A Writing Conversation How-To (for Parents)

Many parents ask about when and how to assist their child with writing, so I hope you will find this information of value.  

Start by asking your child general questions about the piece:

• How’s it going?
• Where are you in the writing process?
• Where did you get the idea for this?
• What instruction did your teacher give you to help you with this so far?

Remember that it is more important to ask questions that lead writers to their own answers than to give out answers.  Here are some that work well for getting writers to make important revisions:

• What specific part can I help you with?
• What’s this piece of writing really about?
• What would happen if you tried  . . . ?
• What are you going to do next?

Here are some general tips to help your child learn to edit more independently:

• Editing is the step that most writers (and readers) want to jump to first.  Try to save editing for the final step after all other significant changes have been made. 
• Sit shoulder to shoulder with your child as s/he reads the piece aloud while you read along.  You will notice that s/he can catch many mistakes this way.
• After you read the whole piece, look for 1-2 common mistakes to focus on instead of trying to “fix” everything for your child.  
• Have your child hold the editing pen and fix the errors with your help rather than marking the draft yourself.