What is Relevant Writing and How Do I Teach It?

Many of my students' parents and readers of my blogs have commented on a phrase that I use "relevant writing."  This idea encompasses the thought that relating writing to what children are already learning makes the most sense. It's the difference between treating writing as a life skill rather than an academic subject. 

I taught first grade in a private school for several years. Although it's a wonderful age to teach, I was often frustrated by the writing assignments from our language arts curriculum. I wondered if the authors ever actually worked with young children. The assignments often required students to think of original material with very little direction. Children at that age have lived a very limited life. How many original ideas could a first grader possibly have? The way I solved the problem was to adapt the writing assignments so they related to other material that we had been reading and experiencing. I used the same method when I taught my own children, and others, to write as a homeschool mom.

Relevant Writing Strategies You Can Use in Your Homeschool

• As you plan activities in other subject areas, such as science and history, combine writing with specific concepts from those subjects. Have your child retell a historical event in writing or explain a science concept. 
• Utilize activities such as field trips, family vacations and other special events as writing opportunities. Be sure to create specific assignments rather than general ideas like "Describe the field trip" or "Write about our family vacation."
• Choose assignments that are developmentally appropriate for your child.
  
• Make sure you and your child have a clear understanding of the goals of the writing assignment before starting. Writing assignments make more sense when students know what is expected.
  
•  Vary the length and depth of writing assignments. Every written assignment doesn't have to be a report or essay. Shorter writing assignments can often serve the purpose, cause less student stress and make it easier for you to grade.
• When assigning longer assignments, such as reports, break it down into parts such as notes, thesis statement, outline and multiple drafts.
• Consider giving your child multiple options for writing assignments. Students often feel more empowered and eager to complete work when they have choices. No more than three choices will alleviate undo pressure for most students.
• Give your student's written work as much attention when grading as you expect him or her to give it when writing. Discuss the writing, both positives and negatives, and allow for more than one draft, if needed. Encourage your child to improve his or her writing without demanding perfection with every assignment. Keep in mind that writing is a process that improves with practice and additional skill level.

If you view writing as a life skill and not a series of lessons or an academic subject, you'll transfer that perspective to your child as you teach. If it is a burden and hardship for you, if you can't see it as an essential life skill, your child will view it that way as well.

Happy Teaching!

Writing Questions Parents Ask

I often receive emails from homeschool parents with questions about writing. In my classes, I encourage my students to ask questions in front of the whole class because often other students benefit from the answers. With that philosophy in mind, I thought I'd devote my early blog posts, starting today, to sharing the answers I have given to parent questions. I have adapted some of my answers to be more beneficial to the general parenting public and of course, I am not revealing any personal information about parents doing the asking.

If you have a question about teaching your child to write, please don't hesitate to ask. I don't have all of the answers but I'll be happy to try and help!

Diagramming Sentences - Is this a valuable writing skill?

This question came from the mom of a middle school student. She tends to be literature based in her teaching and I think she was struggling with work that might seem more like "busy" rather than fruitful. Good question in my book!

I have a history with diagramming sentences, so I may be carrying some baggage here. :) I remember spending much time in grammar class working on those diagrams. I even vividly remember the textbook cover and the page layout. I dreaded those assignments although I generally aced them. Honestly, I dreaded most grammar lessons. Probably sounds funny coming from a professional writer and educator. However, if I hadn't taken creative writing in 10th grade, I would've left high school despising English. Once I realized the value and beauty of putting words together in a manner that flowed and demonstrated my ideas, I loved writing. All of that grammar never really translated over for me. In fact, I am not very good with grammar rules to this day. I have to use a grammar resource for tough student questions. Yet, I do know when writing is right and when it's wrong, in most cases. It just makes sense to me because I had a teacher who made it make sense.

As an educator, I am not a fan of diagramming sentences except in the rare case that it helps a specific child visualize how to use different parts of speech and construct various sentences. I do think that particular case is rare because I have found that my students who spent time diagramming before attending my classes are generally no better at constructing intelligent sentences than students who did not diagram. It's like memorizing the parts of speech and reciting their definitions. You might understand that an adjective modifies a noun, but if you don't practice using adjectives and reading well written literature utilizing adjectives, that definition won't help your writing.

I sort of think of diagramming sentences as a way of turning writing into math. Writing is one of the most unique skills you can learn. It involves both subjective and objective evaluation. That is the main reason most parents don't enjoy or feel confident evaluating their children's writing. Diagramming sentences have a right or wrong answer, they're easy to grade (assuming you can read your child's diagrams) and may demonstrate some level of skill. Unfortunately, they don't demonstrate whether your child can or will be able to effectively create a sentence.

With so many "writing" programs out there focusing on completing grammar pages, including diagramming sentences, I think that parents are astonished to find that after years of practicing such skills in isolation, their children still don't write well or want to write. That is due to the fact that you can understand grammar without understanding how to utilize it in writing. Few children naturally make the transition from workbook page to paragraph development.

I know there are plenty of educators and home school parents who disagree, but my experience, over twenty years of it, supports my point. I learn to teach better from watching how my students learn and I never used a grammar workbook, worksheets or had my children or students diagram sentences. Amazingly, many of them have turned out to be outstanding writers. I don't believe in luck, so praise God for His blessings on my classes.

Next blog...if not worksheets and workbooks, how do I teach writing? This is one of the most common questions I receive. See you next time with the answer! 

God bless,