Report cards were emailed Friday...She's above average in all areas except writing. Her sentences are correct, however, short and sweet. We sat down this weekend and encouraged her to write a story. She simply couldn't do it. So I went to square one and said write a sentence about purple and a bird. She wrote "I saw a purple bird"...ok...good start. So I told her to name the bird, and tell me about something the bird likes.
Asked her to write a few more things and when she was reading them to me she confused herself and us.
Anyway, we've got to do something as the teacher indicated she is pretty far behind the and since there is not a lot of time left in the school year (only 40 or so more days) she really needs to catch up.
Does anyone know of any websites that I can use to work with her on? Any homeschooling mama/papas have any advice?
No recommendations and no she does not, she is off the charts on all other subjects. She's one of the few that is reading above her grade level, she has no issues in any other subject.
I am going to email her teacher tomorrow to get some ideas. I was surprised she didn't give us any.
ETA: went back to the grade card...she said "topic development"...so I think we'll go with "taking care of the dog" or the fish to start with.
We read ALL the time, ask questions all the time. We are constantly re-supplying books. She even gets an "extra library day" at school cause she's so far ahead in reading.
She is a very logical thinker. Like when we asked her to write a story her first question was "fiction or non fiction?"...
Thank you all for the ideas and suggestions I think I just started to "freak out"...
Help her through it but don't hit the panic button. She can have one low grade and work on it over the summer break.
So in class do they have prompts?
Are they supposed to use each of their spelling words in a sentence each week?
Are you saying she is not creative?
That she cannot figure out to write?
Or she cannot remember the correct spellings?
To help her be creative.. Start working with her on making up stories without having to write them down..
In our family we play that game where on person starts a sentence and then the next person finishes it and starts another sentence.. It ends up being a silly story everyone got a chance to add onto..
Mom ~There was a little boy...
Dad ~ he had paws instead of hands....
Child ~ he could not talk he could only...
Mom~ Purr...
Dad~ he would purr for his dinner and his mother would give him....
Child~ a bowl of cherries..
You get the idea.
Or you can give her 5 words. Not in any order and have her write them in an order to make a proper sentence.
You can use this weeks words. and have her each night use 2 or 3 of these new words each in a sentence.
If it is fine motor skill, maybe she needs to strengthen her fingers and hands.. Let us know and we can give you all some tips for this..
Hang in there. Once you get ideas from the teacher, she is going to sore.. Always make it fun.. Let her know she should just do her best.. She will do great.
What exactly does she have trouble with?
I'm a 4th grade teacher and while it's very important to think about improving her writing now, I have to just say, "She's in first grade and writing... YEAH!!!" Seriously, that's nine tenths of the battle right there. So, she's a logical thinker and her writing will always be very linear and not super detailed. It may be an area that's always difficult for her, but the fact that she only has one subject that needs extra attention is a celebration. Can you imagine how overwhelmed and discouraged parents of children who struggle with everything feel? So sad. Anyway, I thought that was important to note. I KNOW you know that, but thought you could use a reminder if you're feeling upset over this. :)
In terms of helping her, I might start with having her look at a picture - something out of a picture book or a magazine - and writing a story about what she sees. You could also give her a sentence... "When I visit the zoo (or some other place she's actually been to) I see/hear/smell/feel/taste...." Something else that might help to make a list of all of the things she's an "authority" on... Get it? AUTHORity? My class thinks I'm nutty :) She can make a list of the things she knows a lot about. Soccer or birthdays or playing at the park. It is easier for kids at this age to write about something nonfiction that is very concrete in their minds. It's probably very difficult for her to come up with ideas about a purple bird she's never seen before; especially since her struggle is generating/developing ideas. Even 4th graders struggle with ideas for fictional stories - good ideas anyway. Everything turns into a video game description about aliens and zombies or fairies and unicorns... Sigh... Just some ideas. Also, don't expect a long story in our sense of the word. A paragraph or so in first grade is awesome for a struggling writer. Good luck!
Ooohh... I just thought of something else. Do you guys ever make up stories about what you do during the day? My three year old daughter and I made up this story last month that's sticking in my head for some reason. She was VERY scary sick with a high fever and I had to rush her to urgent care during the WORST snow I've ever been in! I was terrified to drive, but it's my baby, whatcha gonna do, right!? So our story that we now tell each other often starts something like this... "There once was a smart and brave girl named Ella who had fallen very ill. Her mommy was very worried and needed to get her medicine right away. Together they climbed up a mountain in a blizzard. The snow swirled all around them and they could see nothing but white for miles and miles..." Anyway, I typed it up on the computer with her (another motivator for your daughter, maybe?) and printed it. She illustrated pictures. That could be fun for you guys. Write what you know!! That's what I say. :)
Sounds like my daughter. At her school, they had them writing stories in kindergarten and while she loved to read the most creative, fantastical stories it is very difficult to get her to be anything but completely logical and fact-oriented.
We started by picking thing she liked but because she wasn't attached to the item we picked (like the purple bird), we didn't get anywhere. So we asked her what she would like to read about. When that was established we went to working on lengthening her sentences by having her pick out descriptive words. We also shared stories. She would write a sentence, then I would and we would switch back and forth. I also think letting her try the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure series helped show her that she could have some control.
Personally, I think this is one of those areas that for some kids, it is very easy, but for others like ours (I'm pretty sure my daughter asked me if her story needed to be fiction or non- too.) it can be really difficult because their thought process has not developed in this direction yet.
Good luck. It will come.
You know, she doesn't sound totally abnormal, to be honest. Is she pretty straightforward (in terms of just not being wild and "out there" in her imagination?). Perhaps she is better at technical writing than imaginative writing. Have her write about something she knows well. Do you have a dog? Have her write about how to take care of a dog (feed it, walk it, brush it, etc). It doesn't matter what she writes about - the point is to write. Have her follow a pattern. For instance:
(Introductory sentence) Dogs are good pets, but you need to take care of them. (3 reasons why) To be a good dog owner, you should make sure they have water and food, are brushed every day, and take a walk every day.
From there, paragraph 1 will be about water and food, paragraph 2 will be about brushing the dog, paragraph 3 will be about walking the dog. Then she will close with a conclusion paragraph. That paragraph will read something like: "I love my dog Sparky, and I love taking care of him. Every day, I feed him and give him fresh water so he is healthy and has lots of energy. I brush him to make sure he stays clean and shiny. We love to go on walks to the park and play fetch with his ball. Sparky is a great pet!" Or whatever. Point being, give her a pattern to follow. Some kids aren't wildly creative, and that's okay. She will learn how to write well as she gets older. For now, she just needs to follow the pattern to show that she knows how to string words together. :)
Also, if she is worried that she's not spelling things right, just tell her that's okay - do a "sloppy copy" first, and correct the spelling later!
What did the teacher recommend?
I would hope she had many suggestions and/or ideas.
Does your daughter qualify for any instructional support?
I don't have any background or credentials (except mommyhood) to recommend this, but what about reading stories/books with her. But don't just read them. Stop after every few paragraphs (or depending on the book, every couple of pages) and ask her questions about what you've read and what she expects will happen in the rest of the story. You'll need to read books that she hasn't heard/read before obviously. But go to the library and check out some.
I always did that with my kids... not EVERY story... but a lot. After reading that piglet and roo get to Roo's house but it is dark out when it is time for Piglet to walk home alone, I'd ask something like: Wow. What do you think Piglet will do now? (pause and let them answer--even if it is to say "I don't know") "Do you think he will like walking home in the dark by himself?" (pause for response) "Do you think he SHOULD walk home by himself?" (pause) Then read a bit more and see what does happen in the story.
Then, at another point in the story, stop and ask another few questions to get them thinking about what they EXPECT might happen.
You don't have to turn the stories into quizzes or 20 questions or anything. But choose shorter stories at first and just ask one or two questions. When you have a longer story, you can pause for quick questions more often: "I wonder what she will do now. What do would YOU do?"
If they cannot predict possible outcomes in a story, they can't write a story. So start with the predictive reading.
I admit: I LOL'd at this. "Writing" in first grade is all about simple sentences. As long as there is subject-verb agreement, they should be good. Good "storytelling" comes later.
One thing that might help is to record her telling the story aloud. It might help her because often the "feel" of what she's trying to say can get lost in the frustration of writing it out (because writing takes SO long at this age!).
Best of luck!
There is a program (a series of 7 books) called Writing Strands. You could probably skip book one (mostly for kids who aren't really writing yet) and go straight to the second. It has simple lessons that build on each other that teach children how to describe, organize their thoughts, and so forth to improve the detail and depth of their writing. I am using to it teach my best friend's children, and in only five lessons, their writing has improved dramatically. One of the girls was writing much like your daughter at first where she would stick very close to the wording and simplicity of examples or the assignment. She is now branching out a lot more with her thoughts, which is hard for her but not out of her reach.
If your daughter is a very literal and down to earth child, it may take more for her let go and be imaginative. Truly, she may never be a fiction writer (and that's okay, really!). Some people are excellent imaginative writers/thinkers; others are just better at factual real world things. Both use some common skill sets (such as using good detail, capturing emotions/sensations/atmosphere, etc.). In my opinion, it's more important to develop good writing habits (proper grammar and spelling, organized thought/structure, detailed development of the topic) than it is to be able to write a fictional piece. I think a lot of teachers assume that children will naturally gravitate towards the imaginary, but speaking from experience with my own son, there are some kids who will never write with much passion about purple birds that talk and have emotion (they aren't interested and just can't relate), but if you give them an assignment to write about space or the weather, they can wax poetic. Best of luck to you!
