HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH WRITING

©Shelby Hawthorne, CBB Reading Specialist. Used with Permission

Would you like to know how you can help your child become a better writer? The most important way is to encourage your child to write. The writing may be an assignment from school. Or, your child could choose to write about a topic of interest. Not everything your child writes will be "published."

After your child has written something, follow the "P-Q-P Method." That is Praise --- Question --- Polish.

• Praise what you like about the paper.
• Question what you don't understand about the paper.
• Polish what needs to be changed before the paper can be published.

Below are some of the ways in which you could help your child "polish" his/her writing.

• Paper should have one central idea or topic.
• There are details and examples.
• Order of events make sense.
• Writing has a beginning, middle, and ending.
• The ending makes sense.
• There are descriptive words (e.g. large, silly, quickly)
• Everything in the paper is necessary.
• Sentences begin with different words.
• Sentences end with a ., ?, or !.
• Grammar is correct.
• Capital (upper case)letters for: beginning of sentences, the word "I," names of people, pets, and places.
• "Core" words spelled correctly.
• Handwriting is readable.

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