Many students struggle to express their thoughts on paper when writing. Writing involves many components - spelling, capitalization, punctuation, organization, and sentence structure, amongst other elements. Developing stronger writing skills can help your child thrive in school. Try some of the ideas detailed below.
Brainstorm Before Writing
Before writing, students should always brainstorm their ideas. Brainstorming can be in the form of a web diagram, outline, or list - whatever works best for your child! Before writing a paragraph about how to throw a party, for instance, your child might start by drawing a circle in the center of a page and writing the words “how to throw a party” inside the circle. Then they might draw branches from that circle to three surrounding circles and write the following details inside each circle: “create an invite list,” “send out invitations,” and “plan the party details.” This brainstorm web sets the stage for writing a well-organized simple paragraph. Your child might also draw branches out of the detail bubbles with information supporting each detail, known as supporting details, setting the stage for an extended paragraph. Students can draw these types of web diagrams using a computer or tablet, and they can also write out their ideas in list or bullet form before writing. The key is to always brainstorm before writing. If they need continued help learning how to brainstorm their ideas before writing, virtual writing tutoring or in person writing tutoring may be helpful for them.
Write!
Once students have completed the brainstorm step, they should use that brainstorm structure to start writing. For example, a simple paragraph is comprised of a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a conclusion sentence. Using the “how to throw a party” topic above, students can use their brainstorm web to write the following simple paragraph:
Throwing a party is an easy process. First, create a list of people you want to invite. Next, send out the party invitations. Finally, plan the details for the party. Throwing parties can be a lot of fun!
Students can express their opinion in the conclusion sentence. Additionally, if they want to expand their writing, they can add three supporting detail sentences after each detail in their simple paragraph, adding nine new sentences - expanding their writing while maintaining its structure. This type of paragraph is known as an extended paragraph. The key is maintaining organization within their writing while elaborating on their ideas. Writing tutoring can help your child improve their ability to organize their thoughts on paper when writing. Learn more about helping your child build stronger writing skills at https://eblcoaching.com/help-your-child-build-stellar-writing-skills/.
Self-Check
It’s important that your child always self-checks their writing piece once they are finished. They might use a checklist like COPS for self-checking, which stands for Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, Spelling. They should check their writing for each of these elements individually, not all at once. For instance, once they are done writing, they should first look through their writing piece and make sure they properly capitalized all words that needed capitalization. Next, they should make sure they organized their writing in an effective manner. Then they should check for proper punctuation, and finally they should check for spelling. If they are unsure whether they spelled a word correctly, they might want to underline it and then look up the correct spelling later. They can even create a vertical checklist at the bottom of their writing page with a checkbox next to each letter in the acronym COPS, and check off each element after they check their writing. If your child still struggles with this process, writing tutoring can be helpful in teaching them how to effectively express their thoughts when writing. Learn more about helping your child have fun while strengthening their writing skills at https://eblcoaching.com/improve-your-childs-writing-skills-with-helpful-and-fun-activities/
Writing is one of the most important skills for school success. Teach your child these strategies for brainstorming, writing, and self-checking their ideas on paper, and you will help them to thrive academically.
Learn more about writing techniques at
https://eblcoaching.com/winning-writing-strategies/.
