Summer Tips for Helping Your Struggling/Reluctant Writer (Part 1)
July 8, 2013
by Sandra Rief
For kids who resist writing because it is difficult for them (as is the case for many with ADHD and/or Learning Disabilities), it is not easy to motivate them to write over the summer. During the school year much of what students write are assignments from their teachers that address various genres of writing that need to be taught (based on their grade level standards). For example:
- Informative/explanatory pieces – examining a topic and conveying information about it clearly
- Persuasive essays or letters on topics –backed up with facts, evidence, and solid reasons to support an argument
- Personal narratives – about events that took place in their lives
- Short research projects
But, the summer is an opportunity to engage your child in writing for their own purposes and to discover that writing can be fun.
Here are 25 ways to motivate your child to engage in writing activities during the summer months:
Scrapbooks, Journals, Albums
- Scrapbooks and Albums – Have your child create a scrapbook or album of pictures and then write captions for the pictures. Other items can also be included in the scrapbook or album (e.g., ticket stubs, maps, brochures) of places they go over the summer. The scrapbook can be a springboard to then perhaps be motivated to write more than captions (e.g., a paragraph or so about one or more of the pages in the scrapbook/album).
- Journals – Buy your child a nice journal to decorate, and then encourage writing in it daily…about anything (a game played with a friend, a movie seen, places they want to go). There are different kinds of journals and ways they can be used. For example: as a personal diary of thoughts/feelings, a travel log (writing about places seen or experiences on any trips or outings), a photo journal (drawing or printing and mounting a photo per page and writing something related to the picture), a back and forth journal between you and your child. For this, you write something to your child (e.g., positive comment or message, something funny you want to share) and end your entry with a question. This gives your son or daughter something concrete to write about – responding to your question.
Write to Perform
Your child may be motivated to write something that will be performed for an audience (you and other family members/friends, out-of-town relatives via Skype) . Here are some possibilities:
- Write and perform a skit or puppet shows.
- Create a dance but plan and record in writing the steps.
- Create a powerpoint presentation on a topic of interest to share with an audience.
- Compose a song and write the lyrics.
- Sing a song and copy the lyrics first.
- Write jokes for a stand-up comedy routine.
- Make a video but first plan it out in writing.
- Write a poem.
Correspondence
- Email to relatives or friends.
- Write a blog or have your child contribute to a family blog.
- Write letters to friends, relatives, penpals.
- Write to celebrities, organizations or businesses. (Your child may receive autographed pictures of celebs, information or various freebies from businesses, public offices, and organizations when requested.)
Lists, Lists, Lists
- Encourage your child to make lists or make a game out of listing things: mammals, books read, favorite songs, car models, baseball teams, party games, words that rhyme with…, favorite TV shows, 3 and 4- syllable words, things they want to pack for an overnight or trip, games and activities to play when their friend comes over, shopping wish lists, movies they want to see.
Book Making
- Encourage your child to create their own books. Have your child illustrate pages and either write or dictate what they want written on each of the pages. Encourage your child to participate in the actual writing to the extent that they are willing to do (e.g., helping you spell at least some of the words, copying the words from your model, typing the words in whatever font they want, printing, and pasting the text onto the book pages). Bind their books in various ways.
- Explore some of the book making apps available to motivate your child to write their own stories or books. A few include: StoryKit, Book Creator, and Scribble Press.
Persuade Me
- If there is something that your son or daughter has been “bugging you” about (e.g., getting a pet, going somewhere or buying a particular toy or game), have your child try to convince you by researching and showing you in writing (at least partially) why that’s a good idea. For example, if your child has been begging for a dog, have her research and prepare a good argument with supporting reasons and information. Siblings with the same desire can work on this one together.
Some More Writing Ideas
- Design and decorate a menu and write out the items or choices for the meal.
- Create their own comic books or cartoons.
- Write poetry.
- Write comics. See these great resources for interactive online activities for grades K-12 on the ReadWriteThink website under Parent & Afterschool Resources. For example, Comic Creator invites children and teens to design their own comic strips. There are at least 50 activities and projects for each grade level that are motivating and tie in reading/writing.
- Motivate your child by providing cool writing tools (special pens, notebooks, and variety of paper).
- If your child needs assistive technology (e.g., voice recognition or planning/mind-mapping/outlining software), you may want to explore this summer some programs that would help your child. Check out these: Read & Write Gold, Kurzweil, Co-Writer, Write: OutLoud, Dragon Dictation, Inspiration and Kidspiration.
More Important Tips
3 of the best ways to encourage your child to write are:
1. Talk, Talk, Talk – This is a key pre-writing step that you can take to help your child in organizing ideas and getting started (major issues for kids with executive function weaknesses). Talking things out first is very beneficial – with whatever they write. Talk them through their ideas, discuss, and ask good questions (ones that probe thinking deeper about a topic and communicating clearly).
2. Be an Enthusiastic. Supportive Audience – It is important to show a sincere interest in their writing. Ask your child to read to you what they write. Be available to listen, and ask permission to read their work if they don’t want to read it aloud to you.
3. Tap Into Their Interests – Whatever your child is curious about and wants to explore further, provide opportunities and resources to do so. Then, encourage your child to write down a few things learned that can be shared with you (e.g., steps to making a project of choice, recipe your child wants to make, a “how to” book of cool experiments or tricks, 5 interesting things about a favorite athlete or recording artist). The best way to motivate your child to write (as well as read) is to find ways to hook them in through their interests.
Note:
This blog is part 1 on this topic of some ideas to hopefully motivate your child to do some writing over the summer, and be better prepared for the coming school year’s writing demands. See my other writing-related blogs and articles: Summer Tips for Helping Your Struggling/Reluctant Writer (Part 2), Why Writing is Often a Struggle for Students with ADHD and/or Learning Disabilities, How to Help My Child with Writing – Home Supports. The Wonderful “Post-It Strategy” from Writing Fix. There are hundreds of great writing ideas on my Writing Strategies & Activities Pinterest board. My books also have many writing strategies and tips for parents and teachers of kids with ADHD and/or Learning Disabilities.
Tags: ADHD, Learning Disabilities, motivating writing activities, parent tips, reluctant writers, Rief, struggling writers, summer writing tips
