable.
- PROVIDE A PLACE: It's important
for a child to have a good place to write--a desk or table with a smooth,
flat surface and good lighting.
- HAVE THE MATERIALS: Provide plenty
of paper--lined and unlined--and things to write with, including pencils,
pens, and crayons.
- ALLOW TIME: Help your child spend
time thinking about a writing project or exercise. Good writers do a great
deal of thinking. Your child may dawdle, sharpen a pencil, get papers ready,
or look up the spelling of a word. Be patient--your child may be thinking.
- RESPOND: Do respond to the ideas
your child expresses verbally or in writing. Make it clear that you are interested
in the true function of writing which is to convey ideas. This means focusing
on "what" the child has written, not "how" it was written. It's usually wise
to ignore minor errors, particularly at the stage when your child is just
getting ideas together.
- DON'T YOU WRITE IT!: Don't write
a paper for your child that will be turned in as his/her work. Never rewrite
a child's work. Meeting a writing deadline, taking responsibility for the
finished product, and feeling ownership of it are important parts of writing
well.
- PRAISE: Take a positive approach
and say something good about your child's writing. Is it accurate? Descriptive?
Thoughtful? Interesting? Does it say something?
THINGS TO DO
- MAKE IT REAL: Your child needs
to do real writing. It's more important for the child to write a letter to
a relative than it is to write a one-line note on a greeting card. Encourage
the child to write to relatives and friends. Perhaps your child would enjoy
corresponding with a pen pal.
- SUGGEST NOTE-TAKING: Encourage
your child to take notes on trips or outings and to describe what (s)he saw.
This could include a description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip,
or other events that lend themselves to note-taking.
- BRAINSTORM: Talk with your child
as much as possible about his/her impressions and encourage the child to describe
people and events to you. If the child's description is especially accurate
and colorful, say so.
- ENCOURAGE KEEPING A JOURNAL: This
is excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings.
Encourage your child to write about things that happen at home and school,
about people (s)he likes or dislikes and why, things to remember or things
the child wants to do. Especially encourage your child to write about personal
feelings--pleasures as well as disappointments. If the child wants to share
the journal with you, read the entries and discuss them--especially the child's
ideas and perceptions.
- WRITE TOGETHER: Have your child
help you with letters, even such routine ones as ordering items from an advertisement
or writing to a business firm. This helps the child to see firsthand that
writing is important to adults and truly useful.
- USE GAMES: There are numerous
games and puzzles that help a child to increase vocabulary and make the child
more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds
confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms de-
signed especially for children. Flash cards are good, too, and they're easy
to make at home.
- SUGGEST MAKING LISTS: Most children
like to make lists just as they like to count. Encourage this. Making lists
is good practice and helps a child to become more organized. Boys and girls
might make lists of their records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture
in a room, etc. They could include items they want. It's also good practice
to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social events,
and other reminders.
- ENCOURAGE COPYING: If a child
likes a particular song, suggest learning the words by writing them down--replaying
the song on your stereo/tape player or jotting down the words whenever the
song is played on a radio program. Also encourage copying favorite poems or
quotations from books and plays.
OERI's strategies for helping children
learn to write well are helping youngsters throughout the country. We hope they
will help your child.
This brochure is
in the public domain. Feel free to photocopy or reprint it.
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