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Courtney
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| Posted: Sept 07 2007 at 4:04pm | IP Logged
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I posted this last Monday and had 26 views but no responses. Anyone??
My dd is almost 10. She is the type that will go to her room and write a story or a poem for fun. However, I haven't really given her writing "assignments" yet. Yesterday we started a study of North American Indians and I had her write out a narration of a couple of paragraphs that we had read. How much should I be requiring of her to write? I'm having that same kind of panic that I did before my dc learned to read: what if she never learns to write a report or paper!
Any thoughts? I don't want to discourage her creative writing process by all of the sudden requiring her to write every narration. Thanks for your help and insight!
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Courtney in Texas
Wife to Mike since 3/94 
Mom to Candace 10/97 ,Christopher 4/00 and Connor 11/11
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juliecinci
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| Posted: Sept 07 2007 at 4:11pm | IP Logged
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Courtney, you might want to try some freewriting (don't worry about reports at her age - she's young).
Here's a link to the philosophy of freewriting. You can also try the Keen Observation exercise.
What you want to do now is to help her to find a way to use that creativity to express what she's learning. Don't be afraid to let her write about the Indians using a fictional writing style or description or making up a story using the facts she's learning. All of this will help her as she heads toward academic writing (which is meant to be learned late junior high/early high school). Right now, you want her to want to write and to enjoy it as a means of communicating her ideas, passions, interests and learning.
HTH,
Julie (from Brave Writer)
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Julie
Homeschooling five for fourteen years
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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Sept 07 2007 at 4:24pm | IP Logged
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Coutney, how wonderful that she will write on her own initiative! It shows that writing is enjoyable for her, and that is half the battle!
I would definitely not have her write out every narration, as it will likely diminish her joy of reading and writing.
I might suggest choosing one piece of writing that she had already done freely, like a journal entry, and revise it. I am using the "Writer's Workshop" method with my ds which basically takes the writer through the entire writing process: brainstorming/planning/choosing a topic, drafting, revising, editing, and finally publishing their piece.
I recommend a nifty little handbook called Writer's Inc to serve as a guide for YOU as you guide your daugher into good writing. Writer's Inc outlines the writer's process with lots of great checklists of what to look for in good writing, and plenty of basic how-tos, like how to write a good paragraph, sentence, essay, etc.
I would also look over what she is currently writing on her own and critique it (without her present) for the areas she needs to improve on. How's her grammar? Her word choices...does she use descriptive language? Is she using paragraphs? Is her content focused and organized or does she ramble? Analysing her work will give you some idea of where to focus when attempting to have her revise and edit.
And also, giving her an opportunity to "publish" her work might be good motivation to work on her writing skills. Some ideas might be to publish on a blog, in an email to family and friend, bound in a pretty book, read aloud at a family gathering, or a collection of pieces as a Christmas gift.
Here's an article on the Writer's Workshop Method as used in a classroom, but could be adapted for the home. HTH!
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Courtney
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| Posted: Sept 07 2007 at 7:38pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Julie. I actually have subscribed to the Arrow this year and have been using that for dictation. She loves doing that.
Today for the first time we did a freewrite. She absolutely adores our cat, so she wrote about him. My son (7) wrote about chess. I especially enjoyed this exercise for him b/c he doesn't ever write anything! He gets so hung up on not knowing how to spell. I set the timer for 5 minutes and they both wrote the whole time. My dd then asked if they could do it everyday! I hate to say it, but I bought Writer's Jungle last year and am just now really using it! If the goal now is for her to enjoy writing, then I guess we're on our way! Hopefully, my ds will continue to like it, too!
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Courtney in Texas
Wife to Mike since 3/94
Mom to Candace 10/97,Christopher 4/00 and Connor 11/11
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Courtney
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| Posted: Sept 07 2007 at 7:40pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Shawna. You made some great suggestion! She started a story last year that she hasn't finished. I might have her pull that out and continue working on it. I agree that writing out each narration may beat her down a bit!
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Courtney in Texas
Wife to Mike since 3/94
Mom to Candace 10/97,Christopher 4/00 and Connor 11/11
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Writing...again
