From Reading into Writing

In this article I will share some ideas for motivating your child to rewrite the endings of familiar books and begin to write his or her own original stories.

Many parents will think that their child is too young to write. They can sing the alphabet song, write their own name and perhaps even recognize some or all 26 letters of the alphabet and write some letters. But, most children who are going to begin a 4 year old pre-school program do not know all of the letters and sounds so how can they write words or stories?

In the previous article I discussed the importance of regularly reading to your children from quality books of different genres and fiction as well as non-fiction books. I shared some techniques for introducing the book, predicting what the story is about, taking “picture walks” and then reading the book. I encouraged you to pause periodically in the reading process and ask your child to predict what might happen next.

After becoming well familiarized with the story I suggested that you ask your child how he might change the ending if he was the author. This might open up a fun time of sharing different scenarios in a positive and fun- filled way. You should support your child’s efforts by praising and celebrating his/her creative ideas for a different ending to the story.

At a subsequent reading of the story on another day you might want to encourage your child to “write or illustrate” his/her own version of the story or even a spin-off from the story. If your child is content with letting his drawings tell the story since his writing may not be very well developed at this time, that is very acceptable. Bear in mind that as long as he/she can retell the story verbatim, it isn’t necessary to have written words on a page, illustrations will suffice. But if they are able to use inventive spelling; dg for dog, plad for played, grma for grandma, this is wonderful! Praise them and accept their words without trying to “fix” them.

Your child might write strings of letters saying that she is “writing the story”. Honor her authorship, even if you aren’t able to truly read the story, as long as she can “read” it to you. This is especially true if she is “reading” it the same way each time. However, if the child requests it, you may record her words.

Once a week each member of the family could share an experience or story with the other members of the family at Family Writing Circle. This story of interest should be taken from an experience they have had that week if possible. After telling the story, the author will begin to write and illustrate his/her own book about it.

Some blank books could already be assembled and ready for use in 8′ x 11″ or 4” x 5 ½ “ sizes. You might want to begin with 4 to 5 pages per book. You can always add pages if this isn’t enough, but you don’t want the youngest ones to feel overwhelmed by too many pages. Have a variety of writing and drawing instruments available; crayons, markers, scented markers, pencils, pens of different colors, etc. ready to illustrate and write your stories.

The story can be something as simple as a trip to the store, a friend who came to play, a planned vacation trip, a new pet, learning to ride a bike, a new hair cut, a funny incident or even a disappointment. The adults should model by first telling what happened.

Then think and talk aloud as you draw and write so that the children can understand the process of the craft. Consider your first product be the rough draft, and explain that you can rewrite it later to make it even better. Your story should have a title, a beginning, middle and an end. There may be a problem and a solution as well. Read it with expression and watch to see  expressions of delight and hear comments of support and encouragement when you have read your story to them.

Each person can have his or her own office tray, decorated box, or binder of personal stories that can be read to one another or to a friend. You may want to read another family member’s book out loud at the next writing circle meeting if they would like that. You can be sure that these little books will become family treasures in years to come.

Summertime will not only have been a time of relaxation and recreation, it will also have been a time of creative expression and growth for the whole family. You will be developing prolific authors and responsive audiences as each member’s books are enjoyed and treasured by the rest of the family. Happy Writing!