Three Key Strategies for Helping Children
Become Great Writers
Kris Meyers, PCI Certified Parent Coach®
www.beyondtheabcs.com
1. Getting a Good Idea
Whether someone is writing a newspaper article, a novel, a movie script, or a song, the writing process always begins with an idea. Then the author's "job" is to take that idea and develop it. "Ideas are the heart of the message, the content of the piece and the details that enrich the theme" (from the book Seeing With New Eyes, NWREL). When the ideas are strong, writing is easy to follow and things make sense. But most of all, good ideas make a piece of writing interesting to read.
Good writers know that the best ideas often come from everyday events and real-life experiences. They are good at noticing things others might not notice. They are also good at coming up with original thoughts and ideas, rather than just re-writing the same thing again and again or repeating something they saw on TV.
One way parents and teachers can help young children develop good ideas for writing is by first showing them how to pay attention and notice the details in their everyday world. For example, having a child stop to notice the exact color of the sky or the different shapes of the clouds gives them details they can use to make a picture or a piece of writing more interesting.
When adults read aloud to children, it is also helpful to talk about how the author might have gotten their idea for the story or book. For example, Virgina Lee Burton (author of Mike Mulligan and The Steam Shovel and other children's books) has said that she got her ideas by watching her son play with his trucks. Pointing out how "professional" authors get ideas helps children better understand the writing process.
Here are some more helpful phrases parents and teachers can use to encourage children to develop their own ideas when they are drawing and writing. These phrases will also help them better understand how writers think:
- Can you tell me more about that?
- What else could you add to make this really interesting?
- You are really good at noticing things.
- I can really picture what you are talking/writing about.
- I love that idea/topic! It makes me think about….
- How did you come up with such an original idea?
Remember, writing is much more than handwriting or spelling: writing is thinking. When children learn how to express their thoughts clearly when they write, they are able to be successful learners in school and beyond!
2. Choosing the Right Word
Truly accomplished writers do more than use fancy words. Good authors choose words that are rich, colorful, and precise, but they also know how to use everyday language in a natural way to touch the reader.
Children who are read to often when they are young develop a natural curiosity about words. They often experiment with words and phrases in playful ways and stretch themselves to use new words when they talk.
Adults may also notice that children often imitate words or phrases that they have heard in literature. Doing this shows an awareness of language that will help a child develop the ability to choose just the right word when they write.
Here are some more things to say to children to help them develop good word choice:
- This word/phrase goes well with this picture.
- I love how the author used the word ______ in this story!
- What was your favorite word in the story we just read?
- What do you think the word _______ means? Take a guess.
- Your picture makes me think of the word _____.
- When you said ______, I could really picture what you were talking about.
When children are beginning to write, adults can also introduce them to a thesaurus to help develop their interest and understanding about word similarities.
Remember, writing is much more than handwriting or spelling: writing is thinking. When children learn how to express their thoughts clearly when they write, they are able to be successful learners in school and beyond!
3. Writing with Your Child
Think about all the things you have written today. From emails and shopping lists to notes or a journal entry, we all write throughout our day to communicate with ourselves and others.
Today writing is a major part of the school curriculum, even for kindergarten students, primarily because growth in writing supports growth in reading (and vice versa). Children need to learn more than basic handwriting and spelling skills, they need to learn how to communicate and express their thoughts clearly in writing.
Children develop as writers through real life settings when they are encouraged to experiment and when they write together with parents and other caring adults on a regular basis. This doesn’Äôt mean that adults should tell children how to write everything perfectly, but it does mean adults should demonstrate how and why we write—just as when adults read to children, they are demonstrating how and why they read.
Here is an example of what a parent might say to when writing a shopping list with their child:
- Before we go to the store, we need to make a list.
- Can you help me think of the things we need to write on our list?
- Would you like to help me write some of the words for our list? (young children could also add pictures to the list)
- Let’Äôs read the list together and see if we forgot to write anything.
Remember, writing is much more than handwriting or spelling: writing is communicating. When children learn how to express their thoughts clearly when they write, they are able to be successful learners in school and beyond!
Kris Meyers, PCI Certified Parent Coach® lives, works, and learns with her husband and two young boys in southwestern Virginia. Please visit www.beyondtheabcs.com for more information. You can contact Kris at: meyerskm@beyondtheabcs.com.