Using Great Topics to Teach Writing
Author: StephenBeck Total views: 15 Word Count: 343
Despite all the articles I wrote to teach kids to write, the children often teach me more than I teach them. Thanks to my son, I learned another powerful lesson, one that makes me a better teacher while helping him become a better writer. Here's what happened.
A week ago my son listened to IEW Student Writing DVD for his assignment. His lesson was on writing a biographical sketch in a 5-paragraph paper. In the back of my mind I thought it would be great if he wrote about one of the early church fathers. We were studying the end of the Roman civilization and it would help him remember one of them. Besides, he could read one of the books that we didn't have time to read in history. Of course, he wasn't very interested in those men.
I could tell his disinterest as we talked about his topic. So, we started talking baseball. He had just finished reading a biography of Derek Jeter, so I suggested doing his paper on Jeter. He didn't complain and even told me of two other sources he could use. He had to use a minimum of 3 sources and only one could be internet.
We decided that he would write about Derek Jeter, rather than church fathers.
This week he found interesting and important information about Jeter. Today we narrowed his paper to three topics about Derek Jeter. Next week, he will outline his paper and begin writing.
I am impressed at how much happier he is with this assignment. All it took was the freedom to choose his own topic, rather than being told what to write. Because he is so interested in his topic, I know that he will do a better job and learn more in the process.
By letting your kids choose their own topics, they take ownership of their project. Give it a try - it makes a huge difference! Your children will learn more and be happier about it; you'll be thrilled with the results.
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About the Author
Kerry Beck encourages classroom teachers and homeschool moms with a lesson on writing a biographical sketch. Kerry offers a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.
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