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Early To Teach good Writing Habits and Skills
Judith
Lawrenson MA,Ed.
Good writing is clear,
concise, and to the point. See, this sentence is very clear, totally concise,
and directly to the point. It is also very dry and not of much interest. How
then do we teach young writers to express themselves with no chance of
misunderstanding and also make their writing interesting enough to be able to
hold a reader?
Text messages and
email abbreviations are not really writing in the same sense that a quick
phone chat does not honestly express your deeper feelings. Talking over the
television or on the cell phone is not conversation and sending a text message
to your friend is definitely not writing.
Good writing begins
with talk. I know that sounds strange, but if you speak to your children
clearly and say what you mean, chances are they will speak in the same manner
and also, chances are that they will be able also to express themselves well
in writing.
Another important
factor in the development of early training is to read to your child. I cannot
stress this enough and every educator I know agrees with the use of reading as
a tool for early development of thought process, patterning, listening habits,
and yes, both creative and business style writing.
If you have time to
spend with your child, spend it reading a story and then writing a story. Read
"Winnie The Pooh" and then talk about why it is interesting. Yes,
even talk about style and use of words. You can do this with a child as young
as three or four. Then write your own story. Write about anything of interest.
All the great writers say that one should write about something that interests
you or something you know about. Start there.
Write about what
happened in your day. Start with a topic sentence like: "Today I went to
the park with my playgroup." Have your child speak to you and write down
what is said then read it back. A child will very quickly catch their own
errors. When they hear something read back to then, their ear will pick up
tone and rhythm. A child knows what they are trying to say. Often they just
don’t know quite how to do it. Expand on your topic sentence to build a
paragraph then go on to tell as much more of their story of the day as they
want to share.
Do this as often as
you can and save some of the results. Over time, read back and rewrite.
Reflect on how much improvement has been shown. Step out! Write a funny story,
or a joke. Write a news story. Write a letter to Grandma. Fred Rogers of the
television show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood wrote over 40 books in his wonderful
career and my favorite was called: "When My Dog Died." Titles such
as "I Had My Tonsils Taken Out" and "My Mother is Sick"
were best sellers in their time and most are still available. He wrote about
everyday happenings that touched the lives of children and he wrote exactly
the way he spoke. Things were put very clearly and with a touch of gentle
understanding. The best way to mold a future best selling author is also the
same way to mold a person who can communicate effectively in school
assignments, business settings, and even just a thank you note. Read to your
child. Talk to your child. Write with your child.
Judith Lawrenson. MA, Ed.
Comments to Judith at JLResource@AOL.com,
or Post on our Bulletin Board
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