The most frequent question I get asked by parents about writing is “How can I get my student to want to write on their own”. It’s a valid question, as we all know the more practice a student gets in writing, the more comfortable they will be with it and the more confident their writing will become.
First you need to identify the mental roadblocks that any given student may have at one time. They may be hesitant to share ideas for fear of being ridiculed; they may fear their grammar or spelling is not good enough, or most commonly they may not know where to start.
As a one of the main people in the support system for your student you need to put the student in a frame of mind that no idea, no matter how crazy or half formed is unwelcome. Break down any popular story for them to see how “silly” it might be. For example, Star Wars is simply the story of a farm boy who teams up with two robots, an old magician, and a space pirate whose sidekick is Bigfoot, who all go on an adventure into outer space.
If your student’s main obstacle is fear of their own mastery of spelling or grammar, let them know that the main idea is to get the ideas down on paper and that all corrections can be made later. Try to resist employing spell check on the first attempt. Let them know that you would like the students to spell out words as best they can.
A very common obstacle is many students don’t know where to begin. This is where using a common writing style can come in play and can help the creativity to flow. I will list a number of ways you can help frame your student’s ideas into an interesting writing piece:
Advertisements
Write an advertisement for a favorite, movie, book, toy, cereal, or anything else you like. Come up with reasons that would make a customer want to purchase your product or watch your program. What type of person would be interested in what you are selling? Is it for everyone? How much would it cost? And so on.
Interviews
Interview your favorite relative, or imagine an interview with your favorite movie monster, or someone from history. Ask them what their opinions are of life here in 2014 with iPad, smartphones, and microwavable popcorn. Think about how your subject would answer the question and have fun with it.
Newspaper Articles
Most newspaper articles break down into two categories:
News articles cover the basics of current events. They answer the questions: who, what, where, how, and when?
Feature articles are longer and more in depth than regular news articles. They cover one subject from multiple angles and are written in a more creative, entertaining format. Although a news story can be creative and entertaining, too!
It is important to remember that both news and features demand the same level of research and reporting. Scholastic News did a wonderful piece on student newspaper articles.
Writing Prompts
Sometimes a student’s mind just needs a small jumpstart to really get going. This jumpstart can come in the form of a Writing Prompt. Writing Prompts come in two forms, Picture writing prompts and traditional writing prompts.
Picture writing prompts work very well for younger students from kindergarten through early elementary school. It mainly consists of a stranger picture with no words. Such as a faucet pouring out jelly beans. I would ask the student to write what is happening in the picture and what might happen next. There are many websites devoted to this and most are free. One I like is Photoprompts.
Traditional Writing prompts lead the student to write on a specify topic. For example, imagine you had a hundred dollars, but you couldn't keep it. You had to give it away to a person or charity. Who would you give it to? What would you want them to do with it? These provide a great framework for your student to be creative in. I like to use the Super Teacher Worksheets.
Of course there are many more ways to encourage your students to write but these should give you a start. If you are still reading this I have to assume that you are serious about helping your student. There is one thing you can do that will give your student a better chance of succeeding. Sit down with the student and do the assignment with them. Show them you are willing to put the time in and that what you are asking them is not just some busy work. Put all electronics away if you can. Spend 30 minutes twice a week on this and before you know it your student will be asking you when it’s time for the next writing activity. You might even enjoy the time yourself. In the end have fun with it and above all else, keep writing.
