<p>Writing well is one of the most important skills for college and professional success. Hence, what did you do (now and during their early years) to help your children become good writers?</p>
<p>Did you ever make them do additional writing assignments (in addition to the ones that they do for school)?</p>
<p>Did you buy grammar books and make them work through them? </p>
<p>Did you make them keep journals or diaries? Please feel free to share any anecdotes.</p>
<p>Easy-- we talked to him and we read to him and when he was old enough, we provided him with lots of material to read.</p>
<p>My Dh and I read to our kids when they were very young, and encouraged reading. We like to read, so there was modeling as well. I honestly believe that good writers begin as avid readers.
My Dd was a natural writer from a very early age. She still is, and would be content to just write professionally if she could support herself. My son didn’t really enjoy writing, and through middle school he would do just what he needed to get by with an A, even if it wasn’t his best. Feeling as you do, and not liking how son was able to ace his classes without working hard or improving, we moved him to a private high school, where his writing improved by leaps and bounds because his teachers expected more.<br>
But no, we never asked either kid to write at home (except the expected thank-you notes), but we always encouraged reading, read to them, and discussed books in our home. I think that’s key.</p>
<p>Natural ability is the first aid. Then- READ! The more a child is exposed to literature of all kinds the more s/he learns about how people write. And will be exposed to good grammar et al. Not all reading has to be “good” literature but expose your child to more than offered at his/her school and grade level. Include nonfiction as well as classics. For young children include child friendly versions. Make your local library an at least weekly destination, with taking home ten or more books of both fiction/nonfiction encouraged.</p>
<p>Sometimes students, especially gifted ones, will be paralyzed by fears of imperfection and not want to commit ideas to paper. Allow opportunities to make mistakes. Allow for silliness. Allow for single interest phases- eg science fiction, mysteries or romances. Sneak in the great literature of chosen genres. Never try to limit the reading choices (beyond “R” ratings type of parental discretion). Allow books that disagree with your religious/philosophical beliefs. Include nonfiction in many diverse fields. Include math and science, politics, history- books in all of the Dewey Decimal categories. Include websites with good writing.</p>
<p>Make reading and writing a pleasurable activity.</p>
<p>PS- cross posted with above two posts as I was composing mine.</p>
<p>Never did anything other than what was required in their nightly homework, other than read, read, read to them, from a very, very young age and way through the age they could read on their own. Showed that reading (and thus writing) were big priorities in education.</p>
<p>I think some kids are natural expository writers, some are creative writers. One thing they both have in common is that they read all the time when they were very young and still read today I will say that a good teacher can make an incredible difference. My daughter’s teacher last year in 5th grade, was an incredible writing teacher. While my daughter has always been a good writer, she helped her get to the next level. She actually received a perfect score on all of writing portions of her state tests which is unheard of. I attribute much of this to her teacher. Her current middle school English teacher said that she can easily identify the children who had my daughter’s teacher. Their writing is superior to the other kids who came from other schools.</p>
<p>I agree with the previous posters that the early foundation was laid by reading aloud to my kids from their earliest ages and having alot of print in our home… books, newspapers, magazines. Also, having conversations with them- not just giving directions.</p>
<p>My DS2 is a junior in high school and his writing has improved dramatically this year because his AP Language Composition teacher is an excellent writing teacher.</p>
<p>One thing that helped my daughter was getting honest criticism. Peer criticism was useless and teachers just gave her an “A” and wrote “Good” on her paper. She needed to know more than that. She took distance ed writing classes from CTY and thought that the feedback she got there was really valuable. (They are expensive, though.)</p>
<p>She also found a group of friends who liked writing when she did NaNoWriMo…</p>
<p>Echo those who mentioned to read a lot, especially books at or slightly above your grade level. </p>
<p>One thing for parents/teachers to NOT do is something one harsh HS English teacher did when she said, “The writing process must be an endlessly painful one for one to become a great writer. If it is enjoyable/effortless, you’re doing something wrong”. </p>
<p>That statement turned off so many HS classmates in that English class from continuing to like writing and/or to continue it as a pastime. While it didn’t discourage me, I felt her statement is so wrongheaded. Especially considering there is some subjectivity over what constitutes “good writing”.</p>
<p>Yes, lots of fun reading. My son’s motor skills couldn’t keep up with his ideas at first, so I let him dictate to me for some assignments (with teacher’s permission). He made up a great Sherlock Holmes in the US mystery and big travel journals. If he’d had to write it all, not so much would have come out. But the ideas were all his and he’d illustrate them. He was a naturally good speller, so his 3/4 grade teacher let him write whatever he wanted instead of doing the spelling homework. He’d write about unusual plants and animals and do illustrations.</p>
<p>Agree with everyone who said to make reading a priority in your home. BUT let your kiddos read without judgement. D1 was all about the classic children’s books (Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, etc.) but D2 was all about the funny and loved Captain Underpants, Amelia Bedelia, and Junie B. Jones. Fast forward 10 years and she’s just asked me to renew an academic literary journal subscription.</p>
<p>D2 was blessed with wonderful elementary school teachers who encouraged her writing abilities and we parents looked for supplemental writing activities that she enjoyed. But we never pushed the grammar type things; we looked for activities where she could meet other kids who liked to write & where she could enjoy writing. </p>
<p>D1 is a good academic writer, but she never pursued writing activities outside of the classroom. But she’s read an amazing number of books. Puts her librarian mom to shame.</p>
<p>Both kids are good writers- sometimes a lot better than others. I think good teachers & honors classes were our magic bullet, than add in self confidence (they don’t get hung up worrying about perfection) and last, they do read, but not as much as I would like them too. After they finished Harry Potter series and others of interest, they had a hard time picking a new book. I the summertime I would pay them $10 a book (provided I didn’t have to purchase the book). Whatever it took to keep them motivated.</p>
<p>When my kids were small they’d dictate stories and I’d write them down and they would illustrate them. But once real schooling started they were not as interested. Like others the real foundations were real conversations and letting them read anything they liked and lots of reading out loud to them, so that they could get real stories before they were able to read fluently themselves. I read a lot of children’s books myself and demonstrated how important I thought reading and book ownership was by becoming involved in the Reading is Fundamental program at our school. My oldest hates writing, but was competent, youngest is in a writing intensive major.</p>
<p>Lots of books to read, reading or telling stories at bedtime, we also had books & storytellers on tape.</p>
<p>Reading alone, no matter how much, wouldn’t make a good writer out of a kid. I suspect natural ability has much to do with it. I’d like to hear how to help a kid be a better writer. Are there any writing courses offered by authors to kids at various ages somewhere?</p>
<p>We have something called The Young Writers Project in VT that encourages kids to write and gets them published locally. I’m not sure it teaches them.</p>
<p>We have the Young writers project here too.
There are also different literary publications which accept work from teens.
My oldest really liked to write in k-12 & had several pieces published.
But for some kids becoming a good writer is a steeper learning curve.
Reading good & bad writing of all kinds is also the most effective way I know to improve writing. My oldest may have started writing earlier, but she also taught herself to read when she was three. My youngest has dyslexia and she didnt read till she was eight, so naturally she was also still struggling with writing, but now can be quite a compelling writer.
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<a href=“http://www.newpages.com/npguides/young_authors_guide.htm[/url]”>http://www.newpages.com/npguides/young_authors_guide.htm</a></p>
<p>The others have nailed it: Read. Read. Read.</p>
<p>That’s a tough question, which I continue to struggle with. S is currently in 10th grade. S creates incredible narrative essays and descriptive essays but is weak with expository essays and persuasive essays. For his ability in the former, he has had teachers who have required him to submit daily writing (5 mins) of whatever comes to mind starting around 5th grade; he is also funny, and read comics such as Calvin and Hobbs and fun books over and over. </p>
<p>S struggles with expository and persuasive essays despite being at small, private schools with excellent english teachers with multiple office hour sessions. In 7th grade, he did a essay writing summer class at Elite which helped a lot, but still he has great gaps in his logic and analysis. I myself am a poor writer and struggle with writing medical manuscripts for scientific journals. Lately, I’ve been looking up on the internet how to write persuasive essays (and asking D teach me also) and have been trying to teach him what I’ve learned. I’ve seen some improvement. If he reaches a block or plateau, then I may consider tutoring. (I also looked into the JHUCTY essay class that a previous poster described, but S didn’t want to take it.)</p>
<p>Lastly, to be a good writer, one has to write often.</p>
<p>Reading helps - but writing really is a different process. My DDs were lucky to have a strong writing base in elementary school, and very rigorous writing instruction in HS. </p>
<p>Lots of writing helps. If DCs classes do not requires journal writing then perhaps journaling on their own. For formal papers they need to have a method and basic rules they understand and follow, particularly as they are starting out. How to write a good thesis statement and paragraph, how to use at least three examples and evidence to prove their thesis, how to write a conclusion that is not repetitive, and that most good expository papers have that organization. They need to know and use correct grammar and how to cite and quote sources. In general the most valuable lesson my Ds learned was the importance of engaging and bringing something new to the material rather than just summarizing what they had read or discussed.</p>
<p>Ultimately effective detailed criticism is the best way to learn to write. If DC does not get that from teachers, then you need to find it elsewhere. I had to fill that gap for D2 when her middle school teachers just plastered an A on anything she wrote regardless of quality. I edited the papers myself, and required her to do at least two drafts of anything she turned in. Her HS required that and more.</p>
<p>There are likely summer writing programs to learn the basics - although many tend toward creative writing. There are probably also some books on writing methods. But really it practice, practice, practice and a good writing mentor (teacher, tutor, parent, peer) who can provide detailed feedback.</p>