Boosting Children’s English Writing Skills
Developing English Writing Skills
Activities like these can prepare children for more creative writing:
Handwriting Fundamentals
When children write, they have to pay attention to several things at the same time. For example, they need to:
- Develop finger control.
- Maintain tidiness.
Leveraging Computers for Writing
For this, children need to:
- Learn the keyboard layout.
- Learn some English expressions for using a computer or email.
The Essence of Writing as a Skill
Like the other three language skills, writing is about meaning. Therefore, children should always think about the meaning of what they are writing. It’s crucial that children enjoy the activity and feel successful.
Alphabet Practice for Young Learners
Very young learners enjoy activities such as:
- Singing the alphabet song.
- Making the letters.
- Writing in different colors.
Engaging Alphabet Activities: Writing Races
The teacher can organize a writing race. This activity helps the teacher to:
- Continue the focus on writing practice.
- Vary the learning activity.
- Allow children to be physically active.
Other engaging activities include:
- Palm Writing: Children feel the shape and say the letter.
- Back Writing: Children feel the shape and write the letter.
Connecting Speaking, Reading, and Writing
From Speaking to Writing: Memory Games & Quizzes
Children should write about what they have talked about or read about. We can use listening, speaking, and reading activities to prepare them for their written work.
Children can write puzzles or quizzes for another pair or team. For example, if children have been talking about themselves (where they live, what they like):
They don’t write the name, just the description. For example: “She has two brothers and no sisters, and she likes comics… Who is she?”
They can then read it out and let others guess who it is.
Other related games include: Memory Game and Question and Answer.
From Reading to Writing: List Making
Children can read a poem, such as “A Party at Croco Bay.” They can then underline other sets of words, for example, animals or games, so they can write them out later.
Spelling: The Bridge Between Reading and Writing
Spelling is a crucial link between reading and writing.
For example, in a “questioning game,” each child writes down (in secret) a word they can see in the classroom. The whole class can then play a question game (spoken or written) to guess the word.
Collaborative Writing for Children
Children need help in writing longer, continuous pieces of writing, such as recipes or short stories. When children work together as a class, they can learn to help one another and cooperate. In this way, children could collaboratively write the end of a story after listening to it.
Encouraging Free Writing in Children
Free Writing: Describing People
To help children write freely, you can start with personal presentations. The teacher asks questions to help the children talk about themselves. Show the children what to do by:
- Drawing a simple outline of a boy or girl on the board.
- Writing their answers on the board.
- Showing them how their answers can become a written description of the person.
Creative Expression: Making Books
Children enjoy making books. They can write out the story by hand or use a computer, leaving spaces for pictures to be stuck in later. They can write a description, and then write about something the person does.
Connecting Globally: Writing to Penpals
Lots of children around the world are learning English, so your pupils could write to other children anywhere in the world. Writing to penpals is a very practical way to use English. It lets children see the real value of learning another language – to communicate and find out about other people. Children also enjoy getting short messages from friends on the computer, which are more like a chat.