Writing in elementary school

[Lisa1970]

I did a pretty heavy writing program with my daughter when she went through these ages. But later, I felt like it was a waste. I mean, it feels like if the child is reading, then they will naturally be able to write for the most part. Just like if a child is around people who talk, the child will probably learn to talk without needing to be taught to talk. My daughter ended up becoming an excellent writer, but I did not feel that all the writing we did when she was younger is why.

I still think handwriting is important though so I am not talking about dropping that.

BUT, I have a 9 yr old who hates to write anything I assign. Then he will make up his own side assignments and ask to be allowed to do that instead. Do you think it would be a mistake to just drop writing and stick with maybe story starters or letting him just have paper to do what he wants with...or...maybe activities books where he gets to answer silly questions?

[ollyoxenfree]

Can you clarify what you mean by writing, what kind of writing assignments you are giving him and what kind of writing he asks to do instead? There are different forms of creative writing and I would start with encouraging him to explore whichever ones he prefers. There are also pre-writing techniques that might help with written work.

It sounds like he's supposed to be working on fictional narratives. Perhaps he would enjoy exploring non-fiction writing instead, about things he's interested in, like a news article on a current event or sports story, a research article on a scientific phenomenon or a different culture/country, or an essay on a hot topic (eg. eliminate the voting age and give children the franchise).  

Some kids need a little more guidance and support than others to become effective and persuasive with written comunication, especially if there is an underlying concern. My DS has always been a bit of a reluctant writer. A psycho-ed assessment revealed a potential dysgraphia problem when he was about your son's age. He's developed a lot of other forms of communication (oral presenation skills, video essays, poster board presentations, etc.) as substitutes, which are really useful.  

We always believed that he shouldn't neglect written communication, though, since it is such an important life skill. We also didn't want him to develop self-esteem or motivation issues with writing. So we've worked gently with him on his writing communication for years, with lots of patience and encouragement. He uses a lot of pre-writing techniques like mind maps, jot notes for listing and outlines, and free writing before he moves on to a first draft of a paper.

I've never thought that the work he did at that age was a waste. He's now an effective writer and even though he doesn't love to write, he can manage a writing task successfully without angst. If we had abandoned his writing when he was younger, I'm fairly certain it would be a big problem for him now, since his issues are still evident. He's learned how to deal with them though and they aren't overwhelming him.

Perhaps your ds might find these pre-writing techniques helpful, and less onerous and discouraging at first than a full writing assignment. Another tactic we used was to separate his handwriting work from his creative writing, by allowing him to use a computer for creative writing. Handwriting involves all sorts of neurocognitive skills and gross and fine motor function. Struggling with handwriting can interfere with creative output and the use of a computer can really help a lot.

[ollyoxenfree]

I've tried to edit my post to add a thought, but for some reason I can't.

Anyway, I just wanted to add that I didn't mean to suggest that your DS has any issues with writing that would require an assessment or special intervention. It's pretty common for kids to be a little reluctant with writing, so even if there are no underlying issues, I think the approach we took can be helpful - ie.  letting him choose the topic and working on pre-writing techniques first, before writing short papers.

[Lisa1970]

He likes to write letters to people, including to himself. He also chose to write a poem the other day. The assignment was for writing a story where he had to create the characters and make a storyline first, etc. I am using BJU English. Maybe it was the extensive pre-planning it has that he did not like. He had to do a book report previously. I was trying to think of what in all he has had to do. He did have to write a letter to someone, which he did. He did the first several steps on the book report, but did not finish it in the end. I mean, he just did not make the final copy, but he had all the other copies up to it so it was essentually finished. He wrote instructions on how to do something and did not have trouble with that. None of this stuff is stuff he cannot do. It is just he is hating it and I just feel like I am maybe losing the point if I have to say "no, you can't write your poem, you have to write this story" or something like that.
 

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

Can you clarify what you mean by writing, what kind of writing assignments you are giving him and what kind of writing he asks to do instead? There are different forms of creative writing and I would start with encouraging him to explore whichever ones he prefers. There are also pre-writing techniques that might help with written work.

It sounds like he's supposed to be working on fictional narratives. Perhaps he would enjoy exploring non-fiction writing instead, about things he's interested in, like a news article on a current event or sports story, a research article on a scientific phenomenon or a different culture/country, or an essay on a hot topic (eg. eliminate the voting age and give children the franchise).  

Some kids need a little more guidance and support than others to become effective and persuasive with written comunication, especially if there is an underlying concern. My DS has always been a bit of a reluctant writer. A psycho-ed assessment revealed a potential dysgraphia problem when he was about your son's age. He's developed a lot of other forms of communication (oral presenation skills, video essays, poster board presentations, etc.) as substitutes, which are really useful.  

We always believed that he shouldn't neglect written communication, though, since it is such an important life skill. We also didn't want him to develop self-esteem or motivation issues with writing. So we've worked gently with him on his writing communication for years, with lots of patience and encouragement. He uses a lot of pre-writing techniques like mind maps, jot notes for listing and outlines, and free writing before he moves on to a first draft of a paper.

I've never thought that the work he did at that age was a waste. He's now an effective writer and even though he doesn't love to write, he can manage a writing task successfully without angst. If we had abandoned his writing when he was younger, I'm fairly certain it would be a big problem for him now, since his issues are still evident. He's learned how to deal with them though and they aren't overwhelming him.

Perhaps your ds might find these pre-writing techniques helpful, and less onerous and discouraging at first than a full writing assignment. Another tactic we used was to separate his handwriting work from his creative writing, by allowing him to use a computer for creative writing. Handwriting involves all sorts of neurocognitive skills and gross and fine motor function. Struggling with handwriting can interfere with creative output and the use of a computer can really help a lot.

[Lisa1970]

Oh, I would not be offended if my child had a problem with writing. My oldest has dysgraphia and I do too (or would I say did? doesn't matter). So I see no shame in it. So that is not his issue. I just look back on all I did with DD and I found that all the writing she did was over the top and unneccesary for the long run. The assignments are great at teaching form and the whole process of writing and it is quite tedious. I have grown to wonder if perhaps it would be better to let him write whatever he wants to write and not go through this long process and work on the bigger stuff later. I really like Write Shop and the Paragraph Books and those really start from the bare beginning but are not meant to be started until a little older.
 

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

I've tried to edit my post to add a thought, but for some reason I can't.

Anyway, I just wanted to add that I didn't mean to suggest that your DS has any issues with writing that would require an assessment or special intervention. It's pretty common for kids to be a little reluctant with writing, so even if there are no underlying issues, I think the approach we took can be helpful - ie.  letting him choose the topic and working on pre-writing techniques first, before writing short papers.