Just 58.2 percent of fourth-graders in Farmington Public Schools are proficient or better in writing, according to last year's Michigan Educational Assessment Program (see full results). Compare that to 93.4 percent for math and 91.7 percent for reading. Livonia's MEAP scores for writing were similar, with fourth graders scoring the lowest - only 52.9 were proficient or better.
According to Dr. Mary Bigler, who spoke at the Raising Writers Forum Oct. 26 at Hillside Elementary School, writing scores are low across the country. Bigler, who taught K-12 writing for 13 years and is now an Eastern Michigan University professor of Teacher Education, cited two ways to improve kids' writing: 1) have them read more, and 2) have them write more.
The forum included tips and ideas for parents on getting kids to write more, including the following:
• Make a family diary. Have each family member write once sentence in the diary every night - or several times a week. Take dictation from younger kids who aren't yet writing. Have family visitors write in it too. Keep the diary and look back at it over time. "It's a wonderful way to show children that writing is permanent," Bigler said.
• Encourage "invented" spelling, especially for kids just learning to write. Kids can spell words like they sound and learn the correct spelling later. "The important thing about writing is that you get the ideas down," Bigler said.
• Get children to write thank you letters, your grocery list, letters to family. "Any excuse you can use to get your kids to write is good," Bigler said. Keep a writing box with all writing supplies - pens, stationery, stamps, etc. - gathered together.
• Read and celebrate your child's writing. Ask questions. Show that writing is valued.
• Keep an interactive journal where you and your child write notes to each other.
• Play word games like Junior Boggle and Scrabble. Do crossword puzzles.
• Encourage kids to read patterned books and write their own stories that are like them. For example, "The Important Book," by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard, tells "the important thing" about various subjects. Kids can easily write a story that tells the important thing about a favorite meal, a person, themselves, anything.
Bigler is also the author of "Mary Bigler's Lessons Learned: Teaching and Speaking." The book includes many entertaining and valuable anecdotes about teaching writing to children.
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