My child sits down to write a simple paragraph and it takes her hours to finish it. What can I do?

Question

Students many times will start a writing assignment cold, without any planning or preparation. They soon get 'stuck' and find themselves sitting for hours trying to come up with a few sentences. This is because they lack pre-sriting skills that can make the task so muc easier and less daunting.

Answer 1

If your child is taking hours to write a simple paragraph, there may be various factors contributing to this difficulty. Here are some suggestions to help your child improve their writing efficiency:

1. Break it down into manageable tasks: Help your child break the writing process into smaller, more manageable steps. This can include brainstorming ideas, creating an outline, writing a rough draft, revising, and editing. By focusing on one step at a time, your child may find it easier to complete the paragraph.
2. Provide guidance and support: Sit down with your child and offer guidance and support throughout the writing process. Ask open-ended questions to help them develop their ideas, provide feedback on their writing, and offer suggestions for improvement. Encourage them to ask for help when needed.
3. Set realistic expectations: Make sure your child understands that writing is a process, and it's normal for the initial draft to be rough and require revisions. Help them understand that writing takes time and practice. Set realistic goals and encourage them to focus on progress rather than perfection.
4. Practice writing regularly: Encourage your child to practice writing regularly to build their skills and speed. This can include short writing exercises, journaling, or engaging in creative writing activities. Regular practice can help improve their writing fluency and confidence.
5. Explore different writing techniques: Introduce your child to various writing techniques, such as brainstorming, outlining, and using graphic organizers. These tools can help them organize their thoughts and structure their writing more efficiently.
6. Consider using technology: If your child struggles with the physical act of writing, consider allowing them to use technology such as a computer or tablet. Typing can be faster and more comfortable for some individuals, enabling them to focus more on their ideas and content.
7. Seek additional support if needed: If your child continues to struggle significantly with writing despite your efforts, it may be beneficial to seek additional support from their teacher, a tutor, or a writing specialist who can provide targeted guidance and instruction.

Remember, every child is unique, and it's important to be patient and supportive throughout the writing process. By implementing these strategies and providing a supportive environment, you can help your child become more efficient and confident in their writing skills.

Answer 2

Writing is an area that many students lack confidence. To help them, I've found that understanding their task is the most important place to begin. Once a student can break down their writing prompt and truly understand the task, it is a matter of organizing their thoughts and information. I have found that students will have success using the RACES strategy: Restate the question, Answer the question, Cite evidence, Explain the evidence, and Sum it all up. RACES is an easy way to remember a strategy for writing a response. Many times that response will be based on the student's thoughts about a text they have read. If that is the case, it is paramount that the student have a good understanding of that text. This is where good vocabulary decoding skills come in handy, as well as the ability to infer, use text features, and to understand the author's purpose.

Answer 3

Often this fear of writing is a fear of failure. Showing students, especially developing writers, that they can put something on the page and then revise and edit it later is a helpful exercise in teaching them to not only become better writers but also kinder to themselves when developing and learning skills. Teaching multiple approaches is also helpful since this shows that there is not one answer, but various ways to prepare to write, write, and learn.

Answer 4

Oftentimes students do not know how to pre-plan a writing task. These are the students that can generally get the multiple choice answers on a test correct but always lose points on the essay question at the end. Students may not want to pre-plan because they believe it will take them longer to finish the task, but if they are taught how to use any one of many graphic organizers, they can save themselves substantial time in the end. One writing method I like to teach is the 4-Square Method, which gives students a great beginning structure to their paragraph. Most students are pleasantly surprised at how much easier it makes their writing task. The Hamburger Method is another a good one; students can only benefit from the ability to choose from a number of tools in their toolbelt!