This document provides tips for parents to support their child's writing development at home. It discusses how to motivate reluctant writers by having the family write together, letting children choose their own topics, and praising their work. For motivated writers, the document suggests having writing conferences, challenging children to read different genres and use higher-level vocabulary. It emphasizes making writing fun by sharing work and publishing pieces to help children feel proud and maintain confidence in their writing abilities.

1. My Child, the
Writer!
Ways to support your child’s
writing growth at home!
Ms. Zipp
August 2012

2. What will we
accomplish today?
Today we are going to talk
about the following
things to make sure your
child experiences the
most success this year in
writing class:
1.) How to understand your child’s
emotional reactions to writing
2.) How to best support a struggling
writer

3. Scenario One: I
try to get my child
to write, but they
HATE it! How do I
motivate them?

4. There are many
reasons why a
child
may express a
dislike for
writing.
The main reasons
are:
1.They feel that they
have nothing to write

5. This is a tough
situation! But there
are ways to support
our reluctant
writers.

6. (1)Write as a family: The
more your child sees
you writing, they more
they will want to
write.

7. (2) Let your child choose
what they want to write
about-whether it be a
video game or a trip to
Castle and Coasters. It
may not seem
interesting to us, but
if it is interesting to
them, then let them
write about it!

8. (3) Help them think of
ideas for their writing
by flipping through
magazines or other
high-interest books
that can spark their
imagination.

9. (4) Praise their writing-
tell them how wonderful
it is, even if there is
room for improvement!

10. (5) If your child can’t think
of something to write about
you can use try one of
these strategies:
 Put a number of items in a box. Ask
your child to reach into the box and
pull out an item. Then, ask them to
write a story about that item.
 Write a list of ten words. Ask your
child to make a newspaper headline out
of those words and write a story using
that headline.
 Does your child love science or math?
Ask them to write a story about magical
animals or magical numbers!

11. Scenario Two: My
child loves to write!
How do I make sure I
am challenging them so
that they continue to
be motivated to
improve their writing?

12. (1)Have short, “writing
conferences” with your
child (just like I will
do with them in class).
Meet with them over a cup
of juice and
talk to them about their
writing. Let them
tell you what they think
about their own
work and how they think
they can make it
better.

13. (2) Challenge your child
to read the writing of
one of their favorite
authors.
Discuss why they love
that author so much
and ask them what they
think makes that
author’s writing so
wonderful. Then, ask
them
how they can incorporate
those great writing

14. (3) Challenge your
child to improve
their writing by
using resources such
as a dictionary or a
thesaurus to
incorporate higher-
level vocabulary
words.
This will help them to
develop both
their writing and

15. (4) Challenge your child
to write in different
genres.
If they wrote a fairytale
last week, maybe
they should try a
newspaper article this
week! Or if they wrote a
research paper
last week, maybe next
they should try
writing a recipe. Show

16. For all students, we must
make sure that
we support them as
writers so that
they feel comfortable
taking on new
challenges, even though
they might fail
the first time.

17. How do we
support all of
our young
writers and help
them to build
and maintain
their academic
confidence?

18. Writing is
important!
We must help our young
writers
understand that
writing is just like
talking! It helps us
communicate with
the world.

19. (1) Ask your children to
share their writing!
Use one evening a week as
“writing
share time” where everyone
in the
house gets a chance to
hear about the
writing piece that your

20. (2) Showcase your
child’s writing so
they know that you
are proud of them.
Let them take their
time and produce work
that they want to
show to the world!
Make sure they can
see their
accomplishments

21. (3) Read, read, read!
Students become
better writers as
they become better
readers! Make reading
a priority. Spend
time at the library,
and allow your child
to choose the books
that they are
interested in.

22. (4) Publish your
child’s work. Even if
this just means
putting it in a nice
folder on the kitchen
counter. Let them see
that a finished piece
is something to be
valued and cherished.

23. The Bottom Line…
Every child deserves the
opportunity to feel
proud and accomplished
when they write.
Your children deserve the
best, and there are
ways that we can work
together to give them

24. I am SO EXCITED to see
how the
students grow and
develop this year. I
know that it will be a
fantastic year
for all of us!

25. If you’d like more
information at any
point in the year, or
if you’d like to chat
about more specific
ways to support your
child, you are
welcome to contact me
at any time. :)

26. Resources
Fletcher, R and Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing
Workshop: The Essential Guide.
Portsmouth: Heinemann.
To listen to a verbal Screencast of this
Powerpoint, visit:
http://www.screencast.com/t/9w3ZFnMVU