- Monday 20 September 2021
Writing is a fantastic way for children to express themselves, tell stories and share their ideas. However, it can be difficult for many children to gain confidence in their ability to write. If you’re thinking about ways to help your children improve their writing skills, don’t despair, we’ve got some fun and useful ideas for you to boost your child’s confidence in this area.
1. Read, read and (you guessed it) read some more
Encourage your child to read as much as they can. By reading regularly, children pick up new words to add to their vocabulary and see ways to structure their own sentences. What better way to improve one’s writing than to learn from writers themselves?
Not all children are avid readers, and that is okay. Expose your children to a wide variety of texts, not only to familiarise them with a range of text types, but also to see what interests them the most. From fantasy fiction and graphic novels, to notable biographies and pop culture news articles, encourage reading of a rich and varied range of texts.
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2. Make your writing topics FUN
Whilst improving writing skills is an educational requisite, it can be fun too! We all know it’s easier to keep a child’s attention when they’re interested in what they are learning – which applies to adults too! Build on their interests by tailoring some of their writing topics to things they enjoy speaking and reading about. They love outer space? Ask them to write an intergalactic narrative, including aliens and spaceships. Are they an avid sports fan? Ask them to write a persuasive text arguing why they think everyone should play sport.
3. Writing isn’t just for school
Writing doesn’t just have to be within the confines of the classroom. Encourage children at home to continue their writing in other forms. This could be in the form of a diary, noting the events of their day before bed, writing letters to family members (grandparents, in particular, would love this), or even creating a blog on a topic they are interested in. This is a great opportunity for them to get creative.
4. Play word games
This is one of our favourites – games! You’d be hard-pressed to find a child who doesn’t enjoy playing games. Word games can easily be disguised as a fun activity, whilst still being educational, and are a fantastic way to help improve your child’s vocabulary. Boggle® and Scrabble® are classics (there’s a reason they’re so popular) and there are also many word games apps that are available for free. Get the whole family together and play some word games this weekend!
5. Practice makes perfect
Now we know this one seems like a no-brainer, but there’s a reason for the saying. Practice truly does help children improve their skills across all areas, and writing is no exception. Luckily, we have the perfect resource to help your child practise their English and writing skills. Your pupils will love practising English with the fun and engaging daily exercises in New Wave English in Practice.
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The workbooks cover the curriculum and are designed to effectively consolidate pupils’ learning and reinforce concepts taught. The daily practice questions cover:
- spelling
- vocabulary and word study
- grammar and punctuation
What have teachers said about New Wave English in Practice?
‘The books challenge children and provide repetition to support them in their learning. They are a steal for the amount of work provided in them. They have improved children’s spelling, punctuation and grammar through daily repetition in our class. A must for every booklist!’ – Elaine Joy, Teacher
‘This book really helps to consolidate and develop my pupils’ ability and confidence to use English. The children in my class really enjoyed completing the ten questions and enjoyed discussing the answers within their small groups.’ – Ashley Azzopardi, Teacher
‘We love these books for revising all grammar topics throughout the year. They use technical vocabulary and exam-style questions to quickly touch on lots of different aspects of grammar.’ — Claire Orr, Teacher
Interested in finding out more about New Wave English in Practice?
Check out the series here or download a free sample below!
