Does your child make excuses to avoid writing classes?
Some kids have a genuine problem because of the loss of words. In comparison, some don’t know where to start from. Some don’t want to write. Either they feel their writing is messy and distorted. Or they might feel that the work given to them is uninteresting. Of course, it doesn’t help much if your child is unhappy with the task given to them. Whatever the case, there are ways to help support struggling writers. With a little bit of scaffolding and support, they might get the best help.
Writing skills are important for kids today. It helps them to express themselves and enhances their reasoning and thinking skills. It helps create new ideas in the brain and the ability to explain and share with others. Writing entails several tasks like punctuations, grammar, spelling, capitalization and others. For writing to be effective, one must concentrate on them. While writing is demanding, it is also is rewarding. With the right strategies, every child can achieve the full potential.
There are many writing challenges for kids today. Today, schools have a lot of pressure on the students to perform. With the lack of writing skills, children may feel let down and low in self-esteem. In some cases, it can even prove to be disastrous. As they move through different classes, they are bound to use writing to explain. Without the writing fundamentals, students are unable to write with speed and fluidity. The speed in writing helps them to excel when the demand increases.
How do you know that your child needs special attention in writing?
For a child who has difficulty in writing, the writing itself might be a barrier to learn. Poor writers might avoid writing activities that hamper their writing skills. This might result in bad grades and low confidence over time. They need constant motivation and the right skills to develop their writing habits.
It is important to assist the children in developing their writing skills. This will ensure future learning and employment. Keeping a notebook to write down all your doubts helps a lot. Furthermore, the more a child writes, the better they get at it. Let us explore the steps involved to help students overcome their writing difficulties.
Efficient ways to improve student writing:
1. Discuss ideas before putting them on paper
Before writing, the students should communicate the ideas. This will enhance their creativity. Think of what you want to write about and let your imagination flow. Also, sharing and discussing things with others triggers their imagination. Once they have written something, they can work on it more. This way, they can identify their mistakes and improve their skills.
2. Emphasize reading
Reading plays a significant role in the development of young minds. It is a powerful tool needed for stronger memory. Reading not only helps kids to develop vocabulary and enhance critical things. It also helps them to articulate thoughts and pen down. Divide the group into two and give each group a short assignment to read out loud. Or, give each person a set of several papers to read themselves. Then, you can ask them to give their opinions and decide on the best paper. Finally, they can combine all the best papers to form a story.
3. Entertain free writing
According to experts, free writing encourages students to synthesize concepts. It may help them to uncover points they may not grasp. Please encourage them to write whatever comes to their mind without bothering much. Whether it is grammar, spelling, spacing and structure. They are more likely to dwell on ideas when they are stuck up. Ask them to write about a particular topic for a good three minutes. See how they write and understand. Check their flow and encourage them when they are not upto the mark.
4. Working as a Group
Instead of writing all alone, have them collaborate into a group. Make small groups and assign them small tasks. Students who have difficulty coming up with their ideas need others help. It will help their creative juices flowing. Also, students will gear up to share their opinions with others. Furthermore, it will help in solidifying their ideas and work wonders on the outcome.
5. Provide tools to students
Giving kids a resource to use aids them in overcoming their writing difficulties. This will reflect in their writing, and hence they will perform better. For example, please give them a list of transitional words and phrases to use in their writing to work on. Or, you can guide them to use proper words or alternative words with the help of tools. Then, they can include them in their writing to avoid jargon.
6. Addressing handwriting difficulties
Handwriting projects can make students shun paper-pencil projects and produce less written work. Incorrect pencil grips while writing plays havoc on the child’s mind. Encourage the use of big pencils to form better grips. Could you help them to use keyboard writing? Allow them to write for prolonged minutes to improve handwriting fluency. Also, one can use non-traditional pacers for free-flowing writing.
7. Appreciate them for their writing
Students have more to say and write when they are investing in a topic. When students write well, appreciate them. Always emphasize the value of clear, careful writing. Make them aware of their niche and encourage them when they do well. As young writers, putting everything together after writing is the toughest. This is not as simple as it sounds. To help them sort out requires thought and hardwork. Also, there are many health benefits when one writes. No wonder they say that writing is therapeutic; it relieves stress and relieves us of tension.
In particular, writing is to the brain like exercise is to the body!
