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Tips for Parents to Encourage Student Writing
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Coach – don’t write – for your child. Question,
listen, and talk about writing together. Students need to do their own
drafting, revising, and editing with you at the sidelines.
Look first for what is done well in the writing
and offer praise. Writing is a challenging task. Children need
encouragement to be successful.
When working with your child, focus on ideas and
content first. Save editing until the ideas are clear, complete, and
focused.
Listen attentively as your child reads writing to
you.
Encourage even the youngest writers to “read”
their writing aloud whether it is scribbles, drawings, or strings of
letters. Talk about the story.
Build a climate of words at home. Go places and
see things with your child, then talk about what has been seen, heard,
smelled, tasted, touched. The basis of good writing is good talk, and
younger children especially grow into stronger control of language
when loving adults -- particularly parents -- share experiences and
rich talk about those experiences.
Read aloud to your children – no matter the age.
Discuss good examples of writing from newspapers, magazines, poetry,
descriptions from travel brochures, and instructions on toys, games.
Read from fiction and non-fiction.
Let your child SEE you write.
Share your own writing with your children. Ask
for their feedback on your effort.
Provide a suitable place for children to write. A
quiet corner is best, the child's own place, if possible. If not, any
flat surface with elbow room, a comfortable chair, and a good light
will do.
Give the child, and encourage others to give, the
gifts associated with writing (special pencils, desk lamp, pads of
paper, stationery, envelopes, diary/daily journal, dictionary,
thesaurus and erasers).
Share letters from friends and relatives. Treat
such letters as special events. Urge relatives and friends to write
notes and letters to the child, no matter how brief. Writing is
especially rewarding when the child gets a response. When thank-you
notes are in order, after a holiday especially, sit with the child and
write your own notes at the same time. Writing ten letters (for ten
gifts) is a heavy burden for the child; space the work and be
supportive.
Turn off the TV.
Visit the library.
Read, read, read! Better readers make better writers!
Source: Writing Resources