Beginning Writing Skills and Activities

How to Create Writing Activities for Beginning Writers

Kids enjoy writing about personal experiences and things that are important to them. As a result, your prompts and writing activities should cover topics that interest your child. These activities should also build upon what your child is already learning in school. Use the examples below and personalize them based on your child's ability level and interests.

In order to develop necessary writing skills, your child should do fun and engaging activities that motivate them to learn and improve. Because your child is just beginning to write, he or she may need help with structure, word choice and transitions. He or she may also have difficulty writing for a long period of time. After writing, encourage your child to share it aloud. Be sure to provide encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Writing Activities by Skill

Spelling

Learning basic words and how to spell them is a critical step for beginning writers. Your child may have spelling lists as early as kindergarten or first grade. You can give your child additional practice with those same words by creating fun activities for them at home. A couple of popular games for children learning to spell include word searches and word scrambles. Take your child's weekly spelling list from school and incorporate the words into a word search puzzle, or scramble each word to see if your child is able to spell them correctly. Seeing and writing the words multiple times can help your child become more familiar with each.

Brainstorming

There are several different brainstorming methods available, but beginning writers may benefit from visual brainstorming. Help your child create an idea or story web so he or she can see possible topic options and different ideas for each.

To get started, talk to your child about his or her interests, and then find out what types of things are being covered in the classroom. Create one story web for each idea that your child provides, and then have him or her fill in five to seven branches of ideas. To take it further, assist your child with possible supporting ideas for each branch he or she creates. These story webs allow your child to physically see all of the possibilities.

Incorporating Descriptive Details

Children often enjoy writing stories about their families, holidays, vacations or pets. However, beginning writers may need guidance on the type of details that should be included. One way you can help spark creativity in your child is to provide different types of writing prompts. You may choose narrative, expository or persuasive prompts that will give your child specific ideas on what to include. Narrative prompts can improve your child's ability to develop ideas, characters and a storyline. Expository and persuasive prompts, on the other hand, encourage the use of research and factual information.