Karen,Guest wrote: ↑Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:39 pmMy son is a 6th grader and does not like to write.
We did about ten lessons in writing strands last year and it was like pulling teeth just to get him to write a paragraph. I did, however, get him to write more with the Language Lessons lessons. He seemed to be more motivated when he had a "fun" topic to write about. He thinks of some great and really funny ideas, its just getting him to put them down on paper.
I try not to be too critical of his writing, and really try to focus on the content right now, because I just want him to write. I'm thinking that using the History topics to write about, instead of just following through a writing curriculum. He definitely learns more and is more interested when all subjects tie in with each other. Has anyone done this, and how did it work.
I welcome ANY ideas on how I can get him to write more!!
Thanks, Karen TX
You are not alone in having a boy who does not like the pencil!
In fact, first of all I would try to separate what is dislike of the pencil, and what is dislike of writing issues -- such as not liking certain types of writing assignments, only wanting to do factual writing vs. creative writing, or frustration with poor writing skills.
If it's a pencil problem, have you tried letting him type his work? Or even taking dictation from him as you type his work? Of course you type it the way he says it, and later he can edit it.
If it's not the pencil but instead an issue with composing his writing, I think your idea of using CtG topics is a great one. You can create a very meaningful, lasting history notebook that takes on whatever character he wants it to. You may need to give him suggestions, or things to think about, but he will probably be able to take it from there. You could ask, "What was it like when we celebrated the Sabbath?" or, "What did we learn from our experiment today?"
As for working on skills, Writing Strands recommends choosing only one or two issues to focus on in editing a particular paper, rather than trying to make it perfect. You might start with being sure all sentences start with a capital letter & end with punctuation. Next you could focus on filling in all the words in between. Then spelling of those words. And eventually, improving on technique such as word choice... You could use the goals in Writing Strands assignments and adapt them to his writing.
I personally would not worry about writing more than a paragraph until that comes easily and well.
Julie