Writing Skills – Elementary Writing Skills

TutorGiant

     Elementary writing has so many aspects that it is difficult to sum them all up in one article.  What’s unique about elementary writing as opposed to the junior and intermediate (middle) grade writing curriculum is the fact that elementary writing is more skill based whereas the latter refines those skills.

     Elementary writing is a cumulative process whereby young students build upon basic skills to more complex ones.

     Let’s take a look at the developmental process of elementary (grades 1-3) writing so that you, as a parent, have an idea as to how your child is learning to write.  Of course, you may not know exactly what to help your child with (although you can always go online to look at your child’s state or provincial curriculum), but you can get an idea as to what to look for when your child comes home with a piece of writing.  Take a look at the following to get a better idea:

·         Sentences – This first basic skill an elementary student learns is how to write sentences.  Students are first taught the mechanics of writing a sentence such as capitalizing the first word and adding a period.  The next skill they will learn is to create different sentence types (declarative, question, exclamatory, etc…).  While doing so, students will learn the appropriate punctuation for each type of sentence.

·         Classifying and Organizing - After students learn how to write sentences, they will learn how to classify and organize the sentence according to the piece of writing.  For example, students will learn how to organize a simple procedure (e.g. making a sandwich) and organize their ideas (e.g. sorting ideas through pictures or charts).

·         Research – In the elementary grades, students will also learn how to find simple information and use that information in their writing (e.g. find information on lions and write the information in a simple report).

·         Personal Experiences and Reflections - Students will also learn how to write a journal where they express their feelings about a subject and they will learn how to recount events in their lives.

·         Forms – Elementary students will also be exposed to the various forms of writing.  For example, younger students will be introduced to the format of: descriptive writing, explanations, recounts, letter writing, paragraph writing, persuasive essay writing, procedures, reports, and personal narratives.

·         Style - Students will begin to learn the basics of writing styles.  These are the skills that will be developed in greater detail when students enter the junior and intermediate (middle) grades.  Students will learn how to develop a writing voice, choosing descriptive verbs and adjectives, and develop sentence fluency (i.e. the readability of sentences).

     By knowing what your child is learning in writing class, you will be able to monitor and help your child become a better writer.

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