From social media posts to college admission essays, we know that good writing equals good communication. Our tutors can help your child focus their writing skills in order to showcase their understanding and individuality! Even if your child is more math and science focused, writing still plays a role to explain answers or findings. Fundamentally, writing helps us clearly explain ideas and share knowledge. Here are some ways to help promote good writing this summer.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Like with many hobbies, the more you write the better you become. Formal writing in the classroom is important but informal or journal writing is extremely beneficial to grow as writers. The summer brings a great opportunity to practice putting ideas and thoughts onto paper. Check out Team Tutor’s seventh and eighth grade writing prompts here! Also, Academicwritingsuccess.com offers great prompts for a summer gratitude journal.
You can even use favorite movies and books to help with writing, by asking questions like: What do you think the character will do next? How do you think the movie should have ended? Anything that gets your child writing down their ideas is helpful!
Graphic Organizers
The hardest part of the writing process for students can be getting all their thoughts into a clear and concise paragraph. Graphic Organizers can help! These charts set up a way to list points or parts of a summary. Once the information is on the page the writing becomes easier. Your child already has all the important pieces now you can just fit them together! These are some wonderful graphic organizers from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Each graphic organizer is a little different. Here are some of our top picks!
Sandwich Chart- Perfect for early-mid elementary, writing one paragraph
Persuasion Map– Beginning of persuasive essays and research papers requiring a thesis
Venn Diagram– Classic resource for comparing and contrasting
Becoming a good writer takes time and practice. It can get frustrating! These summer months are a great time to work on this skill without the pressure of the classroom. We hope you and your child can use some of these ideas to get started.