How Parents Can Help with Writing at Home
As an educator, I am often asked by parents how they can encourage their children to write at home. I love to provide parents with easy writing ideas and activities to keep their children writing. I firmly believe that just as reading at home helps to strengthen young reader’s skills, writing at home helps to strengthen young writer’s skills. We expect students to read every day, and we should expect them to write every day, too.
Encouraging students to write at home is no easy task. Encouraging reluctant writers to write at home is even harder. These easy to implement and screen-free writing activities will help your students and children write at home and look forward to it, too!
These ideas are perfect for:
at home and distant learning
summer writing practice
enrichment or extra practice for students of all levels
or anytime!
Below is my go-to, tried and true at home writing activities that kids love and will actually do! All you will need to implement these writing ideas at home are paper or notebooks, a pencil, and a few common household items. Read more about each idea below and grab a FREE printout list of these activities HERE.
Create a Writer’s Space
Children thrive with structure, if possible, create a fun space for kids to write at home. This can be a corner in their room, a desk, table, anyplace that they can go to and know it is time to write! Don’t have a space to use? Grab an old shoebox and fill it with writing tools your children will need like paper, a notebook, pencils, and crayons. Now they have a portable writing desk that allows them to write anywhere!
Make Bulleted List
Have kids keep a list of all the different activities that they do each day at home in a journal or notebook. Simply put the date at the top of the list and have kids create the list. Some activities may be everyday tasks, like made my bed, while others may be more exciting like, went on a nature walk. No matter the task, have kids record them all. This simple activity not only helps kids to write each day but by creating this list, they are actually creating a brainstormed list of “seed” ideas that they can later turn into narrative writing pieces. If you have students complete this during a school break or summer vacation, be sure they bring this notebook back to school so they can use these ideas and expand upon them.
Descriptive Web
Have students select any household item and create a descriptive web in their writing notebook. To do this, they simply write the word of the item they are describing in a circle and create a web of descriptive phrases about it using their five senses. You could also give more specific directions about what to write about such as a special toy, a piece of fruit, or something that fits in your hand.
Figurative Language Around the House
One writing skill that students love to practice is using figurative language. I don’t know what it is, but kids love to write similes and metaphors, pack a sentence full of alliteration, and write using personification and exaggeration. Have children find an object in their home and write about it using figurative language. They can simply write a sentence with one form of figurative language or a paragraph with several.
Write about Reading
Since students are expected to read every day, why not have them write about what they read. This does not have to be a long task at all! Keep it simple and have kids write a sentence or two that summarizes their reading, something that they learned, or a prediction that they have. Just a quick response to practice writing at home each day.
Daily Journal
I love having students write in their journals each morning. While sometimes there is a basic prompt such as, write about your favorite food or something you did over the weekend, I usually let students free-write. This is an easy activity for children to do at home, too. There is no right or wrong way to write in a journal, so just let them be creative.
Tip: If you find your child is stuck and does not know what to write about, give them three minutes to draw a picture in their journal and then have them write about their drawing.
Create an Instruction Manual
Have children keep a procedural writing journal of all the things that they did while they were home over break. They will not only be practicing how to writing skills, but they will never be stuck for an idea. They can write directions for ANY TASK they did that day including making a bed, brushing their teeth, washing dishes, building a lego set, reading a book, really anything! To motivate children to write, have them create a comic book style illustrations to match. If students complete this activity while on break from school. encourage them to bring in their writing when school begins again and “teach” their peers how to do something they are good at! Since this a writing project, it will take several days to complete.
A Picture is Worth 1000 Words
This one is simple! Grab any photo, even a digital one saved on a phone or tablet and have the kids write about it. They can write about what happened that day, a descriptive piece about the setting, or even a short story. Kids love using pictures to write, so why not use ones that they know a lot about already to get them writing?
Juicy Word Journal
In my classroom, we call out of the ordinary words “juicy words.” This could be a descriptive adjective, a new word that they found in a chapter book or a very scientific vocabulary word they learned during science class! Simply have kids record the word and its meaning in a journal and before long they will have a dictionary of new words that they not only love but will actually use in their own writing.
Be the Parent for the Day
Let the kids pretend to be the adults for the day, at least when it comes to writing. When and why do parents need to write each day? Maybe you have to write a grocery list, a recipe, or an email. Let the kids help or do all the writing that is needed that day. There is nothing better than using parent role models to encourage writing at home.
Don’t Forget the Other Genres
Writing is so much more than a narrative or essay! Encourage your child to think about something that they love and write a poem or song lyrics about it. They can also complete writing activities with a purpose like writing a friendly letter or note to a friend or family member, or an email to a company requesting information or asking a question. Any form of writing is great writing practice!
Writing at home helps writers grow! Be sure to download these ideas for FREE here to encourage your students to write at home or to use it as an at-home writing assignment. Students will be engaged and since these activities require no screens or printables, all students can complete tasks.
You might be interested in reading:
Step-by-Step: Tackling the Writing Process
How to Use Writing to Build a Classroom Community
6 Must-Have Tools To Keep In Your Writing Center
Looking for a more structured approach to at-home writing that can be used with Google Classroom? You might be interested in this featured writing project that includes PDF printouts and digital components.
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Jeanine blogs at Think Grow Giggle and has been teaching upper elementary students for over 16 years, specifically third and fifth graders. When it comes to teaching, Jeanine includes her love of reading and writing into every lesson. She loves teaching writing and having the opportunity to bring out the author in each of her students. Jeanine holds a BA from Western Connecticut State University in American Studies and Elementary Education and an MA from Fairfield University in Educational Technology. In addition to being a certified elementary teacher, she is also a certified Reading Specialist for grades K-12. Living on the north shore of Long Island means that her free time is spent at the beach where she enjoys outdoor activities, reading, and spending time with her husband and three children.