Part 6 of 6: Balanced Literacy
You can make anything by writing. ~ C.S. Lewis
Writing instruction is as vast as the ocean; there are many, many different books, lessons, and curriculum available to help chart the course. In this post, I will attempt to outline what independent writing looks like and why it needs to be done. In future posts, I will break down the processes of writing as well as share specific writing lessons. For this post, I want to emphasize the importance of guiding your children to write independently. Independent writing is one component of balanced literacy.
Whether you teach in a classroom or teach your children at home (I’ve done both.), this information is applicable. When I was teaching in a classroom, often, I heard many of my fellow teachers tout, “I don’t have time for the kids to write.” My answer is as follows: “You can’t afford to not make time to write. You can’t afford to compromise skills that won’t be mastered by neglecting such an important life skill.” Thus, I speak from experience. I truly made time in the schedule for students/children to write. Children get better at writing by writing. They need time to do it. It reminds me of this quote:
“Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” Edward Stanley
Therefore, I’m begging you to make time for your children to write so that they will develop the essential skills they need for life.
(Confession time) I avoided writing lessons and writing time when I was teaching my own children at home, because I hated the confrontation and conflict writing brought. My children didn’t enjoy doing it; they balked. However, I persevered. I got back on track and added writing to our daily schedule. I did writing aloud with them, and programmed time for them to write. Thankfully, by doing so, they are good writers today. They are able to communicate well in writing. (That’s the goal, right?) When you follow these simple tips, your children will too. 🙂
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Independent Writing
In independent Writing, children write their own pieces. They compose. They may journal write, story write, write narratives, comics, retell a story, respond to literature in writing, label pictures, use speech balloons, write lists, etc. Independent writing provides a structured time for children to write. In fact, they can write all across the curriculum writing about their history lesson or science experiment. By allowing time for children to write, they expand their writing skills and apply spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Grammar is truly learned, because it is taught in context. Little teacher support is needed, because children write using known words and construct the spelling of unknown words. They learn to use resources available to expand their skills such as spell check, a thesaurus, a word wall, etc. Independent writing is just that- writing independently. After writing time, on another day, you help your children edit their work. This is wonderful, because they learn how to correct errors.
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Make time to write every day
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Read LOTS! Readers are writers and writers are readers.
Your children can only draw from the well(mind) what is in the well. So, by reading lots and lots, they have vast language experiences to draw from when they write which sets them up for success in writing. Put excellent language skills into the mind by reading lots.
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Simply, have your children write in a journal every day.
They may write about what ever they like, or they can use these calendars for a topic a day. These topics will give them inspiration; so, they can’t say, “I don’t have anything to write about.” 🙂
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Children love to write stories. During independent writing, allow them to create stories.
Writing researchers suggest that children should write stories in order to (1) entertain, (2) foster artistic expression, (3) explore the functions and values of writing, (4) stimulate imagination, (5) clarify thinking, (6) search for identity, and (7) learn to read and write.
The most important part of writing a story is finding a way to help your children publish it. When your children complete a “book”, they are motivated to write more. (Yay! That is what we want.) (Have a celebration when they complete a book.)

Here are a few basic ways to publish your children’s work. It can be as simple as stapling pages together and having them illustrate, or you can use the books already bound (bare books), or you can use a spiral binding. No matter what method, your children will feel proud to have published work.

This shows the inside of the books. The children love to have completed books, and the entire process of independent writing, editing, and publishing is invaluable.
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Activity ideas for independent writing
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Poetry writing- I’ve found this to be popular, because I use frames to create poems. When you use these frames , it sets children up for success and they create lovely poems. Poetry lessons for grades 9-12: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/abcs-poetry-988.html
Listen to children’s poets read poems and follow up with writing a poem. All activities found here: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/
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Fractured Fairy Tales
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Create a new ending for a story you just read
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Write a letter to someone or get a pen pal
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Create your own questions for the story
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Draw a picture and write captions for it
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Write comics
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Small children dictate their stories as the teacher/parent writes what is said.
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Recreate a familiar song
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Write silly rhymes
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Write your own riddles after reading many riddles
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Use old calendar pictures or holiday card pictures as story starters. Have your children write a story to go with the picture, or write a poem, or write a caption to go with the picture
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Begin with having them write sentences. Just write a sentence. 🙂 Progress to paragraphs. Then, progress to a whole story or essay.
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Create an advertisement
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After reading recipes and cooking, create your own serious or silly recipe
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Create a brochure for an event
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Create your own party invitations
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Google- “Writing activity ideas” (You can add age specific to the search- “Preschool writing activity ideas” or “Fourth grade writing activity ideas”) The activity options are limitless.
Have fun watching your children bloom into writers when you program time to write into their schedule.
This concludes the series: Balanced Literacy which includes:
Independent Writing- This post
Did this help you? What are some writing activities you like?
Let’s make a positive difference~ one word at a time.
♥Pamela
Please share this article with others that you think would benefit from these tips. Also, please ask any questions that you may have about teaching children reading or writing. Leave your questions in the comments. I’ll answer. 🙂
To learn more about Literate For Life, see the welcome post.
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Photo Credit: 1. spanishtutoring4all.com 4. galleryhip.com
Great article. I really like your list of activity ideas. #InspireMeMondays.
Mariet,
I am glad you liked the article. I hope the ideas are helpful. Thank you for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Have a wonderful day.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
My husband just brought this up the other day that I’ve gotten lax about making the kids write when they don’t want to. So between the two of you, I’m feeling inspired (or kicked in the pants 🙂 to do better! Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday!
Tina
Tina,
Thank you. I’m so happy this was inspiration. Like I shared, it is easy to let slide. I found sticking to my schedule, being consistent, and following through really helped. It pays off. 🙂
Happy writing. 🙂
Together, we make a positive difference~one word at a time.
Pamela
[…] It was a great week with a lot of fantastic posts! […]
Lisa,
Thank you for featuring this article at Squishablebaby.com
🙂
Happy, happy, happy! 🙂 Honored. 🙂
Together, we make a positive difference~one word at a time
Pamela
These are great ideas. I agree that they must be great readers. We have to turn off the devices and give them books!
Tammy,
I am glad you enjoyed the ideas.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Together, we make a positive difference~one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
Hi,
I am a teacher. I teach writing. Many students tell me their teachers never assign writing. I think it’s what you said–they don’t have time. Most don’t want to take the time to grade it. Thank you for coming to the Inspire Me Monday Linky Party.
Janice
Hi Janice,
Wow, you do two things I love: teaching & writing. 🙂 I agree with you. It does take more time to read writing papers, but I hope that all teachers will recognize the pay off. Making time for students to write helps them greatly. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Together, we make a positive difference. 🙂
Pamela
I homeschool with 3 boys, so I totally understand the writing battle! Thank you for the encouragement to keep at it!
Mandi,
Your welcome. I am thrilled that you are encouraged. You can do it! 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
My oldest is 8 and has Asperger’s. While he loves to read and draw, writing is a no go area. I homeschool and it is sooooo difficult to get him to put pencil to paper. We have made some improvements by allowing him to “write” on a word document. Thank you for sharing at the (mis)Adventures Monday Blog Hop.
Dear Mindie,
I want to encourage you. I’ve taught many children with aspergers and dysgraphia. While they didn’t love to write, I was able to help them write by doing two key things: 1. Let them write using a tablet or i-Pad. (Which it sounds like you’ve already implemented.) If they are too young, just let them tell you what to write like dictation. 2. I always have them formulate their thoughts by speaking them first then writing. These two tips might help. 🙂 I’d love to know if they do. It is great that he loves to read & draw. Maybe he can write about what he draws. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela