Encouraging Children to Write: Elementary to High School

In June, at our annual homeschooling evaluation, the million dollar question was, "How can I best prepare my high school students to write the SAT essay?" My evaluator and friend, Debbie Strayer gave us a five minute lesson on essay writing. What is so cool and utterly surprising is that it worked! It's very simple:

1. Write the three main paragraphs first - (Fully supported)
2. Write the conclusion
3. Write the introduction

Can you believe it? How can something so simple work? Apparently, composition skills are heavy on a lot of mommy minds! When I published a blog post on this topic, I received quite a few emails with concerns and questions.

A few years back I came across a short article by Ruth Beechick on the stages of grammar and composition. I took a few quick notes and went on about my business. But as I've walked out our homeschooling, I've seen these stages come to fruition. Ruth Beechick explained that grammar could be broken into two stages.

Intuitive - This is when a child picks up grammar all by themselves, simply by listening and talking. This is how a child learns to speak, distinguishing sounds and forming them properly, learning proper word order, etc... She says we learn about 99% of our grammar this way. It makes sense.

Abstract-analytical - This happens around age twelve to fourteen...junior high students. This is the stage in which the child can now think deeply about a topic that they cannot see concretely. Ms. Beechick believes that formal grammar won't really help the writing process, but it does assist the child in learning about language. I can personally testify that this is correct. I was taught no formal grammar until high school. I've always been a fairly good writer. To fix a grammar error, I simply say the sentence aloud and rewrite it the way it sounds best.

Interestingly, Ruth Beechick encourages us with the idea that composition ability grows with thinking ability. So early in our homeschooling I began using Bloom's Taxonomy to help my children think. If a child can think, then a child can write. But please...don't go crazy with Bloom's after you visit that link! Use the questions every once in a while. Talk about literature, movies, events, news or current events. Ask your children their thoughts and opinions. Help them apply what they learn to life. Allow them to explore their interests. If you do all that, they will write.It sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, it's not that easy for the writer! This quote always gives me a giggle:

"Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” ~ Gene Fowler

I've actually watched this happen in my children! Well, not drops of blood...but writing was apparently painful for them at some time or another in their development. The point here is that writing is hard work at each level of development for different reasons. So it's best to simplify the process and tell children the truth. "Writing is hard work, but you will get better at it as you grow up." Debbie Strayer once counseled me to teach my children, "to write so someone else can understand them." This simple advice helped me take my children out of the pressure cooker.

So what are the stages of writing and what do they look like? Ruth Beechick breaks it down into five stages of development:

Encoding Stage - This stage occurs in the early elementary grades...and coincides with reading ability. Children begin to write their letters and that eventually leads to punctuating sentences, capitalizing words and other basic, foundational elements in writing.

Listing Stage - Ms. Beechick believes this stage happens around 4th or 5th grade. This is where children can list information, but have trouble relating the ideas to each other. They often throw in sentences that are off topic, or offer weak support. They understand chronological order, but have trouble pulling together their writing due to the lack of strong connections. They simply need time to develop. Don't panic if you have a child like this! They will develop the ability to relate their ideas to one another over time. My son, Sam...age ten, is within this stage now. So we're doing some "lite" writing practice, mostly short paragraphs and we will develop his skill as he matures.

Formal Stage - This stage occurs around sixth grade. Children become aware of organization and cohesiveness. They can tell you if the argument make sense and why. Children can relate cause and effect, as well as tell what idea is most important. Because these brain connections are being made, their writing becomes more complex and varied. In one of my children this happened exactly at grade six, and in another it didn't happen until the 7th grade. So remember, these are stages...not an exact science. In my own experience I saw this stage overlap a bit with the listing and consolidation stages.

Consolidation Stage - This stage makes me grin. Junior High. My son grew ten inches in one year. Ten inches! He had nothing left over to write with! All of his energy was spent in growing. So we practiced the skills he already knew. I expected zero writing growth during this stage. He survived. So did I. He began writing amazing stories the following year at the age of fourteen. The idea here, is to simply practice all that the child has learned to this point.

Advanced Formal Stage - This stage encompasses all the rest of life. Ruth says, "As thinking grows, so grows the writing--with richer content, better organization, more creativity." I believe that this is why simple techniques work best in high school. You give a young adult a simple idea and because they are more mature in their thinking ability, they can then take that simple idea and organize their ideas into a complex product.

Debbie Strayer and Ruth Beechick have been an enormous blessing in our lives over the past eleven years of homeschooling. When I started out I just had to take their word for it that my children would improve over time. I confess that I did not trust completely and we made a couple of curriculum and method mistakes along the way. But now I can look back and see that my older children have developed exactly as these wonderful mentors said they would. As a result, my younger children will benefit that much more greatly.

Recommended Reading:A Strong Start in Language by Ruth Beechick

You Can Teach Your Child Successfully: Grades 4-8 by Ruth Beechick

Providing Relief For Reluctant Writers by Debbie Strayer (Free article)

Too Much Grammar by Ruth Beechick (Free Article)



©2008 Y.M.F.