Easy Tips for Teaching Writing

Writing is more important than ever. Have you noticed that computers are forcing more and more of us to write? Just when you were beginning to think that writing wasn’t really very necessary! 

Now, lots of parents will acknowledge that writing is important. After all, they were made to slog through all sorts of reports in school and turn in mindless book reports. But when it comes to actually teaching it, gadzooks! Oh my goodness! What shall we do???? It suddenly sounds very mysterious and forbidding.

No Mystery About It
You may have noticed that my daughters write. They actually enjoy it. One mom asked me my method for teaching Heather and Raquelle to write. I told her, it comes down to just two words. Make them! That’s it. Just make them write. Regularly. Whether they want to or not.

Speaking and Reading Help
One of the best ways that you can help your children write well is to speak correctly, read aloud often, and give them good books to read. Writing is merely a tool for communicating. If your family practices articulate communication and reads regularly, you are actually practicing handling the English language. If your kids are speaking and reading it well, then it follows that with regular practice they can write it also. So much for writing being mysterious. 

On the other hand, if a child is allowed to grunt his or her way through the day and watch a lot of TV or videos with a minimum of adult communication, then they are being hampered in learning to write. Reading, speaking, and writing all dovetail together to form communication.

Create Fun Reasons to Write
One of the best ways to encourage writing is to give your children practical reasons to write. Letters, whether email or snail mail, are a perfect example of a practical outlet. Have them write to friends, relatives, or even government officials. 

When our girls first began writing, we would orally compose a letter to their grandma, then I would hand print this for them. They would then copy what I wrote so that they could begin understanding how to compose and write a letter. We used the same procedure for writing thank you notes. 

Of course, they can also make birthday cards and Christmas cards and write sentiments in them. You can even write back and forth amongst your family right there at home and read each others’ letters at a special time set aside for this. Regardless of what they wrote, our girls were writing for a real person and not just a dry, dull textbook. Writing to grandma was much more motivational than writing to nobody. It helped that grandma would write back and commend them on their letter writing.

Writing Assignments
When our daughters were about 10 years old and could write fairly well, I assigned "Writing" once a week in a special writing notebook. This once-a-week assignment was in addition to continuing to write letters, cards, etc. I didn’t especially care what the topic was, but they had to write at least a good paragraph. We discussed what the topic was going to be. When they finished, they had to read it aloud to me and their sister. I would also look this over for writing errors. Sometimes they would have to re-write portions because spelling and grammar were too messy to ignore. I gave them more leeway regarding corrections in the writing notebook because I wanted them to focus on getting their thoughts on paper. Letters and notes had to be done correctly and were not sent out until they were right.

Whatever method you might choose in teaching your child to write, the most important focus is that they actually write. There are many good programs for helping a parent teach. But if you have a good sense of the flow of our language and can write reasonably yourself, you may not need a program at all. The tool you use to teach writing isn’t as important as making sure that the skill is practiced regularly. Writing isn’t nearly as mysterious as it sounds, so relax. Your children aren’t going to be ruined because you didn’t find the perfect curriculum.

Just write. 

Written by Holly Sheen

What’s the Point? - Why Teach Language Arts

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)

When I was about 12, I hated studying English.  “What’s the point?” I whined to Mom.  “I’m not gonna be a writer or anything!  Why do I have to diagram sentences ‘n stuff?”

I hope the fact that I can write a coherent blog entry convinces you that Mom was right after all! Okay, you say, it’s great for a parent to be able to say “I told you so!” to a whiney kid.  But what do you say before the kid’s studying pays off?  How do you encourage a child to pursue language arts if he dislikes or struggles with the subject?

Why Language Arts?
God thought language was so important that He personified His Son as the "WORD." “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  (John 1:1)  The Scriptures are filled with references to God’s language — “the word of the Lord,” “the mouth of the Lord,” “the word of His power,” etc.  In fact, God chose to reveal Himself through words — the Bible — which He declares will “stand forever.”   When God created the universe, He did it not with “his hands” or “his strength,” but rather with his Word.  “And God said, ‘Let there be...’”

Language is important because it is communication.  Have you ever had laryngitis or some other mouth ailment, and tried to communicate without words?  Gestures and grunts don’t convey much and you usually wind up exasperated!  Words make our meaning precise and clear.  They can be written down so more than one person can read them.  Words can be translated so people of other tongues can understand.  Words can be etched in stone so that hundreds of generations can be moved by the same message.  But words only convey meaning if they are used in a way everyone recognizes.  And that’s why we study subjects like English, grammar, spelling and writing.

If I wrote this sentence: “Binx scarfed yer grub,” there is only one person in the world who would know what I meant.  My sister.  That is because she knows “Binx” refers to her cat Binxus, “scarf” and “yer” are our slang words for “ate” and “your” and “grub” is another slang word for “food.”  She would therefore deduce that her rascally cat had snitched her tuna sandwich again.  But no one else would understand this.  Why?  Because I did not use generally recognized words and spellings.

A Christian should always desire to communicate as clearly as possible because the Great Commission requires us to tell the gospel to others.  How can we share the gospel if others are confused by what we say?  Worse than a confused person is the one who is turned off of the gospel because the communication was sloppy, poorly worded, badly spelled or incoherent.  The Bible tells us to “always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within you,” and that preparation should include good language skills.

The more language we know, the more precise our meaning.  “She shouted at the animal,” conveys meaning, but “She hollered in exasperation at the tuna-snitching cat,” is more precise and you probably get a better mental image of what happened.  You received more accurate communication.

Language skills are learned by doing three things: studying the mechanics of language, reading what good writers and speakers have said, and practicing writing and speaking yourself.  You’re never too old to stop improving your language skills... and you’re never too young either.  The Bible tells us that words existed in the beginning and they will be there in the end.  Language is eternal.  Let that encourage you the next time you encounter those tiresome nouns and verbs!

Written by Heather Sheen