When you give your children a writing assignment, do they complain and whine about it? I had the same problem, until I discovered something last summer which made all the difference - when my children had a purpose for their writing, they were more willing to complete the assignments. Along the way, my kids learned the process of writing format through publishing.
A few years ago, all three of my children wrote books which are now available for purchase. My son worked for an entire year studying about the jungle and choosing just the right animal or plant to include in his ABC Jungle Book. After making these choices, he wrote a paragraph about each one, using a writing stylistic checklist.
You must be realistic and know that he did not write or research every day for the past year. He took breaks from this project which was completed at the beginning of June.
Here's how we kept our son motivated, saving us from nagging and arguing. First, we assigned him a writing topic that was interesting to him. He's been fascinated by jungle plants and animals for years, and was happy to keep reading and learning more. Second, he was excited at the thought of writing his own book, one that he could sell to earn money for his efforts. Because he had a reason for writing, he remained motivated to complete the project.
Other purposes for writing assignments may include sending a letter to a friend or relative, entering a writing contest, writing a letter to the newspaper editor, writing a summary of your science fair project, sharing a story about an event in your life, writing a ministry letter, or a myriad of other purposes. Do your children have a purpose for their writing?
Once you have given your child a purposeful writing assignment, help them to first put their ideas onto paper, and arrange those ideas in a cohesive, logical order. There's a program on the market which, in my opinion (as a mother and former teacher) is the best. Check out Teaching Writing: Structure & Style, which excels in teaching your children how to write effectively for a range of reasons - letters, essays, stories, and more.
Use the process of writing format through publishing to add purpose to your child's writing assignments. Remember, writing assignments don't have to be about writing - they can, and should, be about a range of topics, preferably based on topics which you and your child are studying at the time. Writing is a skill, one that can be applied to any number of topics. Help your child to write with purpose by asking them to write on many topics, from dragons to trigonometry, summer vacations to science fairs. It makes all the difference in the world!
How To Motivate Students
It can be difficult as a teacher to get your students motivated in class. You might manage to get them hyped up to a certain point over a project or two, but in general, the interest lags after a few days. There is another way to get your student interested and in a competitive mood and that is with awards designed specifically for them! Classroom awards are among the most popular for students and it is very easy to add them to your daily teaching life.
You can make up absolutely any type of award that you want, which is especially handy with young children. Inventing a fun award like Best Smile of the Week is the perfect way to get kids laughing and working harder.
Start by planning out several general awards such as Hardest Working Student, Most Helpful, Best Behaved, etc. These can be given out every week or month, as you see fit. Although you could have awards that are given out at the end of each semester, it is usually better motivation if you choose smaller time periods. This allows the children to compete more and they have more chances of winning. For this reason, you want to reward good behavior, so everyone will be doing their best to behave well and try harder at their work.
There are lots of different certificate papers available, you can choose one that goes with your theme. For younger kids, a certificate with balloons is fun, while older children will prefer a more professional look. The idea is to give out a certificate for all the awards at the end of each judging period. Hold a semi-formal ceremony, where each child is praised and called up in front of the class to receive their certificate. Have everyone clap for the winners and you can teach them a little something about not being sore losers as well.
If you want to take things a step further, include photos in your awards ceremonies. Take a shot of each winner with their certificate and for the next time period, that child has his or her photo hung on the bulletin board with the name of their award above the photo. Kids absolutely love being famous and this is a good way to cater to that interest. Make up fancy frames with the award names on top. You can make this a class project if you like and have all the children team up to decorate the photo frames.
Invent a special, unique award at the end of each time period, something like Best Dressed or Funniest Jokester, according to what you see fit. This is a good way to include the children who might figure they have no chance at winning a good behavior award, so they automatically try to be bad. These awards are one-time only affairs and should only be given to one child in the class.
Using awards to motivate your students is not a new idea, but it is one that has not been used enough. As you begin to incorporate it into your classroom routine, you are bound to see results.
Both Kerry Beck & Joseph Jordan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kerry Beck has sinced written about articles on various topics from Divorce and Infidelity, Kids and Teens and How to Sell on Ebay. Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschoolers about . She offers a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at. Kerry Beck's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
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