- The importance of research papers:
- Identifying the types of learners:
- Opportunities to use a journal:
- Creative writing ideas:
- Writing opportunities:
- Quenching the writing process:
Good writing is essential to success in any type of career that your children will likely want to pursue.
If you plan to go on to graduate school, regardless of what field you choose, you will be expected to write many papers, most of which will be 30-40 pages in length. You will be expected to write papers that are clearly written, that have a clear thesis and that demonstrate careful and considerable research. Those who have learned to write such papers as a part of their undergraduate education will be in a more competitive position to be accepted to graduate school and to perform well in graduate school once they are there. Simply having what you might think is a decent grade point average isn’t enough, now. One of the main reasons is grade inflation.
It is because of grade inflation that many companies have begun to test job applicants; they simply don’t have much confidence that the GPA means anything, anymore. Some companies have begun mandatory writing programs for certain employees.
The need to be able to compose well-written papers and reports extends beyond graduate school (including law school, medical school, etc.). If you were, for example, to get a job with an investment agency, you might be given an assignment to submit a report on a particular company or sector of the economy that the investment firm can use to advise its clients. If your report is not good, you are not going to find yourself employed for very long, because businesses cannot afford to waste their time and money on people who are not competent. The same would be true if you were working for a law firm, environmental firm or as a teacher or administrator.
So, writing a good paper is not just an irrelevant exercise that you need to do in order to get a passing grade. It is an exercise through which you learn: (1) how to research a topic, (2) how to think critically about that topic, and (3) how to coherently express your understanding, analysis and conclusions about the topic to someone else who may or may not be as informed on the subject as you are. The more you write quality essays and papers now, the more you work to improve your research and writing skills, the better your writing and your analytical skills will become. However, the less you do, the less competitive you will be, and the more likely you may look back in later years at your time and regret the opportunity you wasted.
During the past six years the amount of written documents that crosses the average workers desk has increased by 600 percent. To get the attention of the reader the document must be clear, concise and professional. It must convey the main point within the first paragraph. The most important points must be made with the least number of words possible. Additionally, the tone of the document must match the needs of the intended audience. Some of the best-paying careers are dominated by majors which demand excellent communication skills.
By 2015 America will need approximately 3,000,000 more teachers. Other needs include: Network systems and data communications analysts and administrators, computer software engineers, all types of medical positions and college instructors. All of which will require excellent writing skills.
As Christians we have taught our children that whether we eat or drink, we do it all for Christ. We should strive to be the best when it comes to written communication, because it is the foundation of our Christian walk.
2. There are three types of learners:
- Those that learn by sight: they take in their information by looking at an object, pictures, movies, life.
- Those that learn by hearing: they learn by listening to directions, a speech, radio or by books on tape.
- Those that learn by doing: they learn by a hands on approach such as putting together a puzzle or legos, participating in an art or craft project, and field trips.
a. For those that learn by seeing, you can provide opportunities for them to learn to write about what they are taking in with their sight. A ride in the car, a shopping trip, or a sporting or other type of event can become a lesson in creative writing. Taking a small notebook and keeping it with you, ask them to jot down a few things that they see. Tell them to use descriptive words such as: bright, foggy, raining, dark. Once back home, look up in a thesaurus or on the computer some complimentary words that go along with the ones they’ve listed in their notebook. Ask them to write a story about their experience. This exercise can be done anywhere and at any time, this helps the child began to put into words what they are seeing. Read their stories out-loud without correcting but complimenting the various ways in which they described what they saw.
b. For those that learn by hearing, reading a book out loud would be a good start. Give them each a blank piece of paper and tell them to draw one image from what they’re hearing. After their drawing is complete, discuss how you can describe what they’ve drawn. Another way to boost their creative skills would be to ask them to write an alternate ending to what they have heard. Providing a digital or other type of recording device could allow them the freedom to add their own types of voices for different characters and record their story. Once they’ve listened to their recording asked them to make their very own booklet.
c. Those that learn by doing could pick a building project, cook a recipe, or work on an arts and craft project. As they work through the project, keep a notebook and discuss what steps are involved. Make a list of the steps as you go about your project. After the project is finished read over your how-to article to make the necessary changes. Encourage them to come up with their own projects and then write about them. Making backdrops or props for a play, costumes, get them involved with their story.
3. Journaling can be a lot of fun or it can be a nightmare. I have used journaling for most of my homeschooling experiences and found it particularly valuable to most study areas.
Science and journaling: Nature walks can be anything from walking around your yard, neighborhood, a park or even a science museum. This is a great way to do a project on types of insects, plants, trees, the weather, animals and endangered species. By collecting leaves or insects, research can be done either at the library or on the computer and putting together a small paragraph on each collected item enhances the student’s ability to recognize, gather, and organize information
Personal or daily journal: A personal journal should be the first thing done every morning, or once a week. If your child is already doing this on their own, then it should not be incorporated into their schoolwork. Encourage your children to write down their thoughts and feelings about everyday events, but assure them that no one else will look at it and then stick to it. This should be a place where they can be safe and secure. If your child is having trouble starting a personal journal, you may help out by giving them a one sentence entry. Start with something that happened out of the ordinary for that week and let them finish with 2-3 sentences. Allow them to draw a picture or paste a picture in their journal to help make it personal. Lists can be another fun way for their entries, “things I would like to do this summer, what I would like for Christmas, things that get on my nerves.” You can do the opposite with lists as a personal growth exercise; “things I can do to help mom around the house, people I can send a card to for Christmas, things I need to change about my attitude.”
Bible or prayer journals: These can be used either once early in the morning or once a week. Have every child put down their daily or weekly memory verse. Have them come up with a story that goes along with the verse and a picture. Later on, go back to that entry and asked them if the verse came in handy and what it meant to them. A prayer journal can be used in the same way listing a daily or weekly prayer and adding a picture or a scripture with it. Make sure that when
prayers are answered, it is written as well.
prayers are answered, it is written as well.
Spelling journals: A weekly list of spelling words should be kept in this journal. On day one, the children should take half of the words and create a story. The next day ask them to take the rest of the words and finish the story. Create a page for antonyms and synonyms for the spelling words. Word games such as hangman can also be created using the spelling words. Have them make up their own spelling games, pig-latin, backwards spelling, symbols for the alphabet.
Creative writing ideas can be found in many books at the library, on the Internet, or you check out my website where I’ve posted some.
One event that I know of that is coming up next summer is DevoFest 2011. I have some cards to hand out and there’s a link for you to go to for more information. It is a three-day conference at Lifeway’s Ridge Crest conference center in North Carolina. http://www.devofest.com/
It’s for ages 7-17. There will be activities for adults as well. This event will allow kids to learned from professional actors, top-selling recording artists, and best-selling authors. This is where I’ve gone for the last few years to attend several different conferences and it is a great place to get your start in writing.
I have included several other links that are open for submissions for young writers on my website. DevoKids.com http://devokids.com/ and iBeGat http://www.ibegat.com/.
Lastly I would like to talk about things not to do when it comes to creative writing.
During a creative writing process things like penmanship, correct spelling and grammar shouldn’t be your main focus. If you come to a word or your child is having trouble thinking of the correct word they want to use, usually a line with a question mark on top indicates to come back to that place later on and figure out what type of word of what meaning of word you want to put there. The first draft should always be written without worrying about these things. To stop and constantly go back and try to find the correct spelling or check the punctuation stifles the creative flow and can produce what we call writer’s block. After the first draft is completely written, you put it away at least for a day, then come back to it and begin the correction process.
Ideas are a found everywhere and are all around you. Don’t become overwhelmed with trying to find the “perfect” story or idea. Always follow the trail that asks, “What if?” Ideas come from personal experience, what’s going on in the world and through reading other books. Most of the devotions that I have written have been based on my personal experiences. Great writers are avid readers. The library has plenty of books on many different topics. Even if you have an idea similar to a book that’s already written, you can have your own twists, characters and such, it will still be your own story once you’re finished. Experiences of others can be a great way to write stories. This is how I’ve made a living years ago, writing about other people for newspapers. Problems and circumstances offer up stories; what is the problem, what trouble was gone through during the problem, and what was the resolve? Think of “I Love Lucy,” or “Hannah Montana,” the more the character tries to solve their problems, the more problems they have. In fiction this is called the plot and raising the stakes.
Types of writing: There are many different genres of writing. Even fiction and nonfiction hold many different categories. There are research papers, informative articles, human interest stories, devotions, short stories and several types of fictional stories. In my experience and in the experience of the other writers I know, most of us started writing small articles for local newspapers or newsletters and grew into writing devotions and stories. But they all got their start working small and building to something larger. There is a saying in the writing business, “t
o get published you must be published.” There are many places that you can start. One the most important factors in becoming a writer is the ability to network with the people and the places and you want to write with and for. Which brings me to the importance of attending classes, conferences and workshops.
o get published you must be published.” There are many places that you can start. One the most important factors in becoming a writer is the ability to network with the people and the places and you want to write with and for. Which brings me to the importance of attending classes, conferences and workshops.
Many of the books I read encourage me to continue writing. I write because I love to and I teach others how to write because I want them to enjoy it as much as I do.
I hope in some way I have helped to you today. If you have any questions you can always contact me. I appreciate you visiting my site and may God bless you in your teaching and writing endeavors. Many Thanks!
Cindy! Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge with our home school group. I was the one next to you asking “all the questions” and I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and visit! Your passion for writing and your insight on all aspects of writing is absolutely PRICELESS. Thanks again!