The Writing Process…

1. TheWritingProcess… …for kids!

2. Why use this tutorial? This tutorial is designed to help you help your child become a better writer. This process works for writing anything from a single paragraph to a short story.

3. What is the Writing Process? The writing process is a series of steps that takes you from an idea to a finished writing sample.

4. What are the steps in the Writing Process? • Prewriting • Drafting • Revising • Editing • Publishing

5. Prewriting(also known as Brainstorming) • Help your child choose an enjoyable topic to write about • Help them make a list of everything they can think of related to that topic

6. Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers make it easy to keep track of information during brainstorming. This is an example of web organizer for a paragraph about a child’s birthday party. Fun Games My Birthday Party Cake Pinata Friends

7. Drafting • Tell your child to start writing • Don’t worry about mistakes…yet • Make sure that they get all of their ideas down • When the draft is finished, read over your child’s writing with them. Decide what works and what doesn’t.

8. Revising • Help your child make changes • They may decide to add or remove information to the story • Don’t worry about spelling or grammatical errors at this time Note: This is usually the most frustrating part of the process

9. Editing • Now is the time to correct any mistakes • Older children may be able to do this alone with little help • With a younger child, you may need to find the mistakes and correct them together

10. Publishing Have your child make a final, perfect copy of their writing

11. Now that you know all of the steps, here is a writing sample from a 2nd grade student.

12. We’ll use the sample graphic organizer that you saw earlier. The student was assigned to write about a birthday party. Fun Games My Birthday Party Cake Pinata Friends

13. Using the graphic organizer, the child begins to write the first draft. I had the bestest birtday party ever. We opened the preence at the end and we ate a lot of cake. I have a dog. The best part of the party was the pinyata. It was fulled up with candy and toyz. I invited seven of my freends. The party was cool.

14. Now, help your child decide what needs to be added and deleted from the draft I had the bestest birtday party ever. We opened the preence at the end and we ate a lot of cake. The best part of the party was the pinyata. It was fulled up with candy and toyz. I invited seven of my freends, but only five of them came. My birthday party was cool!

15. During the editing process, you need to help your child correct any mistakes. I had the best birthday party ever. I invited seven of my friends, but only five of them came.The best part of the party was the pinata. It was filled with candy and toys.. I opened the presents at the end and we ate a lot of cake. My birthday party was cool!

16. During the publishing step, your child may also want to illustrate his or her story. Don’t push your child too much. You may need to cover the steps over a period of a few days. Remember that, above all, writing should be fun!