Improving Childrens' Writing Skills: 10 Easy Tips

Improving Childrens’ Writing Skills: 10 Easy Tips

November 13, 2020

Aside from COVID, Australian students’ writing performance has gained a lot of attention this year, especially in the middle years where NAPLAN data is analysed.

While the junior and middle years are the building blocks for writing, it is the senior years where our students are faced with high-stakes English exams.

So it’s important to understand why effective writing skills can make all the difference in enhancing students’ enjoyment of writing and their end product.

Firstly let’s look at the words from Donald Graves, a pioneer in literacy education, who wrote in the 1970s, “Children want to write. They want to write the first day they attend school. This is no accident. Before they went to school, they marked up walls, pavements, newspapers with crayons, chalk, pens or pencils…anything that makes a mark. The child’s marks say, ‘I am’.”

Try to remove some writing roadblocks with these simple tips:

#1) Read Up

Regular reading is a building block to better writing. Try to introduce variety in their reading choices and expand their horizons. Include magazines, comics and books from different authors.

#2) Stock up

Add fun to the writing process! Stock up on paper with funky designs, lots of colourful pens and pencils. Sticky notes are great to jot down ideas. My son loved the novelty of the Pilot friXion pens, which allowed him to write, delete and rewrite without having to wait for correction fluid to dry. He’s now 15 and still prefers them!

#3) Distraction-free zone

It does take children time to learn good writing skills. But the process becomes a lot harder if there are distractions which steal their attention. Create a distraction-free zone without electronic devices or phones so they can really concentrate on their writing.

#4) Create story prompts

Stories don’t always have to be pages long. Writing short stories can be fun! Try these ideas:

cut out pictures from a magazine with different characters or locations
write down interesting words
try some story starters to tap into their creativity (click here for ideas)
download and print pages with interesting borders/themes, for e.g. space, danger, fantasy

Paste the above ideas onto cards and place them in a container. Use them as writing prompts. This can be a fun activity for the whole family.

#5) A word a week

If your son isn’t a reader then this technique will help to build his vocabulary. It’s important for kids to learn new and exciting words. Choose one or two words a week and get them to build them into a story. I like the words that feature on this Word Ninja site.

#6) Link writing to other areas

Writing is a huge part of every child’s education. Yet for many kids, writing can be viewed as hard and laborious. So aim to make some writing experiences unique. For e.g. you could perform a science experiment – even something simple like adding baking soda to vinegar – and then ask your child to record the results.

#7) Praise their work

Show lots of interest in their writing and stories. Ask questions, celebrate when they bring home a good piece from school, and encourage their writing as much as possible. Ensure to continue this in the older years – stay involved by asking what they are covering in English.

#8) Model it

Modelled writing can be done formally or informally. When writing is a normal part of daily life, it will come more naturally to them. Simple examples include: written letters, a list, a thankyou card or a note.

#9) Invest time and check in regularly

Ensure that your child knows you’re available to help with spelling or proofreading whenever they need it. When you make writing time a priority for you, it will make it easier for your child to improve their writing skills.

#10) Use technology to your advantage

Boys respond to technology and it is increasingly becoming an essential part of our lives. Our young people – often referred to as ‘digital natives’ – haven’t known it any other way.

The basis for our website, Literacy for Boys, was to create good quality, boy-centric content and expose them to great writing.

Hopefully, these strategies have shown you some ways you can engage your child/students to help improve their writing skills, which will also give them a head start when it comes to their education.

Needing extra help with improving a child’s literacy? Students from Year 3 to 9 wanting extra practice with their comprehension, spelling, grammar and punctuation can enrol in our program Literacy for Boys.

Feel free to contact us info@literacyforboys.com.au to enrol for a FREE 2-week trial.