Journaling - A Fun Way to Learn Writing
By William J. Brown If your home school child hates writing, academic journaling may be your ticket to teaching them the write way to right... ...oops... I mean the right way to write. (Blush!) It's fun, simple and no hassle. And your child might even like it! I'm not really sure if there's such a term as "academic journaling." I made up the name, but not the concept. This was one of the ways my mom used to get me interested in writing when she home schooled me. Now I'm writing to instruct parents how to help make writing more interesting for their children! (Thanks Mom!) Some curricula already use this concept. So this is a time tested way to improve writing skills and make writing more interesting. It isn't a fly-by-night method. Here's the basic concept... Instead of your child writing stodgy papers or spiritless book reports, your child writes short "entries" called "journal entries." They can be just about anything, as we'll see in a moment. The shortness lends itself to children who have shorter attention spans. The beauty of it is that it can be as long or as short as the child prefers. The only rules are what you, the parent, set as appropriate. Let's look at three steps that will help you implement journaling seamlessly into the curriculum you're already using. 1. Make sure to give assignments. This is a must. This includes not only what kind of assignment, but when the assignment must be done. Give longer periods of time if you expect your child to do a longer assignment. Some may take as long as a week. I personally don't approve of long assignments for younger children, especially if I'm introducing the love of writing to them. I find it better to assign smaller projects to let the students get a hold on certain concepts before they move on. One or two lines per day would probably be a good place to start. But whatever you do, be consistent. If every Friday is writing day, then make sure every Friday is writing day! Much of what you assign will depend on what you expect. But the key here is, at this point, don't expect to much. Let your child learn slowly, then pick up the pace a little later. 2. Change up assignments from week to week. This is very important. Assigning your child a journal entry on a current event every time will wear out that assignment. Don't do that! You want to teach them to love writing, not get bored of it. I would definitely try a journal entry on a current event first. For younger children, read the article to them, explaining any difficult terms in words they can understand. Then have them put the "story" in their own words. Older students should be expected to read the article and then put what they understand in their own words. Change that up with having your child write a poem of just a few lines. You may even want to assign how many lines that should be. Also, giving a "rhyme scheme" (showing which lines should rhyme) will help out your child as well. Some popular schemes are... A A and A Another great idea is have them write a story they make up on their own. Give them what kind of story they should write (comedy, tragedy, sports etc.) Then have them write a few lines about what characters do and say. It doesn't have to be long. But it must be done well! Also you may want to give them an assignment about something they did that week (i.e. scored the winning goal in soccer, rode a horse for the first time, went swimming at a friends house etc.) I would be a little freer with this one and let the child choose what event he/she will write about. The sky's the limit. Let your imagination (and your child's) soar with these assignments. Creativity is the important thing here. Score the work in a way that directs your child academically. Spelling needs to be correct. Letters need to be written neatly and properly. Teach your child proper grammar by explaining what is acceptable and what isn't in writing. But don't be overly critical! These experiences should be "teachable moments." That means you don't roast your child when he or she uses "their" instead of "there." This is an opportunity to patiently, graciously make a lasting impact in your child's education. Journaling is just one way to make writing interesting and fun. This list I gave is by no means exhaustive. Perhaps you can think of a few yourself. If so, write us with your ideas. We're always looking for ways to improve the way we look at things as well. I hope this article has been helpful to you and will give you ideas for using journaling to help engender a love of writing in your child. God bless! Journaling not your thing? Click here to see more teaching tips.
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