Writing an essay can seem like an overwhelming task for some children.
Teaching children how to write essays can be challenging, too.
Fear not!
The writing process can help you make writing much easier for you and your child.
Let me tell you more about it.
The Writing Process
What is The Writing Process?
The writing process has been around since the early 1970’s. It is a step by step process for teaching children how to write. I’ve used it both in the classroom and in homeschooling with great success.
There are typically five steps involved. They are Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Proofreading, and Publishing. Occasionally you will find slight variations on this with fewer or more steps. I have found that the five step process has everything I need.
Why Use It?
The writing process breaks down the big job of writing an essay into bite-sized chunks. It also provides structure to the task of writing.
How Do You Use It?
I have found it to be a useful tool and guideline for teaching writing, but with flexibility. I have discovered over the years that sometimes a child will need to move back and forth between steps or parts of steps. For example, a child may start writing his paper in Step 2, but then find that he doesn’t have enough information. So then he will have to jump back Step 1 and do some research. That’s perfectly fine. That’s what real writers do so feel free to encourage that.
This process is not set in stone. Feel free to play with it to suit the needs and learning styles of your children. You might even discover a way to improve upon it.
Here are the links to the writing process steps.
Many blessings,
