Teaching Adjectives with a Wonderful Children's Book

More and more, I discover children who don't know their parts of speech or the relationships between words in writing. Many children can recite the definitions of the parts of speech and maybe even recognize them in isolation, but relating them to writing seems less obvious.Those of you who know me understand that I don't like to teach children skills just for the sake of teaching. I am all about the "why" do we need to teach or learn this? As a writing teacher, it's apparent to me that a full understanding of how words relate to one another creates a stronger writer. 

I came across a picture book this week that is ideal for teaching the relationship between nouns and adjectives. It's simple enough that you could use it for a younger child and fun enough to use with an older elementary student. Who knows? I might use it in my high school classes. :) I have used Dr. Seuss books in high school history and literature!

The book, The Woods, reflects a boy's imagination at bedtime. The adjectives are obvious enough that even younger readers can recognize them. They're so vital to the story that the value of adjectives in our language becomes a lesson in itself.

I used this book with one of my tutoring students. Using a simple chart I created, we pulled out the main nouns (bear, giant, cave, etc.). Then we went back through the book to find the adjectives that described each of the nouns. One wonderful aspect of this book is that there are several adjectives for each of the main nouns and the adjectives stand out in large and decorative fonts. Although a couple of the adjectives are repetitive, such as scary, we took the opportunity to discuss other words that we could use in place of the repeated adjectives. So, we dipped into synonyms while studying adjectives! Another way to use this book to teach about adjectives is to reread the story without any of the adjectives. Almost immediately, you realize why we write with adjectives.

The imagination of the main character appeals to many children and in the end, all of the scary creatures go to bed. The scariest character expresses how lonely he is and how he doesn't want to sleep alone in the cave. It provides a sweet story that is not commonly found in modern children's books.

Obviously, you can use any book to teach adjectives, but this book seems to be designed for just that job! If you'd like me to email you the chart I designed, just comment on this blog and make sure I have an email address for you. If you do use The Woods to teach your child adjectives or if you have another book that has worked for you, please share!

Happy Reading!
God bless,

Refer Your Friends! Save Money!

What would you do with an extra $100? Refer your friends to Classes by Beth and for every family you refer who signs up for at least one full year course, you'll receive a $25 discount up to $100. With the CBB registration deadline extended to the end of July, you still have time to save money! Easy ways to share CBB:

• Let your FB friends and Twitter followers know that you use CBB classes. 
• Share CBB with your homeschool group via email or at meetings. 
• Post a CBB avatar or link on your website.
• Like CBB on FB.
• Recommend CBB on forums and chat boards, such as The Homeschool Lounge.

Also remember, every family that signs up for CBB classes reduces the technology fee for everyone!

Homeschoolers are more likely to utilize classes and curriculum recommended by family and friends! Thank you for all of your support as CBB grows and improves.

God bless!

Three Ways to Help Your Child Succeed at CBB

I know many of you are planning for the coming school year! God gave us the most amazing opportunities and responsibilities when He blessed us with our children. He also provides everything we need to raise our children in a way that pleases Him. Every year, I am inspired by the work that God does in the lives of my children and the children I teach. He is so good! Read on to discover how, working together, we can offer your child a blessed learning experience.

1. VIEW TEACHERS AS PARTNERS
Whether you utilize the services of multiple teachers or just me, working together offers the greatest opportunity for your child's success. Specific ways you can work with me to make this a wonderful year for all of us include: 

• Maintain Contact: While I think it is most beneficial for students to be responsible for their classes, especially high schoolers, it is helpful to know how to reach parents when needed. If your contact information changes, especially your email address, please let me know. Also, be sure that the email address you provide is checked regularly. As well, if I do email or call, please respond in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, I will do the same in respect to contacting you.
• Keep Me Updated: While I certainly don't need details, it's better to let me know if there's a family issue that could be affecting your child's work. The earlier I know, the more support I can provide for your child. It's more difficult for everyone if you wait until an academic problem presents itself.
• Be Supportive: Your attitude toward the class will reflect in your child's attitude. The more supportive you are in your tone and actions toward my classes, the more confidence your child will have in me.

2. GUIDE YOUR CHILD
Many parents enroll their children in my courses to encourage them to become more independent learners. It's a great side effect of utilizing an outside teacher to work with your child. However, most students need some direction outside of class, especially if it's their first class online course. Ways that to help guide your child include:

• Make sure your child has all books and supplies before they're needed. It's not unusual for my literature students to attend class without a particular book because a parent didn't order it on time. It's a very uncomfortable situation for the student and disrupts class. Please plan ahead to have the appropriate books ordered before they're needed.
• Assist your child with time management. Online students, in particular, may need help planning out their work schedule each week. Help your student develop a daily work schedule for my classes and others, then follow up randomly throughout the year for accountability. Few students naturally develop their own work schedule. Many procrastinate and end up rushing through work the day before class causing stress for you and them. Most of my courses include multiple components and the literature courses require time to just quietly read. 
• Encourage your child to contact me, as needed. I encourage my students to email or call me the moment they struggle with an assignment or understanding material. I am always willing to assist students and stress that they should never wait until an assignment is due to let me know there's a problem. If your child comes to you with an issue, please suggest that he contact me for assistance right away rather than waiting.
• Follow the calendar. One of the benefits of homeschooling allows us to be more flexible with our schedules. However, being aware of the school calendar, which may be easily downloaded and printed on the CBB website, can spare us all misunderstandings. Families take spontaneous vacations and when there's a family emergency, homeschoolers are often more available to help. If you do find that your child needs to miss class, please give advance notice and if possible, assist your child in staying on top of assignments. I tend to be very gracious in these situations because I appreciate the flexibility that we enjoy as homeschoolers. However, keeping me updated makes it easier on everyone. 

3. PRAY
I am committed to praying for your children regularly throughout the school year. Praying for classmates and the teacher provides all of us a greater opportunity to truly succeed!

God bless you as you plan for the coming school year!

How Important is Mastery?

I have strong opinions about mastery. I struggled as a classroom teacher as I watched administrators direct teachers to push children through the system without focusing on what those children would take with them when they left; not considering what those children needed to make the most of their lives. Our responsibility, as classroom teachers, for educating precious children was often shoved aside because of budgets, government funding and standardized test scores. Even as I write this, I feel my blood pressure rising as I remember the battles I fought knowing that I would never defeat the system. It is one of the reasons that I homeschooled my children. I wanted them to have time for spiritual mastery, time for academic mastery and time for God to instill His mark on their character before the world invades.

One of the greatest reasons to teach mastery is that students develop a habit of learning as they master different concepts. The habit of learning provides a lifelong skill valued for many years beyond grades or test scores.

What is Mastery?

One definition of mastery states that it is the full command of a subject of study. What is the point of studying academically or spiritually if we aren’t ultimately going to be in command of that subject? Commanding a subject means more than memorization and regurgitation of information. It means a knowledge that can be deeply discussed, applied to other studies and thoroughly understood to the point that one can teach it. While this intense definition may not seem to apply to an elementary student’s grasp of the parts of speech, the general idea behind mastery enables us, as homeschool moms, to establish significant goals for our children and to evaluate exactly how much they have learned.

A simple example of mastery is the difference between memorizing multiplication facts and demonstrating an understanding that multiplication means repeated addition. Another example might be applying scripture to the heart rather than just memorizing the words.

Recently, God gave me an amazing gift. I teach high school Sunday school at my church and my son, John Paul, is in that class. One Sunday, we arrived early and were waiting on the other students when we began discussing how a wealthy man that we both know professed to be a Christian, but his daily behavior isn’t indicative of a believer. After a slight pause, my son quoted Matthew 6:24 –

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other;

Or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and wealth.

As a mom, to hear my teenage son quote relevant scripture in the middle of a conversation brought a moment of sweetness that I will never forget. It may seem a small thing to many, but the fruit of God’s Word should always be sweet. This spiritual mastery of an important Biblical life concept is one of my goals for my children. I look forward to seeing more and more of it! J

How Does Mastery Apply to My Classes?

One year, I taught science in a private Christian middle school. It didn’t take much time in the classroom to realize that that the students had been basically trained to read, memorize and reiterate the facts laid out in the dull, lifeless curriculum. They were missing essential concepts and really had no idea how to even explain what they were learning. I took the paperback textbook, ripped it apart by chapter (middle school students truly enjoy dramatic effects) and told the students that we would use those chapters as reference materials as we learned. All tests went from being multiple choice to essay (they loved me for that!) and honestly, I was not a favorite teacher of parents or students at first. However, by the end of the year, those students could clearly articulate essential science concepts in both writing and verbally. We had awesome discussions. Parents and their Composition teacher appreciated my efforts. The kids never did truly fall in love with the essay tests, but they knew their stuff!

I teach my classes with mastery goals in mind. I don’t expect my students to just read the literature and complete the assignments, but my expectations extend to the display of a fuller understanding of the material, whether demonstrated verbally or written. For some students and even parents, this can be frustrating. The world often teaches us to accept the mere act of learning rather than aspiring to fully understand the knowledge and wisdom that God has graciously given to man. I have seen this played out in the education of the parents and home school students who previously attended public or private school. They come to me with primary concerns of earning credits and completing courses. Please don’t misunderstand…there is a practical need for our high school students to earn the appropriate credits, but their education should not be focused on that achievement. It should be focused on mastery of what they are learning.  

How Can We Determine if Mastery is Achieved?

Let’s say you’re teaching the steps of the water cycle to your 3^rd grader and you want to evaluate whether he understands the concept. Various methods can be utilized to determine mastery, depending on your child’s learning style. Your child may draw a representation of the water cycle or verbally explain the process to demonstrate mastery.

It’s important when determining mastery to make sure that your child has more than one option for demonstrating what he knows. Some of the most common ways to determine mastery include:

• Verbal explanation – more an older student, this may be a more formal speech rather than just a casual explanation.
• Graphic rendition – this may be hand done or on a computer. Graphic organizers such as charts, Venn diagrams, plot maps, outlines etc may be used. Lap books allow students to organize information and then share what they learned using the lap books as a visual reference.
• Written assignments – writing as a demonstration of mastery is actually a higher level skill because it requires not only written expression but also organizational thinking skills.
• Kinesthetic model – physical models also assist some students when explaining specific concepts.

Sometimes a combination of methods works best. Examples include a lapbook and a verbal explanation or an outline and a written assignment.

The ultimate test of mastery is whether a student can teach the concept to someone else using whatever method works best. That someone may be a younger child, a peer or an adult. I often ask students to lead discussions online and in class if I feel that they can share their mastery of a subject with the rest of the class.

Mastery takes time and patience, but the rewards are beyond measure. There’s a tremendous joy in knowing that a student truly understands what has been taught and that he will benefit from that learning experience for his lifetime.

 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts;

Then I will meditate on your wonders.

Psalm 119:27

God bless you as you plan your coming year!

In Him,

 

Fun Summer Writing Ideas

Writing in the summer? Nah...that's crazy...no one wants to do that! However, imagine how beneficial it would be if your children were able to continue growing in their writing skills while enjoying a summer break too. Don't think you can get your children to write this summer without frustration and battles? It's all in the approach! Keep the pressure low and encourage rather than demand. Pair up with your child for one of the summer writing ideas in this article and you could find writing more enjoyable than you would expect...changing not only your child's attitude about writing, but your own, as well. Just give one or more of the following a try:

Summer journaling - shop with your child to pick out a special journal just for recording summer events and activities. Rather than journaling every day, choose a day each week to visit a fun place just to write. For younger children, sitting with you on a blanket in a park or by a lake could be incentive to write down some thoughts. For older children, a trip to the local coffee shot, journaling on the computer, might be the trick. My son and I have a favorite coffee shop we like to visit out near Kiawah Island and we go there just enough to keep it special! Don't make serious demands on writing length or format. Even if your child can create bullet point ideas describing a recent trip or describe the beach or his best friend's backyard, that will work! He's still communicating in the written word. Keep it light, fun and memorable!
Travel games - turn off the dvd player in the car for a while and use your brains! Verbal travel games can improve your child's thought processes and writing skills. Some ideas include:

• Telling a story in a round - you start a story and then each person adds to it. 
• ABC themes - use every letter in the alphabet to come up with a word matching a specific theme. One person starts with the A, the next person does B, etc. Theme examples could include the beach, summertime, fruits and vegetables, favorite books/characters or anything else you can imagine. To make it more challenging, require each person to recite the words leading up to his letter.

Accordion books - those of you who know me well, know that I love accordion books. They offer such a great opportunity for creative thought and expression, plus they make awesome keepsakes in a small, compact size. You can purchase accordion books already made or follow these simple directions to make your own and save yourself a lot of money. You could have a few made up for younger children and supplies on hand for older children to make their own.  Some summer accordion books ideas could be:

• ABC - for younger children, when you take a trip to the beach, park, etc, find different words that start with different letters of the alphabet. You don't have to do every letter, every time. You can make it an ongoing summer game. You could take a picture of the letter words for the accordion book or have your child illustrate the word himself each time.
• Photo journaling - taking photos while enjoying your summer allows for excellent writing opportunities. Children can write sentences, paragraphs or simply word lists to describe the photo or event. Place the writing and photos together in your accordion book. You could use a theme per book: visiting Grandma's house, going to the mountains, fun in the sprinkler, etc
• Summer poetry - find different poems that relate to summer to record in the accordion book and have your child memorize (memory work is excellent for pre-writing) a poem or two, then illustrate. A child might also be inspired to try writing his own summer poem and illustrating it. Acrostic poetry offers a simple but enjoyable format that most children understand for writing early poems.
• Recipes - have your child choose favorite summer dishes and record the recipes in his book. Throughout the summer, you could make the recipes together, take photos and include them in the book.
• Movies/book reviews - children tend to read more enjoyable books in the summer and writing a simple review of the book can provide excellent skill reinforcement. A matinee movie also offers a chance to write a review. The child could illustrate the cover of the book, a favorite scene or character, or simply include a movie ticket stub with the reviews.  

Summer writing workshops - consider enrolling your child in a writing workshop, such as the one I teach, to sharpen his skills and let him work on his writing with other children. I often find that my summer writers are more enthusiastic and accomplish a great deal because they don't have other school work on which to focus. Note that the deadline for my Summer Writing Intensive Workshop is June 22nd.

These are but a few ideas for summer writing fun. Personalize any of them and create an awesome memory with your child.  Remember, if you journal, create an accordion book or write a poem, your child will be more likely to do so and to enjoy the experience more. Have a wonderful time writing this summer and be sure to respond to this blog and let us know how it worked out! If you have other writing ideas, please share them for all to enjoy.

God bless,

What Should My Child Be Writing and When? Part 2: Middle School and High School

I recently gave a workshop on how to teach reluctant writers. The most concerned parents, understandably, were those of children in middle and high school. So, I am going to digress for a moment to address this issue. When you reach high school in your home school and realize that your child can’t or doesn’t write, it’s easy to panic. If you are in this situation, take a deep breath and understand that there is a solution. Here are a few tips for getting your student back on track:

·        Evaluate exactly where your child is achieving based on a recent writing sample (unassisted). For example, if your high schooler doesn’t know the parts of speech, you have to go back and teach them. If he doesn’t put sentences together well, forget about writing paragraphs and papers and revert back to practicing writing solid sentences! Then you can move forward with the next set of skills. Understanding outlining has to come before well developed papers can be written. Sentences before paragraphs and paragraphs before reports. If you feel unable to evaluate your student’s writing, email me as I do offer evaluation services at a reasonable hourly rate.

·        Focus your energy and time on those necessary skills. You don’t have as much time, so make sure that you are devoting significant time to catching up and being consistent to work on writing daily. Most of the students that I work with who are greatly challenged by writing have not had consistency in practice and evaluation. This leads to a lack of confidence. You can’t expect your student to write well if he never practices the skills.

·        Read, read, read – your high schooler will benefit from reading on the highest level possible. Daily reading with related writing assignments is the perfect combination for advancing skills. Be selective about what your student is reading and be sure to point out the value of the written word as your student reads.

·        Integrate writing into as many subjects as possible – any writing assignments that can be integrated into science, history and other subjects will make the skills more relevant to your high school student and offer even more practice as well reinforcement of those skills.

·        Keep assignments shorter – until your student has caught up on skills, give multiple shorter assignments rather than overwhelming both of you with large, stressful writing projects. Make sure that you’re willing to evaluate and grade the assignment before you choose to assign it.

·        Acquire help, if needed – if you find that you’re not making the progress your high schooler needs, seek out a tutor or teacher to help. You don’t want your child finishing high school without the life skill of writing well. Feel free to email me if you need more specific recommendations or help with teaching or evaluating writing.

Middle School: Typically grades 6-8, these years are those in which some kids lose track of writing. They write for assignments but the focus isn’t on mastery. It’s vital that skills continue to be honed and if possible, writing becomes more comfortable. During the pre-high school years solidifying strong writing skills in preparation for the higher level writing in high school couldn’t be more important. You shouldn’t assume that your student has specific skills just because he is a certain age. Taking the time to evaluate your student’s true abilities is vital to moving forward. Skills and strategies at this age include:

·        Sentence structure and paragraph formation – before you work on any writing projects for these grade levels, make sure your student has a firm grasp of how to write solid sentences and form paragraphs including articulate topic sentences and relevant supporting sentences. Strategies: 1. Use books of various types (novels, textbooks, etc) to show your student different sentence structures (varying lengths and complexity). 2. Have your student start out writing a simple sentence, then discuss how to change the sentence into a more complex style. 3. Give specific topics to your student for practicing writing sentences and help him expand those sentences into paragraphs.

·        Paragraph transitions – this is one skill that often gets rushed through in writing education, but the ability to transition between paragraphs should be practiced over and over. It doesn’t come naturally for most students and many parents don’t focus on it because it’s frustrating and sometimes parents aren’t confident teaching this concept. Strategy: Make sure your student understands transition words. Click here for a list of common transition words and when to use them.

·        Note taking – if your student started this skill in late elementary school, as recommended, then continue it with more challenging content. If your student hasn’t previously worked on this skill, then you’ll want to start simply with short single paragraphs. Strategy: Integration of subjects works well with note taking by practicing this skill using material from history, science, literature, etc. For example, have your student read 1-3 paragraphs in science and then make a bullet list of important concepts recalled from reading. If there is a tendency toward copying directly from the material, have your student close or cover the book before note taking. 

WHAT NOT TO DO: Assign a writing assignment for every set of notes your student takes. You do not have to assign a writing assignment just because you’re having your student take notes. The notes themselves may be the complete assignment and they’re worthwhile because they will reinforce important concepts and be useful for studying as well as improving writing and comprehension skills!

·        Outlining – If your student already understands how to outline with a web design, move on to traditional (using Roman numerals, letters and Arabic numbers) outlining. Be aware that students who are more graphically inclined tend to be more comfortable with web outlining so the move to traditional may be a bit of a challenge. Students who are more structured thinkers usually do better with traditional rather than web outlining. Strategy: After practicing note taking in another subject, such as a history, science or literature, have your student create an outline from his notes (not from the book). Be sure that your student has taken a significant amount of notes in order to outline at least three main sections. 2. Consistency is key in outlines. An outline should contain all single words, all phrases or all complete sentences. I don’t typically recommend complete sentence outlines for middle school students because they’re more likely to copy sentences and not understand the overall concept.

WHAT NOT TO DO: Don’t give up! Outlining is very frustrating for some parents and students. It’s one of those wonderful skills that truly improve with practice.

·        Report Writing – in middle school, a basic report of 3-5 pages provides practice for all of the previously mentioned skills. Three to four well written reports per year provides continual use of the skills without being overwhelming. In middle school, students should use 2-3 resources for their reports. These resources could include textbooks, other books, magazine articles and online sites. However, I strongly recommend that you train your student to use a variety of sources. It’s easy to skip a trip to the library and rely on the internet, but it’s essential that students learn to use various materials. A brief resource page as the end of the report with the author and named material (book title, website URL or magazine title) suffices. In high school, students will have more detailed resource pages.  Strategy: Let your student help choose report topics (all or some) from his different subjects. Consider any of the following:

§         A science topic that is new or of particular interest

§         A favorite historical character or event

§         An invention or discovery from science or history

§         A favorite or new author of a book from literature

§         An artist or musician that is being studied in history or fine arts.

Even if your student is helping choose the topic, be sure to direct him to select an assortment of different report ideas. Some students want to only write about people or one particular subject. The more diverse the topics, the greater the opportunity for learning! When grading reports, I usually count them as a test grade for my students since they encompass so much time, energy and many skills.

·        Creative Writing – if your student has already been exposed to poetry and short stories in literature, creative writing will be much easier to teach. If those areas haven’t been covered, you’ll want to read poetry and literature for a semester before tackling writing creatively.

WHAT NOT TO DO: Expecting your child to write creatively without sharing an abundance of poetry and literature with him is unfair. Remember that reading and writing link just like walking and running. If a child tries to run before walking, he’ll spend a lot of time falling. If a student tries to write creatively without having read and studied examples of creative authors and poets, he’ll spend a lot of time frustrated.

Once your student develops a sense of understanding concerning creative works, he can move on to writing creatively. Begin with smaller assignments and work your way up to more challenging, lengthier projects. Some ideas to consider include:

§         Studying rhyme schemes in poetry and have your student write poetry with similar rhyming patterns (haikus, sonnets etc)

§         After reading a novel or short story, have your student do one of the following:

1.     write a different ending

2.     add a new character

3.     create a lap book to present the literary aspects including a plot map, character analysis, themes, conflicts, vocabulary, figurative language and a book review.

4.     design a book cover and write an overview for the back of the book.

5.     focus on the genre of the book or story (historical, science fiction, mystery etc) and write an outline of another story idea in that same genre

6.     compare and contrast two books in chart form or as an essay

§         Have students respond to photos from a newspaper or website writing what they think might have occurred.

§         Create comics – this idea works particularly well for students who are reluctant writers. The student should focus on the content of the writing as well as the artistic design of the comic.

·        Self-editing – One of the most overlooked skills in middle school, this habit can change the level of success that a student experiences throughout all of his years of writing. The best habit a student can develop for self-editing is reading his work aloud. I promise you, I will read this article aloud before publishing it. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to self-edit. Another tool that’s proven to be effective is a basic self-editing checklist, adapted to specific writing assignments, such as the one on Epi Kardia’s Tools CD. As well, your job will be easier as your student becomes a more proficient writer! J

High School: Before even considering high school writing, make sure that your student developed a solid grasp of the middle school writing points previously noted. As a writing teacher, organization and self-editing usually present themselves as the greatest challenges for my high school writers. Transitioning from middle school level writing to high school level also causes issue with some students as they want to relax in the simpler writing of younger days.

·        Essay writing – covering the five basic essay styles (narrative, expository, descriptive, persuasive and comparison/contrast) is essential for high school students, particularly those who are college bound. Most high school writing and literature courses require the ability to write these essays. The ability to write these essays also allows for greater opportunities to respond in writing for both history and science high school courses, providing for subject integration. Epi Kardia’s Essay Styles curriculum offers solid coverage of these essay styles.

·        Research papers – I strongly recommend that students write at least two research papers during high school of at least 10 pages in length. This process should not be rushed and each step of the process (topic selection, researching and gathering materials, note taking, outlining, writing, multiple rewriting, footnoting and citing resources) should be given appropriate time. For some students, this may be a year long process while others may only need 4-5 months. Research writing offers a tremendous opportunity to integrate subjects. Selecting topics that relate to material being studied in history, science or literature enhances your student’s learning experience. For a comprehensive, step by step instruction guide to research paper writing, check out Epi Kardia’s The Steps to Writing a Research Paper.

·        Responding to Literature – whether you’re studying novels, plays, poetry or short stories, high school students should analyze and explore fictional works by various authors. High school students tend to do this best when the literature is grouped according to style, geography or time period. American literature, British literature and World literature should minimally be studied and extensive writing should be incorporated in the forms of essays, book reviews and reports.

·        Responding to Non-fiction – as your student studies science, history and other subjects, writing assignments will help your student not only present how much he has learned, but it will also reinforce what was learned. Incorporating written assignments such as research papers, essays and reports increase your student’s writing skills and material comprehension.

·        Speech writing – I believe that every student should take Public Speaking in high school. This course not only provides essential verbal communication skills, but it also teaches students to write in a succinct and powerful manner that can be utilized throughout their adult life.

·        Business writing – practicing writing cover letters and resumes will put your student a step ahead when college rolls around. Also, if the opportunity arises, developing a strong letter to the editor of your local paper, responding to emails and communicating in writing with other adults all provide precious practice for necessary life skills.

·        SAT writing – practicing for the SAT essay gives your student a way to not only score better on the test, but it also allows for practice in very focused, precise writing because of the limitations of time and space. As well, the ability to outline and organize thoughts quickly is an excellent skill that a student can use throughout his entire life.

·        Personal writing – adults often have to write personal emails and notes. Having your student write personal correspondence such as thank you notes, cards of prayer and encouragement or simply having a pen pal, provides great practice for informal, but intelligent written communication. This is often overlooked as a high school skill.

·        Self-editing – In high school, the goal is for students to edit their work without having to be told. In early high school years, using checklists or reminders, by building in time for self-editing, consistently can lead to older students more naturally as they write. Older students tend to realize the benefit of self-editing and how time is saved when they don’t have to complete as many drafts of an assignment. As students edit their own work by habit, you’ll see them also apply that habit to personal writing as well.

·        Collaborative writing – this type of creative writing can be exceptionally fun for high school students while teaching them to write fiction. For homeschoolers who are not utilizing high school courses, this writing may be done via email with other students. Basically, one student starts a story and as it is passed around, students add another paragraph that continues the story in a logical and intelligent manner.

This is a brief overview of essential skills for students in 6^th-12^th grade. It is not a comprehensive list of what could be taught, only the minimum of what should be taught. If you struggle with teaching or evaluating your student’s writing, check out Classes by Beth to see if I offer a class online or locally that might appeal to your family.

God bless you as you endeavor to teach your children to write!

What Should My Child Be Writing and When?

Part 1: Elementary School

I receive this question so often, and not only from home school parents. Even those who have children attending private and public schools wonder if their children are on target with writing at any particular time. As a writing teacher, my recommendations, based on my years of experience, are as follows. Please note that these are general guidelines, not taking into account learning disabilities, gifted children or individual child develop which should never be overlooked.

PreK – Kindergarten: READ, READ, READ! The best writers tend to also be readers. Exposing your child from a very early age to well written children’s books promotes stronger future writers. Discuss how writers use words to create mental pictures and emphasize the importance of how words are used.

1^st – 2^nd grades: When I first started teaching first grade in a private school, writing “books” with children was a new trend. After spending time with this age group, I realized that they didn’t truly understand the purpose of such writing. At this age, limited life experience can truly frustrate a child who is asked to come up with a story idea. Many of them don’t remember the details from their last birthday, let alone have the ability to put such thoughts into complete sentences. Copy work from well written children’s literature is the best type of writing exercise for this age group. If your child demonstrates eagerness toward writing, you could have him dictate their thoughts to you and then have your child copy what you have written, in part or in whole. The focus during reading and copy work should be on basic skills such as capitalization, punctuation, simple parts of speech and how words work together to create a complete thought.

3^rd – 5^th grades: These years make up some of the most influential writing experiences for a child. Their exposure to interesting writing activities and development of essential skills greatly determine their ability and attitude toward writing later. Think of these years as a time to build up confidence and skills allowing your child to later enjoy writing and researching. Some specific areas that should be addressed include:

·        Review of any previous punctuation, grammar and capitalization rules, as well as additional rules that have not been introduced - Strategy: point out punctuation, grammar and capitalization rules in literature and other reading materials. This offers your child a relevant example of the rules.

·        Parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc) - Strategy: create a lap book or other graphic organizer for the parts of speech. With a lap book, your child can use it as a resource as he/she writes.

·        Solid sentence structure - this is so often overlooked by parents…they jump from parts of speech to writing complete paragraphs. Sentence development requires significant time and paragraphs will come more easily if writing different types of sentences has been practiced consistently. Strategy: use note cards with various words (a variety of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs – don’t forget articles such as a, the, etc) on them to allow your child a hands-on activity for creating interesting sentences. Have him/her copy the sentences he/she creates.

·        Individual paragraph development including topic sentence and supporting sentences - Strategy: Again, refer back to material your child is reading. Copy work should continue through elementary school and your child can highlight or underline topic sentences. Identification should always come before implementation. Once your child can identify topic and supporting sentences in literature and other books, writing them will be easier.

·        Combined paragraph development (start with two and add on as your child develops confidence and demonstrates skill) including transition sentences between paragraphs - Transition sentences are another commonly overlooked skill in later elementary grades. Strategy: Before asking your child to write transition sentences, brainstorm a list of common transitional phrases (finally, as, for instance, first, second, etc)

·        Beginning outlining - A student who can outline most often turns out to be a well organized writer. You can’t spend too much time with this skill! Strategy: consider using a web outline rather than a traditional outline as it offers a more concrete picture for an early writer.

·        Beginning report writing and note taking - Train your child from early on to rewrite all report content in his/her own words. Also, make sure your child has a firm grasp on paragraph writing and transitions before asking him to write a report.  Strategy: begin with one paragraph at a time, reading it aloud or silently, and have your child verbally explain what was read. You can write this for your child initially and have him copy it. Later, have your child verbalize it and write it himself.

·        Book reports – this writing activity provides an excellent introduction to the literary parts of a story (plot, characters, etc) while working on organization skills at the same time. Strategy – a lap book or oral report (written first, then spoken) provide appropriate formats for book reports while allowing for creativity and additional skills.

·        Creative writing focusing on description and sequencing. Commonly, parents jump right into creative writing because it sounds fun. Realistically, it’s a challenging type of writing for children. Be sure to model and give plenty of examples before expecting your child to write creatively.  Stories can be very difficult for younger writers and in most cases, are not the best place to start for creative writing. Strategy: Fun poetry such as alliteration, acrostic, haikus, etc offer great opportunities for kids to express themselves with some structure, but not too much. Be sure to read plenty of it together before having your child write.

It has been my experience that children who truly dislike writing didn’t have a positive start with it. Writing skills seem daunting to some parents because they are not writers or they don’t feel confident evaluating their children’s written work. If you are one of those parents, consider my Hands-On Elementary writing class where your child will learn how to write and enjoy the process! If you would like assistance evaluating your child’s work, I do offer evaluation services for a fee. Please email me for more information.

Watch for What Should My Child Be Writing and When? Part 2: Middle and High School coming soon!

God bless you as you endeavor to teach your children to write!