Why should your kids write this summer? And 13 writing activities to get them started.
Depending on where your child goes to school, he or she may have been given reading and math activities to complete over the summer. Perhaps they are to read two books from a grade-level list and work on an Internet math website for 30 minutes per week. Noticeably missing for most students is the requirement to write.
Why?
Because formal writing is not tested on many states’ high-stakes assessments typically given at the end of the school year. Just because it is not tested does not mean writing should be ignored over the summer. Not surprisingly according to Nation’s Report Card, only 27% of middle and high school students write proficiently.
Why get your kids writing
Summer writing activities can benefit students in numerous ways, including most notably their reading comprehension. Yes, if you want your child to improve as a reader, encourage him or her to write!
But do not take our word for it.
In an article on Ed Week, Larry Ferlazzo, an English and social studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, CA, says, “Writing directly benefits students’ reading skills. For example, if you have students write about what they’ve read or learned (for nearly any content or age), you’ll dramatically improve reading comprehension. Students are often forced to reread and think more deeply about what they’ve read.”
Ferlazzo continues, “Writing also improves students’ reading fluency. When students have to stop and think about what spelling patterns to use when they write, they are making a deeper connection in their brains about sound and spelling patterns. This deeper connection makes it easier, and faster, for students to recall those same patterns when they read.”
Need more convincing to get your child writing this summer? In her article Why Students Should Write in All Subjects in Edutopia, Touki Terado says that researchers reveal that writing improves learning by consolidating information in long-term memory. This of course allows students to retrieve this information and make deeper connections while learning.
And how about younger students? Is there a benefit to summer writing for them too? Recent research has revealed that students who are given latitude to use inventive spelling become better readers (Oulette & Senechall, 2017). Inventive spelling is a young writers attempt to spell out words as they hear them. Encourage the practice, not admonish.
Activities to get your kids writing
Now that you are thoroughly convinced your child ought to be writing this summer, here are some activities to get you started. Engage the Brain scoured the Internet and curated the following 13 writing activities to spark your child’s inner author.
1. Rewrite the ending to a favorite book
Whether it is a short story, a picture book, or a longer novel, challenge your child to rewrite the ending to the story. Use the characters and solve the problem differently. Or add a new character.
2. Write fanfiction
Many popular authors have fanfiction websites where admirers of the writer can scribe their own version of the author’s popular stories.
3. Pen pal
Ask your child to pick a favorite relative such as a grandparent and begin a pen pal relationship. The back and forth will provide a real-life opportunity for your child to use the writing process, whether it is through email or good old fashioned paper and pen.
4. Create a travel brochure
With the pandemic slowly loosening its grips on the country, maybe your family has planned a trip this summer. Encourage your child to research the location(s) you are visiting and to create a travel brochure highlighting all the destinations they would like to see.
5. Enter a writing contest
Sometimes a child needs a little more motivation to get writing and competition and money or prizes can be the motivating factor. Check out this list. Pay attention to the entry dates.
6. Create a new word
Your child will love to make up new words. Here a few examples: hattitude, adjective, a person with an attitude but they are wearing a hat; prevoid, verb, you do this to stop bad stuff from happening. Engaging in this activity reviews parts of speech and definitions of words.
7. Madlibs
Madlibs are those wonderful, silly, short stories that have blanks in them that your child then inserts a word for. Often times the blanks require a part of a speech such as a proper noun or adverb. There are physical books that can be purchased or there are many free websites where your child can spend time laughing up a storm at the nonsense stories they create.
8. Build vocabulary
Often times in school the study of vocabulary gets overlooked due to time constraints. While there are many avenues to improving as both a reader and a writer, building vocabulary is one such way. There are many good vocabulary books aligned by grade level that could be purchased. Another method is for your child to create their own dictionary and add to it every time they hear or read a new word. By the end of the summer they could have a wonderful resource to use in school.
9. Typing/Keyboarding practice
With so many schools moving to digital instruction, learning how to type is now mandatory. Fortunately there are many great programs available. Common Sense Education lists some good ones.
10. Write a graphic novel
Most kids know Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney and Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. Now it’s their turn. Most kids love to draw characters, so let them flex their creative muscles and create their graphic novel.
11. Write about a photo
Allow your child to pick a favorite photo. Challenge him or her to write a descriptive paragraph about the picture. Encourage them to tap into the “senses” of the photo: what they might see, hear, smell, touch, or taste.
12. The Most Disgusting Sandwich
Every kid loves to eat! Challenge them to come up with the ingredients for a disgusting, not edible sandwich. After they have brainstormed the ingredients, have them write out the directions to make their creation.
13. I Wonder journals
Journals are a great, nonthreatening way to get your kids writing. Have them start each entry with the two words I wonder. This could lead to some philosophical thoughts about why they must learn algebra or some silly ideas about why dad always burns the hamburgers. Either way, you win because the kids are writing!
Final thoughts
There are so many great reasons to get your kids writing this summer, from improving their reading comprehension to internalizing spelling patterns to simply recording their thoughts. As Mary K. Tedrow, an award-winning high school English teacher said, “Reading is the inhale; writing is the exhale.” Just because the school does not require it, allow your child the chance to breathe in literary air and exhale some creative writing this summer.
If you have any questions or concerns about summer writing activities, please contact Jennifer Disch at Engage the Brain.