5 useful writing tips for children

Writing is a powerful impact method and essential skill. It’s a lot more than just putting words on paper. Writing is a means of communication that plays a vital role in the life of children – both in and out of the classroom. 

Both teachers and parents can make a huge difference in helping a child develop writing skills by encouraging fun and simple writing activities. Below are five useful tips that can help improve a child’s writing skills in school and at home.

1. Start Classes with a Writing Exercise

Doing a familiar writing exercise every day to start a class is a great way for teachers to help children develop a sense of routine. For instance, in a morning meeting, students usually share something with the class. Teachers typically do this to assist children in developing verbal communication skills.

The same concept can be applied to writing skills. Teachers can allocate time for writing right after the morning meetings, whereby the children can write anything they need to share. This way, you foster writing as part of a classroom routine.

The children would receive positive reinforcement for writing and an understanding of writing as a regular part of the daily routine. Most children, especially the younger children, are often anxious about writing and this exercise can eliminate that anxiety.

2. Incorporate Circle – Writing Activities into the Learning Process

Circle-writing activities can be conducted at home or in school. Teachers and parents can utilize this technique as a quick, fun and non-threatening creative writing exercise.

Writing a story in groups offers the children some peer support and the right environment, which has a subconscious influence on creative writing. Start by placing the children in groups of four to six individuals. Each group has one pencil and one piece of paper.

Give the children a strange topic or story starter such as “Yesterday, as I walked home I saw a weird looking chicken. It had…” Each group selects one person to continue the story. The student starts writing the story at the signal of the teacher or parent.

The chosen student should continue writing until another signal is given to stop. At this point, the student passes the paper to a group mate who reads aloud the story so far. The activity can continue for a given period or number of rotations.

3. Incorporate Writing Tools into the Lessons

One way to make writing interesting and easier for a child is to explain when and how to use writing aids. With the digital age comes a myriad of online and offline tools that parents or teachers can use to improve a child’s writing skills. It is good practice to incorporate these tools into the writing process.