Getting kids to love writing can be difficult sometimes, especially if they are struggling writers. It’s normal to dislike something you’re not good at (or think you’re not good at). I dislike bowling because I have terrible aim and usually end up in the gutter. But, I’m sure if I had the patience took the time to learn some tips, I’d enjoy it more!
Similarly, your students can learn to like writing, with a few little motivating tweaks. Try some of these tips for supporting struggling writers and get your students excited about your writing block!
1. Oral Practice
Sometimes telling a story helps the transition from thought to paper. Have kids share their writing plans with a friend before starting. Have students work with the same writing partner throughout a unit, so they become familiar with their peer’s story and can offer suggestions for adding details.
2. Choice: Too much or not enough!
This is a big one. Choice can be a help or an obstacle to kids. Having freedom while working within a genre may work well for some kids who have no problem coming up with ideas, but some kids get overwhelmed and need more guidance. Brainstorm ideas as a class and make a poster for kids to refer to when they have writer’s block (see sample chart below for our How-to writing unit). Offer writing prompts if kids are really stuck. Wordless books may also be great for kids to write a story about.
3. Special Tools
Who doesn’t love a fancy gel or flair pen?! I know I love to write when I have my smooth, comfy gel pen and this can be very motivating to kids. Consider allowing special pens/ thin markers for writing. In my class, we used flair pens for revising, to help motivate kids to add more. Suddenly, EVERYONE had something to revise when shown my colorful “revising tools”! Also consider different writing paper, including special paper for covers, post-it notes for revision, etc.
4. Praise
Praise effort over product. You’ll have students at all different writing stages and what comes easy to some may be extremely difficult for others. Look for small bites of progress and let kids know you notice they are trying harder. Celebrate a detail, stretched-out word, label, capital, punctuation- heck, even holding the pencil the right way! Tell them you just can’t wait to read what they write!
5. Address Writing Challenges and Brainstorm Solutions
Most of your students will encounter a writing challenge at some point! Address things that can be difficult about writing and make an If/Then chart with your students. When they encounter a problem, refer them to the chart to troubleshoot! Read my post on getting your kids to become independent writers for some tips on making this chart with your class (and get a freebie)!
6. Sharing
Who wants to share? Meeeeeeee! Most kids LOVE to share their writing. Some get frustrated when they don’t get to, but of course there’s just not enough time for all to share. But, there’s always time for a partner share! Ask kids to turn to their writing partner OR to find a new partner to share their writing with.
7. Drawing mini-lesson
In kindergarten, drawing is a big part of writing! But, some kids have poor fine motor skills or not enough experience with drawing, and this can also hinder motivation. You may hear, “I don’t know how to draw that,” or “I can’t draw it.” Teach children to draw starting with basic shapes. They can learn to turn a circle and triangle into a person and a circle and long rectangle into an animal!
This YouTube channel has great art tutorials that go step-by-step, making it easy for kids to follow. We enjoyed doing these during indoor recess or Fun Fridays!
8. Inventive Spelling
Some kids may take an extra long time drawing because they’re avoiding writing words. Besides not knowing what to write about, they may be hesitant to take risks when spelling. Encourage simple labeling with stretching out words, using inventive spelling (recording sounds you hear if not sure of the conventional spelling). My Labeling for Emergent Writers is perfect for this because kids get to pick what they want to label. Read how I teach emergent writers to stretch out words here, including ideas for different activities you can use to get them more confident with labeling.
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9. Scaffold
Revising can be tough for kids. I’m sure you’ve heard some kids say their story is great the way it is and they don’t need to add anything to it! ? Buuuut, if you break some revisions down into smaller steps, they may actually find it fun! I like to have my kids add dialogue and onomatopoeia in pictures before inserting into their stories. They just love coming up with conversations for the pictures in my Adding Dialogue pack and adding “sound words” in my Onomatopoeia pack. Once they practice this way, the transition to including these in their own stories is much easier!
10. Use mentor texts!
My students enjoy “writing like Julie Brinckloe” or “drawing like “Mo Willems.” When they love a particular author, they can be motivated to take tips to emulate their writing. Julie Brinckloe’s Fireflies is one of my favorite mentor texts for narrative writing!
11. Try a variety of writing genres and activities.
I love Writing Workshop because it allows for freedom and built-in differentiation. In addition to our writing workshop time, I also enjoy incorporating different types of writing activities throughout the week: during centers, in response to a read-aloud, or in between Writing Workshop genres! Build it and Write is a student favorite! Even the most reluctant writers can’t resist building a scene, then writing about it.
12. Work on stamina
If writing is hard, writing for an extended time is super hard for some. Start with 5 minutes of independent writing and gradually add a few minutes daily. Make it a challenge to beat their previous time!
TRY DIFFERENT WRITING STRATEGIES
We all know every child is different and this applies to their writing skills. Some strategies will work well with some kids and not with others. Try to find the root of the trouble in order to find the right solution- is it poor fine motor skills? Fear of misspelling? Lack of ideas? Hopefully, the strategies included in this post will be helpful in reaching all the different types of writers in your class!
MORE SUPPORT FOR STRUGGLING WRITERS
If you’re looking for more support for your struggling writers, here are some helpful posts:
Writing How-to Books in Kindergarten
Getting Students Writing Independently During Writer’s Workshop