Sixth grade Language Arts - Writing process

Sixth grade--writing process

Writing may not be something your child enjoys, but it is something she can’t avoid any longer. I face this issue with my own daughter right now. She is not a confident speller, and her penmanship is not great. In her words, writing on paper is slow, and old-fashioned. Which brings me to my point today. Just because she thinks it is slow and old-fashioned doesn’t mean she doesn’t have to do it. The things that we consider important about the writing process is the mechanics of getting the thoughts in the right place and the right order. For example, it is important that she know how to decide on a topic, and jot down the ideas in the pre-writing step. It is important that she can come up with a basic outline to cover the topic chosen. She should be able to write well written sentences and be able to proofread and edit what she has written. She should understand what the final product should look like as far as indention of paragraphs, punctuation, and the format and number of sentences. Those things are required. What homeschooling gives me the flexibility to do at this point is let her use word processors to write, and spell checkers to confirm correct spelling. We use other technology as well. Sometimes she dictates her paragraphs into a digital voice recorder, or to me. Her issues with penmanship and slowness of hand written paragraphs won’t stand in the way of learning and creating. Consider adapting and using technologies if your child seems reluctant to write. Sometimes it is not the lack of ability to create, sometimes it is the difficulty in actually putting pen to paper.