When asking students to write, especially younger writers, it is always good to allow them to write about something with which they are familiar. One activity to help practice writing mechanics is encouraging students to write about themselves. Ask students to keep a daily journal about their activities, thoughts and feelings. Writing a poem about oneself is another creative way to get children to write. Older students can interview parents and grandparents and write about their family history. With all of these activities, encourage students to use correct grammar, punctuation and capitalization.
Letter writing is an opportunity to practice writing dates, addresses, cities, states, names, greetings and salutations correctly. Have students think of someone to whom they could write a letter. Have them bring the address of this person to school, along with a stamp. After editing, students should mail their letters. Also, have students brainstorm products or services. Allow students to choose the company or group that they want to address. After writing and correcting their business letter, give them the choice of whether they would like to mail it.
Children spend a lot of time on computers, video games and cell phones. Use these to your advantage when creating writing assignments. Ask students to write a blog about their ideas or daily activities. They could also pretend to be a character on their favorite video game and blog as that character. Design a blank "Facebook" page. Have students complete the page using complete sentences. Since students enjoy texting, give them a sheet with empty speech bubbles. Have them write a story using text messages as the only means of communication.
Always model what you are expecting your students to do. Using a rubric for what you will be grading is also a good idea. Be sure students know to include adjectives and use a variety of words when writing to make their writing interesting to others. Encourage students to share their writing and get the opinions of others. When grading the writing of early elementary students, focus on one skill at a time. If you try to incorporate too many skills, younger students become discouraged. Never use writing as a punishment for students. When you make activities fun and creative, students will learn more and enjoy writing.