Teacher and Homeschool Writing Blog » Motivating Writers

New Book: How to Teach Writing

Judith Darling — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:55:07 +0000

The new book I have been working on is almost finished. It is taking a bit longer because I decided to add a poetry section. It is a genre that children love once they get into it, and is a nice addition. The book discusses the real reasons children hate writing, and why teachers do not like to teach writing. It addresses ways to make teaching writing much easier for parents and teachers, and it provides ideas to make writing fun and challenging for children. We are hoping to get it to the printers soon and have it available by fall.

A fellow teacher and dear friend came for a visit, and read the book in its entirety. She remarked that the book is so needed because it really addresses the problem of teaching writing for everyone involved. She agreed that the poetry unit would be a great addition, and helped me gather materials and write it. It is certainly nice to have a fellow master teacher give feedback and lend a hand.

Holiday Writing Idea

Judith Darling — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:47:02 +0000

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.

Writing Every Day

Judith Darling — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:29:32 +0000

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.

Self-Directed Learning

Judith Darling — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:06:30 +0000

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.

Writing Workshop Follow-up

Judith Darling — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:43:22 +0000

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.

Writing Tip: Emphasize Content Rather Than Mechanics

Judith Darling — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:15:23 +0000

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.

Writing Environment Is Important

Judith Darling — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:51:32 +0000

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.

Writing Tip #1 – Picking a topic to write about.

Judith Darling — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:03:01 +0000

Picking a topic that is within a child or student’s bank of knowledge is key in motivating them to write. If there is not a bank of knowledge, then the parent or teacher ends up doing all the thinking for the student and that is not the goal. This is especially crucial when working with elementary students or a reticent writer, so you must try to think of topics that the child knows something about and is interested in. This alleviates the “I don’t know what to write, or I can’t think of anything,” response when the student is asked to write. If you are having trouble coming up with topics or prompts and don’t know quite how to proceed once you have the prompt, it might be worth your time to take a look at our creative writing book. It is designed to make writing an independent and fun experience that does not require parental guidance, because the entire writing process is explained to the student in such a way that it is easy to understand and do.