How to help your child become a more confident writer
Practical ways parents can help their kids boost key skills like writing fluency and essay writing. Leverage journaling, online writing resources, and more.
In today's digital world, teaching your children to communicate effectively through written text is crucial for future success. 90% of employers deem writing skills an important component of workforce readiness.
No matter your child's future career path, writing proficiency is a skill your child will surely benefit from as they forge their path in life.
Whether your elementary and middle school learner is just beginning to organize their thoughts into longer essays or your high schooler is preparing to write college essays, fostering increased confidence in writing skills will benefit writers of all ages.
Importance of writing confidence
When faced with a large task such as writing an entire essay, most kids will feel overwhelmed or even fearful to begin. However, research shows that a student's motivation to write directly correlates with their perceived ability to complete the task successfully. In other words, the more they believe in themselves, the more likely they are to dive in and write.
Much learning begins before a child puts pen to paper as you guide learners through the planning steps of the writing process.
The magic really happens when a child finishes a first draft and can learn how to revise and improve their writing. But completing that first draft can be a real challenge for writers with low confidence levels, blocking the path to great writing skills.
What is writing fluency?
Just as fluency in a foreign language means being able to communicate effectively, writing fluency refers to the ability to express yourself through written text without struggling. Many adults take the skills required to sit down and write a quick letter for granted, but this skill is challenging for many kids.
Although the final goal of any good writing curriculum is quality writing over quantity, students can't learn writing strategies to improve their writing if they don't have the skills or the confidence to produce any writing.
The good news is that increasing your child's writing fluency can be simple and easy for parents to teach. Many activities that increase writing fluency can even be fun for everyone. With frequent practice, your child will gain the confidence and ability to write on the spot, setting the foundation for teaching writing strategies later.
How to improve writing fluency
The key to increasing writing fluency is giving your child frequent opportunities to create low-stakes writing. Low-stakes writing is just as it sounds - open-ended writing time given without the stress of grade, even without an audience in some cases.
Kids can write free from strict guidelines and let their creativity flow. Low-stakes writing activities increase writing speed and help those who struggle with perfectionism.
Your child can benefit most from weekly or even daily low-stakes writing exercises. The more practice they have getting their thoughts onto paper, the more confident they will be writing formal texts. Let's explore a few easy, low-stakes writing activities you can implement in your child's writing curriculum.
Journaling
Daily journaling is one of the easiest ways to build writing fluency. To increase autonomy:
Allow your writer to choose from several writing prompts and regularly allow free writing. Or have them try a journaling class.
Encourage your writer to focus less on writing perfection and more on writing quantity, even instructing them to change the topic with a new paragraph if they run out of things to say.
If your child wants to write without an audience, give them the privacy to fold a page in half and staple it shut.
Creative writing
Kids are inherently curious. Allow them to explore their thoughts and use their vibrant imaginations by providing creative writing prompts, or taking a creative writing course. Keep the activity low-stakes by working on fluency only, providing just a participation grade, if any.
Spelling Bees
A key component of writing confidence and fluency includes teaching spelling strategies. Many kids get caught up in writing by worrying about how to spell each word. Supplement your grammar and spelling lessons with a fun online spelling bee to increase spelling confidence and provide socialization opportunities.
Writing clubs
Speaking of socialization, encourage peer interaction by enrolling your child in an online writing club. Writing feels much less scary when a group of peers are right there with you.
Pen pals
Letter writing is a great way to increase writing confidence. Find a long-distance friend and encourage your child to mail or e-mail letters back and forth.
Other confidence-building tips
Keeping your child's comfort and confidence is important when considering writing lesson strategies. Implement these ideas to help build confidence for your budding author.
Use writing rubrics
When you're ready to tackle more formal writing, using writing rubrics and discussing them with your child before beginning the writing process can help remove the pressure. Go through the rubric and let your child grade a few sample essays.
Teach and practice multiple writing purposes
Practice doesn't make perfect, but it does make progress. The more practice your child has with multiple forms of writing, from persuasive to expository, the more confident they will handle any writing task.
Provide low-stakes typing practice
Realistically, your child will do most of their writing electronically for college, career, and personal life. Although rarely discussed, typing proficiency can hinder digital writing fluency. Give your child time to practice typing through typing lessons and typing games.
Finding online writing resources
Helping your child become a great writer is a big job. With Outschool, you don't have to do it alone. Outschool's vetted teachers can help with highly-rated writing classes and English curriculum.
You can find writing clubs, writing workshops, and even one-on-one writing tutoring. Help your child reach new heights and become a more confident writer on Outschool today.
