Download "Summer Musings" document

Parents often ask, “How can I help my child write more effectively?” You may wonder how much help is too much, or how to offer help without taking on the assignment yourself. You notice that your child may be resistant to your editing and revising suggestions, and the entire process feels a bit like pulling teeth.

Take heart, you are not alone! Children are usually not born with an innate ability to write. It takes practice and time for children to feel comfortable, confident, and competent. Even those students who have a natural ability or love of writing must learn and practice the skills of the craft. Just like a musical prodigy must first learn scales and arpeggios in order to perform with mastery, the young writer must practice a number of discrete skills which, when combined and applied, produce powerful writing.

Before offering you specific suggestions on assisting your child, we’ll provide you with some basic background that will inform your interactions with your young author. Empowering Writers materials encourage each student to learn the skills of an author by connecting to good literature, participating in teacher modeled writing, and engaging in guided practice. Ultimately, through this process, the student will independently apply the skills learned in creating written pieces of their own. This includes writing in each of the following genres: Narrative (written for the purpose of entertaining an audience of others), Expository (writing about a topic with the purpose of providing information), and Persuasive/Argumentative (writing around an issue for the purpose of persuading or convincing others).

Your child is receiving writing instruction as part of their school curriculum. This website is meant to inform you of writing skills that are being taught. We are not suggesting that you “tutor” your child but rather offer ideas for how to support writing skills at home.  Click on the links below for further information.

Kindergarten/Grade One

Narrative

Expository

Persuasive