Writing Article Archive

How to build writing skills, help your kids with vocabulary and spelling, and teach about grammar and syntax. Find even more help on our Building Writing Skills at Home resource page.

• Help Your Teenager Become a Confident WriterA literacy coach and author shares tips to help parents encourage their teen’s writing ability—without doing the work for them or having them take offense during the editing process.
• Writing an Important Skill for All SubjectsIt’s no secret that writing is a key part of language arts. But your child should know that writing also plays an important role in math and science.
• Writing Activities Help Build Communication SkillsFrom stories and journal entries to letters, many middle schoolers enjoy writing in their free time.
• Help Your Teen Get Organized For Writing Research PapersYour teen has spent hours online and in the library.
• Challenge Your Child To Write a Book This SummerTips to help you get your children to write and use their imaginations this summer.
• Improve your child’s writing skills, test scoresThese days, students must do more than just fill in the blanks for achievement tests.
• Keep interest in writing alive with storytellingChildren are natural storytellers.
• "Attitude of Gratitude" Can Motivate WritersIf you often groan about having to write a letter, you could be sending your child a message that writing is a chore.

Building Writing Skills

• Handwritten Thank-You Notes Offer Many Ways To LearnParents can add humor—and math and history learning—to this task, which is one that most children initially resist.
• Help Your Child Build Writing SkillsParents can help by encouraging their children to embrace the concept of revision. Through reviewing and revising, kids will soon see their writing improve.
• Build Your Teen's Writing SkillsThe ability to express oneself in writing is an important skill.
• Encourage Your Teen To WriteThe ability to write well becomes more important as students move through school.
• 4 Writing Styles Your Child Should KnowIn middle school, your child will be asked to write both fiction and nonfiction. And he’ll have to be able to use several different formats for each kind of writing.
• 6 Keys for Good WritingKnowing six key areas of writing can help improve your child’s compositions.
• Have Kids Write About Their InterestsThere’s an old saying among writers: “Write what you know.” Invite your child to follow that good advice.
• 8 Steps to a Strong ParagraphKnowing how to write a good paragraph is a key to successful writing.
• Practice Different Kinds of WritingThere are many different reasons to put words onto paper.
• Make Writing an Everyday ActivityIf your child thinks of writing as a “school only” activity, he may balk at sharpening his skills outside of class.

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Spelling and Vocabulary

• 12 Ways To Help Your Child Love the LibraryHave you and your child been to your local library lately? In addition to wonderful books, today’s libraries offer multimedia options, community events, fun activities, and more—and all for free.
• Teach More About Language With Word GamesIt’s much easier to remember grammar rules if we use them often.
• Help Your Middle Schooler Become a Better SpellerMiddle schoolers might not want parents to quiz them before spelling tests.
• Introduce New Words To Help Build VocabularyAs kids get older, they will be expected to know increasingly larger numbers of words.
• Reading Can Help Improve Teens' Daily VocabularyHigh school students will be exposed to words that may be less common and more sophisticated than they heard in middle school.
• Help Your Child Develop a Better VocabularyTo be a good writer, children need a good vocabulary.
• Board Games Can Make Spelling FunStudying spelling words can be drudgery for some children.
• Build Skills Putting Room in ABC OrderRain showers bring kids inside, and parents rack their brains for activities that don’t require a TV set!
• Four Tricks To Make Kids Better SpellersChildren have a hard time learning spelling rules like “i before e except after c.”
• "Firsts and Lasts" Game Reinforces Phonics, SpellingHere’s a great way to help your child with phonics and spelling while having fun. It’s also a good game for those times when you’re stuck waiting in the grocery store, at the bank, or in the doctor’s office without a book to read.

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Grammar & Syntax

• Stress Reading, Grammar To Build SkillsGood reading, oral language, and writing skills will help your child in all his school subjects and beyond.

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