In case you missed it, and a lot of people did, October 20 was National Writing Day. That’s right: a day apart, a day that went unnoticed. Unfortunately.
Writing skills are essential for academic, social, and career success, but today’s students seem to be sorely lacking. A quick look at the results on the writing portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “the nation’s report card,” tells the story:
· Only about 33% of 8th graders scored at or above the proficient level;
· Only about 25% of 12th graders scored at or above the proficient level.
That leaves most of the 14,000 eighth graders and 28,000 seniors who took the test unable to successfully write two 25-minute essays that are informative, persuasive or narrative in nature. Therefore, a day dedicated to writing.
It was established on October 20 by the National Council of Teachers of English in order to…
· “Point out the importance of writing instruction and practice in all grades, for all students, and in all subjects, from preschool through college;
· Emphasize the lifelong process of learning to write and compose for different audiences, purposes, and occasions; Y
· Encourages Americans to write and enjoy and learn from the writing of others.”
The case for improving writing skills cannot be overstated. A common way for most kids is of course texting, but that’s artificial and limited. True writing, on the other hand, is exploratory, expansive, and so much better than LOL and OMG. So what can you do to get your child hooked on writing? Here are some tips:
1. Provide a “writer’s notebook” (any type of notebook will do) to record interesting bits of conversation, quotes, and interesting facts, such as a 15-mile line that can be drawn with a regular pencil. These annotations then serve as a valuable writing resource.
2. Make sure there is a dictionary and thesaurus in the house, along with how is this written if spelling is a problem. The book offers how a word can normally be misspelled along with the correct spelling, such as numonia/pneumonia. Now your child is ready to write as well as spell.
3. Engage your child in “copy-change” writing using their own words but imitating another writer’s form and structure. This activity improves fluency and writing style.
4. Encourage “free writing” to combat writing on writer’s block for 5 minutes about a favorite person, place, thing, or event and then switching gears to the unpleasant, like dentist’s drills. This warm-up activity gets the creative juices flowing.
5. Promote “brainstorming” on a topic before the actual writing. A list of facts, ideas, and associated details is ready for possible inclusion in the piece.
6. Insist on the burial of Okay, niceY great. Used so frequently, they have lost their impact and meaning. For example, it is difficult to know what nice really it means.
7. Recommend limiting the use of excessive adjectives and adverbs. They clutter instead of clarifying. For example, use happy instead of very very happy. One word can do it all.
8. Persuade your child to use strong action verbs and nouns. They are more effective descriptors than adjectives and adverbs. Instead of “Sam drank his soda too fast,” ask him drink, blow, gobble upPrayed inhale its Pepsi.
9. Recommend removing linking verbs and help to increase the impact of the writing. Say, for example, “We were relaxing by the pool,” instead of “We had been relaxing by the pool.”
10. Insist that your child read the essay/report aloud several times, listening for what the eyes often miss. This independently ensures that the writing makes sense, is well organized, and correctly written and punctuated.
In the meantime, if you have a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader in your house, this is a writing opportunity like no other. That’s because the winner of the casey and belle Story Contest will have your story published as the next adventure in the casey and belle series of books. There is no fee to enter; no purchase necessary either.
Entries are judged on their creativity and originality of the title, the adventure, and the introduction of three new characters. Also, there must be a moral or lesson taught.
The deadline is April 15, 2012, with the 10 finalists notified by May 1. The winner is then recognized in front of her school with a plaque and a $500 reward. Also, the following school year, the student can celebrate the release of her book at a book signing at Barnes and Noble with the real Casey and Bella, two dogs.
And it doesn’t get any better than that, so get out the paper, pencils, and pens and have your child write story after story, and read every day, too.