There is an important correlation between writing and language development. Learners often develop listening skills first, then speaking, then reading, and lastly writing. Writing requires a large amount of language processing in order to produce a message.
Writing Jar
Many learners perceive writing as a chore. Make it fun with a writing jar! Grab a jar or a container and fill it with a variety of prompts. Make them creative, fun, silly, serious, thought provoking, etc. The idea is to have a big range of prompts. Use them as a daily journal activity or as a way to teach the writing process: brainstorm, first draft, revisions, final draft. Have fun!
Cinquain Poems
Cinquain poems offer great flexibility and help the learner focus on parts of speech. The basic formula is:
One noun
Two adjectives
Three gerunds (words + ing)
A short sentence.
A one-word summary
Organize Your Thoughts
Use the hamburger writing graphic organizer to help organize the learner’s thoughts when writing a paragraph.
Ask Questions Through Family Discussions
Discuss with your learner about places you visit, work you do, books you read or TV shows you watch together. Talk to your learner about their ideas for writing. In order to write about something your learner needs to be able to talk about it first. Ask specific questions about your child’s writing such as, “How did that happen?”, “How did that make you feel?”, or “Can you tell me more about that?”
Encourage Your Child to Keep a Reflective Journal
Have them write about their personal feelings, pleasures and disappointments. Parents, share your own feelings and ideas paired with positive feedback about your learner’s writing.
Start a Vocabulary Notebook
Use a vocabulary sheet to teach your learner new words each week and encourage him/her to use them. Make it into a game and give points for using the new words.