November 16th, 2009 by Judith Darling
I am happy to say I survived H1N1 and lived to tell about it. It wasn’t so bad, but the residual cough is driving me crazy! Our daughter and grandsons also had it and it is much more virulent in children. Our five year old grandson ended up with pneumonia and had to take antibiotics and steroids, so if your children are prone to respiratory problems, such as asthma, they should be watched carefully. Our grandson does have asthma.
During my confinement from the flu and while taking care of the boys I was unable to work on my book, so I am steadily falling behind, so I guess I will have to set aside some serious writing time during the holidays to get back on track. Will I do it? That remains to be seen. Anyway, talking about the holidays brings me to why I am writing this post and that is a wonderful, long term writing assignment.
AN ILLUSTRATED FAMILY TRADITION HOLIDAY BOOK
1. Ask your child or children to brainstorm ideas about holiday family traditions that they enjoy.
2. Have them pick their favorite one.
3. Ask them to write the family tradition in story form including the introduction, body, and conclusion.
4. Edit the story and correct, then break the story down into sections so that each section will be a page in the book.
5. Write each section on a separate piece of white paper. Most students choose to write each story section at the bottom of the page so they have room for their illustrations.
6. Once the story is sectioned out onto separate pieces of white paper the student can begin to illustrate their story.
7. When the story is completely written and illustrated make a cover sheet stating the title of the story and be sure to put: Written and Illustrated by. Then illustrate the cover.
8. Bind the pages together by stapling, putting in a binder, or folder or in whatever manner you and your child choose.
9. My students would give this book as a family present which parents and grandparents loved.
Good luck and enjoy the finished product.
Tags: Fun Writing Topics, Holiday Writing Activity, Homeschool Writing, Motivating Writers, Teaching Writing
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August 31st, 2009 by Judith Darling
Introduce writing on the first day of school, whether it is in a home school classroom or in the public classroom. Students need to know from the onset that they will be expected to write every day. A good beginning of the year writing assignment would be for students to write something about themselves. To make the assignment much easier for parents and teachers, I have attached a pdf. The pdf includes the brainstorming sheet and the paragraph organizer
Give the brainstorm sheet to the student and ask them to fill it out.
Next give the student the paragraph organizer to fill out.
Once the students have filled out the paragraph organizer have them write a rough draft and have a peer or parent edit it.
Next have them write their final paper.
If you are teaching a group or class of children, instruct them to not put their name anywhere on the story. Once each student has completed their final paper, ask them to draw a picture of themselves in the situation they described. They could also including some clues about themselves and things they are interested in, in the picture. Example: Draw a picture of yourself with a soccer ball or baseball glove and bat, or draw yourself in a mall shopping, or with your favorite musical instrument. Once everyone has turned in their papers with pictures of themselves, hang them up around the room and instruct parents to find their child’s paper from the story they wrote and the picture they drew.
Even if you are teaching one child, ask them to draw a picture of themselves to go with the story including things they are interested in, and then see if family members can remember the event.
Good luck and let me know if the pdf helped. I know this was a favorite assignment with students and parents alike.
Tags: Back-to-school, Beginning Of The Year Writing Idea, Fun Writing Topics, Graphic Organizer, Homeschool Writing, Self-Directed Learning, Teaching Writing, Writing Curriculum
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August 21st, 2009 by Judith Darling
It was nice meeting and talking to so many interesting parents during the 2009 home school conferences. I enjoyed doing all of the workshops and presentations and hope that those of you that attended were able to take home ideas and information that will help make the 2009/2010 year a good one.
Next I am off on a home school group cruise to the Caribbean, School at Sea. It is from the 6th to the 13th of September, and I am really looking forward to it. I am going to do several presentations and a hands on writing workshop, and then spend the rest of the cruise working on the book I am currently writing, on how to teach writing. Maybe I will see some of you on the cruise. Check out my schedule on the home page to link to the cruise, if you are interested.
Tags: Homeschool Writing Workshops, Traveling and Talking
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August 19th, 2009 by Judith Darling
I just wanted to let you know that our blog was selected as one of the “100 Best Blogs for Homeschooling Moms.” I took a look and it is really a good place to go for information and resources. The address is http://www.onlineeducation.net/2009/08/16/100-best-blogs-for-homeschooling-moms/.
Tags: Homeschool Writing, Homeschooling
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July 29th, 2009 by Judith Darling
The application of grammar, punctuation, and parts of speech into writing is a long and often arduous task for teachers and parents alike. The most important thing to remember in motivating children to apply these skills is in having them do it often. It will not be learned by having one writing assignment a semester, or month, or week. Children need to be writing every day. How do you do that?
- As I mentioned in my last post, have a daily practice that includes a fun writing assignment.
- Have a creative writing assignment every week.
- Assign a long term essay or research paper to be worked on over time.
- Have students tell you about the book they are reading in a weekly letter.
- Do a quick speed writing lesson for fun.
These are some suggestions on how to get your student writing every day so they become comfortable with writing and begin applying the skills they have learned or are learning.
Tags: Grammar, Homeschool Writing, Motivating Writers, Teaching Writing, Writing Curriculum
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July 22nd, 2009 by Judith Darling
I am winding down from a whirlwind of summer home school conferences. Parents from across the country have expressed their frustrations about teaching the reluctant child writing. One way of motivating reluctant writers is to empower them by giving them freedom to write when and how they want, as long as the assignments are turned in on time. This can be done by giving the student or students their assignments on Monday with due dates for each assignment. Also on Monday, teach any new skills that will be used in assignments during the week, then allow the students to work when and however they choose, as long as they turn the work in when designated. An example week’s worth of assignments might look like this:
Assignments and due dates for week of September 7 – 11
- Daily Dazzle: Week #1 – due Friday
- Creative Writing: Lesson #1 – Brain storm and break into paragraphs – due Tuesday; Edited rough draft – due Wednesday; Final paper with grade on scoring guide and rough drafts attached – due Friday
- Vocabulary: Lesson #1 – Worksheets – due Wednesday; Study for test; Test – Friday
- Expository Writing: Reading Friendly letter – Log your reading and write a letter describing what you are reading using the elements of fiction – Due Friday
- Expository Writing: Research Paper – Form critical question and brainstorm topics – due Wednesday; Begin research and have at least one source with notes – due Friday
This is an example of what a week’s worth of language arts assignments might look like. Of course this is just an example, so there may not be as many assignments as I have shown due to age, ability, or skill level of students. Just remember that if you set the expectations and bar high, students will meet it. If your students are already motivated and want to be independent then just give them the assignments on Monday and say it is all due by Friday.
Tags: Homeschool Writing, Motivating Writers, Reluctant Writers, Self-Directed Learning, Teaching Writing
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May 13th, 2009 by Judith Darling
I have been remiss in keeping up with my blog because of traveling throughout April and May. I did, however, visit with the many home school parents that came to my workshops and stopped by my booth at the conferences I attended in Cincinnati, Alaska, and Texas. The main topic of our discussions was the application of writing and language arts into their children’s curriculum in a meaningful and enjoyable way. I kept hearing “My child hates to write, so what do I to motivate him or her?” We all know how difficult language arts and writing are to teach, and what works for some may not work for others, so I hope that the answers I provided at the conferences have helped. If you have questions about teaching and motivating your reluctant writer, leave a comment here.
Tags: Homeschool Writing Workshops, Motivating Writers, Traveling and Talking
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March 28th, 2009 by Judith Darling
I found as a teacher that the last weeks before summer vacation were the most fun because much of the stress of getting everything taught was over, but it was hard to come up with new topics for writing that my students would enjoy. One way that I would do that was to have my students pick their absolute favorite writing assignment of the year and add to it, elaborate more, and make improvements. It was exciting for me to see the changes from the first paper to the second one, and it was especially fun for my students because they got to pick an assignment they had already done and enjoyed, to work on. I encourage you to give it a try and let me know how it goes.
Tags: End Of Year Writing Ideas, Fun Writing Topics, Teaching Writing
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February 25th, 2009 by Judith Darling
The emphasis placed on grading a student’s paper directly reflects on how much writing they will do and on the quality of the writing they produce. If what is being said in the paper becomes more important than the mechanics, the student will be much more willing to write and the key is to get the them to write. Take the emphasis off of the mechanics and spend more time working on elaboration, and content. Help by providing a good dictionary and thesaurus and discussing how the student can make their writing more interesting and understandable. The student will feel more comfortable about writing and want to write more, which translates into a better writer. Practice really does make a difference.
Tags: Motivating Writers, Teaching Writing
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February 10th, 2009 by Judith Darling
Students will respond more positively to writing if the atmosphere/surroundings/environment is conducive to writing. How can you set up an area that makes the young writer feel like thinking and writing?
- Have quiet music playing that goes along with the theme of the writing assignment. Use music with a faster beat for exciting adventure stories. Use soft classical if the story is poignant or sad. Funny stories work well with upbeat fun songs such as “Yellow Submarine”.
- Make sure there is plenty of lighting and have as much natural light as possible.
- Have a comfortable area for thinking. The student should be able to pre-write in this space. A bean bag or soft cushion by a window or the fireplace in the winter and even outside when it is warm enough.
- Once the pre-writing is completed the student either sits at a computer, desk, or table to do the actual writing. Make sure they have all the materials needed for the job. Paper, pencils, pens, eraser, markers, crayons, etc.
- If there are several students or a classroom, encourage quiet discussion and peer editing. Feedback is a very good thing.
- Young brains need nourishment and a healthy snack, readily available, keeps the neurons snapping.
The more comfortable, inviting, and conducive to writing the environment is, the more successful the young writer will be.
Tags: Homeschool Writing, Motivating Writers, Self-Directed Learning, Teaching Writing
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