June 5, 2024 – The Trials and Triumphs of Teaching Writing

Heidi Mosher

How to Win with Writing Instruction

Writing requires bravery. It is vulnerable work. When we write, we transfer ideas from heart to paper. Once-hidden thoughts and ideas now sit exposed, awaiting judgment. Of any school subject, writing begs most for an instructor’s kind eyes. 

A mother has kind eyes. Her view can turn writing trials into triumphs. 

How?

Start with a gentle curriculum. The Paragraph Book is my top suggestion. Though the four books in the series are marketed as remedial, I find its simplicity ideal. I use it for upper elementary and middle school, and I feel free to substitute topics that interest my kids. (Anyone will turn out a better paragraph if their subject resonates.) 

The Paragraph Book series provides a solid foundation that prepares writers for high school essays (and indirectly, for speech class). This is the writing curriculum I wish I had for all of my kids.

Model. When your child has a writing assignment, give yourself the same assignment. Share your work. Writing along with your child eases their burden and turns trial into triumph. 

Model good writing in an everyday way by taking advantage of subtle teaching opportunities. Any time you leave a note or text your child, write in complete sentences and punctuate properly. 

Notice published writing. Make a habit of pointing out stirring sentences and also humorous errors in books, articles, and even church bulletins. Be inspired—or laugh together! 

Keep praise high and critiques low. Who wants to keep writing when their work is torn apart? Resist the urge to correct every error. Instead, identify one concept to improve upon per assignment. Sandwich that with generous comments on what was done well. 

Young writers don’t need to learn everything all at once. With your coaching and cheering, writing is a win. 

About the author

Heidi Mosher is honored to write for The Homeschool Minute, as it was a lifeline of her early homeschooling years. She is thankful to be the mother of four—two recent homeschool graduates and two who are currently homeschooled.

Grammar doesn’t have to be complicated! Visit www.easygrammar.com to learn about our unique approach to grammar.  It is “Easy to Teach…Easy to Learn…Easy to Remember!”

Todd Wilson

Familyman Ministries

The Reluctant Writer

Most all of us have reluctant writers . . . kids who take to writing like fish take to pudding. I know we’ve run the whole gamut at our house. I have one daughter who has written several books and some who can barely write a sentence.

My simple advice to encourage your reluctant writer is to let him write without fear of failure or correction. Have your kids self-correct their spelling tests, and when you have them write in the elementary grades, don’t correct their work, just let them write . . . and write . . . without fear. They can learn about grammar when the time comes, but just getting them to write is the important part. Do not let yourself tear it apart with corrections. Leave the misspellings. It’s okay.

I believe some of ‘our’ kids are afraid to write a single sentence because we, as parents, swoop in to correct their many mistakes. “You forgot to put the period at the end of the sentence . . . you forgot to start with a capital letter . . . you don’t need a comma there . . . you do need one here . . . I can barely read your handwriting . . . you write like a two-year-old, etc.”

I’m telling you, I’d be afraid to write if I was treated like that. Just let your kids write without fear of being wrong. And, by the way, you don’t need to be afraid either. I think one of the reasons we drive our kids so hard and kill the love of writing, or school for that matter, is because we don’t want them to embarrass us or not be able to get a job because we didn’t make them write enough.

Just relax, and . . .
Be Real,
Todd

About the author

Todd Wilson is a husband, dad, grandpa, writer, homeschool conference speaker, and former pastor. Todd’s humor and down to earth realness have made him a favorite speaker all across the country and a guest on Focus on the Family. As founder of The Familyman and The Smiling Homeschooler, his passion and mission are to remind moms and dads of what’s most important through weekly emails, podcasts, seminars, and books that encourage parents. Todd, and his wife Debbie, homeschool four of their eight children (the other four are homeschool graduates) in northern Indiana and travel America in the Familyman Mobile. You can read more at  .www.familymanweb.com

Kid-Friendly Fun. Seriously Powerful Reading Program. Rosen Publishing’s LevelUp Reader is a fun and adaptive literacy platform that meets the reader where they’re at: https://levelupreader.net

Dianne Craft

https://diannecraft.org/

Writing Trials and Triumphs

In my early teaching career working in my resource room with sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, I learned, after many trials, how to create confident, fluent writers. The pieces of language arts my students struggled with the most were spelling and paragraph writing. We tackled spelling using visual teaching methods and added a simple midline exercise to correct symptoms of dysgraphia. 

Trials

But paragraph writing! I discovered that these students had “loose thought patterns” and struggled to get anything down on paper. If I wanted fluent writers by the end of the year, I knew I needed a plan B. That’s right . . . I said fluent writers! 

Triumphs

I developed a “Universal Writing Method” with a simple four-step formula that anyone can follow. 

1. Right Brain Webbing
   Instead of outlines or spider webbing, using the white board, we made five “blobs” to write our thoughts. The first blob had one or two words about the title. The second, third and fourth blobs had one or two words about the subject. The fifth blob had one or two words for the conclusion.
   
2. Modeling
   These students needed to see how to organize their thoughts. We talked about each blob of information for the paragraph, and then decided together what the sentence would say. I then wrote it on the board. I did this modeling for two months before they did any of it on their own.
   
3. No Re-Writes, Only Rewards
   This is the fun part of the writing session—what I call “healing teaching.” I discovered that these kids would shut down if I gave corrections. Instead, we put the paragraphs up for all to see, and I read them aloud. I ignored misspellings (while covertly adding them to our weekly spelling list), and, most importantly, gave them a point for each good thought, sentence, or vocabulary word they used well (lots of points!). Then, they added their points and got a prize. (I found that my eighth-grade boys would do anything for bubble gum!)
   
4. Repeat Each Week
   Each week we chose a new topic together and repeated the first three steps. My students loved it so much they were asking to do our writing session each day. The next year, my students didn’t need this “remedial” writing method anymore. With your students, you can use any of the good writing curriculums out there that polish writing.  

About the author

Dianne Craft has a Master’s Degree in Learning Disabilities and is a Certified Natural Health Professional. Her books, The Brain Integration Therapy Manual, The Right Brain Phonics Reading Program, her new Craft Right Brain Readers for children with dyslexia, and her DVDs, Teaching the Right Brain Child, Smart Kids Who Hate to Write, and The Biology of Behavior have helped hundreds of families remove learning blocks in their struggling children. Review her other articles published through The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to learn more about Right Brain “Healing Teaching” such as “Spelling Can Be Easy,” “Can I Pull My Child with an IEP Out of Public School?” and “Dyslexia: How Do I Teach This Child?”  https://diannecraft.org/

Pillar of Faith

Natalie Mack

The Perfect vs. the Creative

Writing is one of those subjects that homeschool moms often struggle to teach. The idea of grading our children’s writing gives most moms quivers of anxiety. How do I know what is good writing and what is not so good? How do I teach my child to write coherently with no grammatical errors? The famous author, C.S. Lewis said, “write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else.” Teach your child to write about those things of interest to him, things that he has passion about, and things that he wants others to know.

The idea that writing must be perfect to be good can be the very thing that is the barrier to becoming a good writer. And often when we, as homeschool moms, are seeking “the perfect,” we miss “the creative.” The creative is the visionary, the one who sees ahead and desires to convey the vision to us. Habakkuk 2:2 tells us that God said to “write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” Let’s release our concerns about writing perfection and focus on simple writing that tells a story and makes it plain.

About the author

Natalie Mack is a National Certified Counselor, author, TEDx speaker, and experienced twenty-three years military home educator, with over twenty-two years of service to military homeschooling families and military homeschool support group leadership. She is known for her words of encouragement and advocacy for homeschooling, particularly during the journey from high school to college. Natalie is a mom of five: three college graduates, one college senior, and an 11th grader.

Discover the parallels between the components of a book and the layers of a sandwich, while also diving into what distinguishes a parable from a fable. Explore the Here to Help Writing Flight 1, Paragraph Level, where students hone their writing skills by exploring various literary forms, crafting poetry, and crafting their own imaginative picture books. Through captivating videos and step-by-step assignments, students unleash their creativity and embark on an enriching journey. Prepare to embark on your writing adventure!