In my last blog I noted that writing may be the most important of all early subjects for children in today’s world. I’m sure others would argue differently. But as someone who sits at my computer for several hours daily, I realize that the vast majority of my time is spent communicating with anyone other than LuLu is done in text. Either I’m reading it, or I’m writing it. Now I know that the internet and the computer world are going more and more graphic and visual every year. But I don’t think that the importance of the written word will diminish anytime soon.
Sure, newspaper subscriptions are declining, but the numbers of Americans getting their news from the internet continues to increase. Yes, we all watch video clips, but the written word remains.
Being able to formulate and convey your thoughts in writing is a critical skill, and one that continues to elude many of our public school children. A 2002 writing proficiency assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that only 28% of fourth-grade, 31% of eighth-grade, and 24% of twelfth-grade students scored as proficient.
So how can we help our children become better writers?
First off, we need to recognize that writing is a complex, high level skill. If your child is struggling with writing, try to dig a bit further to see what is troublesome for her. Research shows that those children who struggle quickly become frustrated and try to avoid writing…which doesn’t help them improve the skill.
Encourage your child to write for pleasure. Pen pals is a great way to do this. Have them send postcards to family and friends from your summer vacation trips. Encourage to them to keep journals.
One of the things I encourage LuLu to do is to write and illustrate stories. LuLu loves to draw, so I try to get her to combine her desired hobby with writing. I’ll have to say her virtual school curriculum helps there as well. Many of the reading assignments include both writing and illustrating a summary of the story!