The Written Word
Do your kids like to write?
Homeschooling my two kids, I've seen firsthand their frustration in trying to put thoughts to paper. So far, the tears have only come one time.
My 5th grade son is in his second year of writing narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive essays. I thought he'd be an old hand at it by now, but he has to be pushed and pulled through the process. Somewhere in the middle of writing a paper, he'll start to give up, claiming to be overwhelmed.
Inevitably, the one-week writing assigment will turn into a three-week ordeal.
Like I said, the tears only came one time. Last year, in the middle of his research report on The History of Magic. It was my mistake, not helping him to narrow down that monumentally huge topic. He got through it, and the paper turned out well.
That's just the thing. His writing is very good. His grammar and spelling are mostly top-notch, his vocabulary is quite vivid, and he knows how to structure his paragraphs. But it's the actual transfer of ideas from brain to paper that slows him down. Way way down. It's like his brain is full of molasses and his thoughts have to swim in slow motion, and he's not patient enough to wait for them to surface.
I think my son would be happy to not have any writing assignments at all, preferring to just take short answer and multiple choice tests in history and literature, the subjects in which I have him do the most writing.
But that would be a shame for two reasons. First, when he finally does get the words out, they're usually clever and original. When you're good at something, keep working at it. Second, written communication is a vital skill in this world. You have to be clear and concise or people won't listen to what you have to say.
I tell my kids these two things all the time. Learning to write properly is just as important as memorizing the times tables. And it should be an automatic thing in their minds, like answering "56" when someone asks for the product of 8 times 7.
How about you? Do your kids like to write?
Homeschooling my two kids, I've seen firsthand their frustration in trying to put thoughts to paper. So far, the tears have only come one time.
My 5th grade son is in his second year of writing narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive essays. I thought he'd be an old hand at it by now, but he has to be pushed and pulled through the process. Somewhere in the middle of writing a paper, he'll start to give up, claiming to be overwhelmed.
Inevitably, the one-week writing assigment will turn into a three-week ordeal.
Like I said, the tears only came one time. Last year, in the middle of his research report on The History of Magic. It was my mistake, not helping him to narrow down that monumentally huge topic. He got through it, and the paper turned out well.
That's just the thing. His writing is very good. His grammar and spelling are mostly top-notch, his vocabulary is quite vivid, and he knows how to structure his paragraphs. But it's the actual transfer of ideas from brain to paper that slows him down. Way way down. It's like his brain is full of molasses and his thoughts have to swim in slow motion, and he's not patient enough to wait for them to surface.
I think my son would be happy to not have any writing assignments at all, preferring to just take short answer and multiple choice tests in history and literature, the subjects in which I have him do the most writing.
But that would be a shame for two reasons. First, when he finally does get the words out, they're usually clever and original. When you're good at something, keep working at it. Second, written communication is a vital skill in this world. You have to be clear and concise or people won't listen to what you have to say.
I tell my kids these two things all the time. Learning to write properly is just as important as memorizing the times tables. And it should be an automatic thing in their minds, like answering "56" when someone asks for the product of 8 times 7.
How about you? Do your kids like to write?
Permalink posted by Idaho Dad at 11:47 PM
14 Comments:
Phil,
Yes, writing is difficult and painful and frustrating at first, but it is critically important as you mention. My son hates to write. My daughter hates it less but would nevertheless prefer to write a short answer or bubble something.
I can't tell you how many CPAs, MBAs, college grads I've hired that could not write a business letter or technical memo to save their lives. Completely unacceptable.
Please persist and force your children to continue to practice. It will benefit them greatly later on.
All the best
Mine write on walls with spray tins lmfao....
X
Communication, as well as the ability to engage in it, are truly important. And it's easy to take the ability to communicate for granted.
I worked for an NGO for several years, and the son of one of our office staff used sign language (he could neither hear nor speak) all the time. Seeing him and interacting with him (and sometimes feeling frustrated when I couldn't get what he was trying to say) made me appreciate the fact that I had my hearing and speech faculties intact; he also made me realize how much nonsense or sometimes uncharitable words come out of me -- what a way to use God-given gifts. And some people weren't as fortunate! So since then I kind of appreciated more my ability to communicate (specifically my ability to speak) and have tried to improve in terms of public speaking and even in simply articulating my ideas in everyday conversations.
I wonder if there's a similar way your son would get to see his ability to write in a new light. After all, when you realize what others don't have, you tend to appreciate what you do have :-)
Did you catch the K12 online seminar yesterday that talked about the balance between talent and practice, as well as giving your kids the 'gift of struggle'? To make the long seminar short, you're probably keeping your son right in the sweet spot where he will make the most progress.
My first-grade son was refusing to write much at the beginning of the year because he doesn't know how to spell words. Also, he often just doesn't know what to say, which is funny, because he already talks more than most radio show hosts.
But he's improving rapidly. I often remind Seth to just say something out loud and then write it down. Now he's writing more on each assignment.
Funny you should write a post on kids writing. I think it is very important and have one that can do it at a keyboard better than writing it on paper as the thoughts come so quickly...I just posted an essay that my daughter had to write for school. Check it out if you like. I enjoy your blog..
Out of curiosity, what type of planning does he do? One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is finding the methods that work best for my kid, and not having to force her into some pre-planned structure.
Have you looked into mind-mapping, webbing, and the like? I find these types of tools invaluable in my own writing - and I've been writing for almost 30 years.
I was going to suggest graphic organizers but pdxdad beat me to it. My oldest is very visual and without a "picture" of what she writing she gets very frustrated. It isn't because the thoughts are slow. She has so many ideas and ways of saying things that she can't get them all organized and written. She's also very detail oriented and the details sometimes take over and overwhelm her.
Here's a link you can try if you think it might help.
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
He was using the web method to brainstorm and outline his papers, but now we're using the 4-square method, which he seems to like better. I think it gives him more structure than the web.
Four-Square Writing
I think a lot of kids struggle with writing, but I agree that it is worth it to persevere. The ability to clearly express your thoughts and ideas is a powerful tool, and you are equipping your kids to do great things.
My daughter didn't like writing very much up until the past year or so. One thing that has helped is interspersing the essays and reports with writing assignments that are more fun for her--she chooses the topic (video games or origami or whatever she's interested in at the time) and the content flows more from her natural interests, which she could talk about for hours.
One home schooling friend of mine has her son keep a blog and write in it every day for a certain amount of time. It's free writing, on whatever subject he chooses, and just the act of stringing together words and sentences seems to loosen up those writing muscles and get the juices flowing for his other assignments.
Zoe loves to write. Keeps a pen or pencil with her almost always. Mostly it's just little stories or thoughts but of late she's taken to expressing her feelings in written word. It's interesting to see the progression.
I'd say writing well is a lot more important than times tables, as it can give you pleasure.
I actually still don't know my times tables. part of my dyslexia is problems remembering numbers and ordered lists. I'm still not 100% on my months of the year I'm embarrassed to admit (the order, not the names). But I'm so glad I conquered writing.
Neither of my boys like to write. The oldest gets headaches just thinking about having to write. When we are doing our lessons I let him do some orally so that he's not so overwhelmed with all the writing. It's so important though, to learn to write well and how else are you going to learn but from practice.
Homeschooling is going okay. We are getting the hang of things and catching up from not getting our materials on time. It seems to get easier every day. Thanks for asking. And we are planning to go on the eagle cruise.
Homeschooled kids can become competent writers even if they don't practice writing formal essays. I believe that reading well written books and discussing ideas on a daily basis has a great positive impact on a person's writing skills. Of course they also need to practice expressing themselves in writing, but that can be accomplished informally through writing stories, emails, blogs, and posts on message boards.
I never required any formal writing from my sons during our homeschool years and both are consistently getting A's on their college papers. In fact my oldest son's English professor told him that he would make a great English teacher!
I would hate to see a child end up hating to write because it was required of them for years and years when it really wasn't necessary.
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