As children proceed through the elementary grades, some class and home assignments will gradually begin to involve creative writing first sentences, then paragraphs, and finally short essays. It is possible that the assignments will be difficult for some children, and there is a good reason for this. Comparatively little creative writing is required of youngsters in the primary grades.

Then suddenly this neglected skill becomes a very important component of assignments in the upper elementary grades. Creative writing assignments require a tot of time, not only from the student but from the teacher as well, who must grade for content, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Consequently, most teachers would welcome help from parents even if it only involves increasing the students output. If it can also increase the quality of the youngsters writing, so much the better! therefore, if it is all right with your child and if he seems to be having a problem with composition, you may want to consider getting in touch with his teacher to learn what she will be requiring in terms of creative writing assignments and how you might best help.

Apa Style Psychology Essay

Somehow the childs cooperation win have to be secured, for writing tends to be tedious for some youngsters and cannot be accomplished without a positive attitude. This can best be done by 1 defining the goal were going to work together to help you learn how to better express your thoughts in writing. 2 scheduling only one or two writing sessions per week, preferably at a time when the youngster is not already exhausted or burned out with other assignments 3 keeping the sessions to a reasonable length, thereby preventing frustration brought on by fatigue. Of course, it is possible that maintaining a regular schedule for creative writing will not be necessary, and a blanket offer that help is available if needed is all that is required. You may want to request that the teacher send all compositions home so that you can see if the child is keeping on top of this important aspect of the curriculum. Be sure that there is always a supply of notebook paper, pencils, and ballpoint pens on hand in case these essentials have been left at school. A paperback edition of a good dictionary written at the childs reading level is also a necessity, and eventually a thesaurus will become a valuable tool for creative writing assignments.

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letter writing

letter writing seems a chore for many people, and yet a certain amount of correspondence is a necessity in everyones life, and the sooner the child becomes aware of this social obligation, the better. Almost by definition, thank you notes are generally short and their content follows a prescribed format. The recipient needs to identify the gift and graciously explain why it will give him pleasure. A note of caution: thank you notes should be written within 48 hours of the receipt of a gift, for somehow the longer this is put off, the more difficult the task will be. Try to set a deadline without seeming to nag something like, set aside a few minutes tonight to write aunt jane a thank you note so that i can drop it off at the post office in the morning when i run errands. Your child may balk at writing a letter to aunt jane, but trip over himself to write a letter to a favorite coach or previous teacher.

Let that person know that a return letter would be mighty important and that some praise and interest shown your child would go a long, long way. The youngster can be encouraged to write other kinds of letters as well a fan letter to a favorite rock star, a contest letter 25 words or lessgood mental discipline , a letter of request will you send me a free copy of the poster that was advertised in?. A number of childrens magazines promote pen pals with children in our own country and in other countries.

unblocking a block

often, the basis of the problem is quickly identified when the child groans, ive got to write a composition for school tomorrow, and i dont know what to write about! its a common complaint and deserves sympathy and some specifics by the parent not to provide a topic but to trigger the youngsters imagination and creative abilities.

For example, can you think of anything interesting that happened to you on the camping trip? or is there a favorite person or place or film, et cetera in your fife youd like to write about? or is there a famous person youd like to be? why? the important point to note here is that all of the above questions relate directly to the child himself, who is probably going through the very normal developmental stage of egocentricity. To most youngsters, they are the most fascinating subject in the world at this time of their young lives. Suggest that the child thumb through a well illustrated magazine or book in his search for an idea. Newspapers are another good source what better topic than to write about ones favorite comic strip? however, if the illustrations are accompanied by a printed text, die youngster should be cautioned against copying from the text as opposed to merely using it for background information.

The family picture album may touch off some fond memories that will make a colorful composition. Help die young writer to notice details in photographs wasnt that the day it poured right in the middle of our picnic? look! there you are getting on the bus for your first year at camp. For example, what three things would you like to have with you if you were marooned on a desert island? or if you had to exist in a strange city for three days with no job, no friends, and no money, what would you do? or, who would you choose as famous parents or sisters or brothers?

general tips

try to encourage the young writer to see a picture in his mind of what he plans to write about. His verbal description will help him organize his thoughts to be transferred onto paper. For example, if the word red occurs in his writing, ask him how many other words he can think of that describe the color red. Remind him of the tried and true journalistic technique of including who, what, when, where, and how in the sentence.

Example: on tuesday susan and i took a bus to the strand theater to see our favorite movie. Contact the teacher and secure her permission to proofread a first draft of the written work and make suggestions and minor corrections before a final copy is written. You must make sure that the teacher clearly understands that you are not doing the childs work but are simply standing by in a one to one capacity to improve the finished product. Never allow the youngster to jump haphazardly into writing a finished assignment. Help him identify what is to be written, define the territory, work out a sequence, list key words and ideasand then, and only then, start the assignment.

Because some youngsters have great deficits in organization, they need gentle guidance for shaping their assignments. If your work in creative writing is going well in terms of the youngsters attitude and productivity, and. Possibly, improvement has been noted, you might want to consider getting the youngsters permission to approach the teacher to see if some added written assignments might be turned in for extra credit.

Dont be surprised or dismayed if your child doesnt think this is the best idea youve ever had! help your child get excited about books by creating a personalized book mark or writing a book of her own. As soon as a child starts to write they should be taught to hold the paint brush, crayon or pencil correctly. If the proper grip is used right from the beginning it leads to better practice in later life. It also means that when the time comes for children to start to join up their writing they will find that this grip makes the writing flow more easily.

The paintbrush or pencil should be held in a tripod grip between the thumb and the first two fingers. It also helps with the flow of letters to come later.they should use paint, crayons, coloured pencils and be given a large piece of paper to scribble on. Many people think these pictures are meaningful drawings to young children and deserve to be admired and some of them displayed.