Although educational standards vary by state, it is common for most third graders to be given writing assignments. According to the California Department of Education, students in the third grade should be able to write a single paragraph with a topic sentence, three to four supporting sentences and one concluding sentence. Students should also understand basic research concepts and be able to write narratives as well as expository pieces including short book reports.
Writing can be extremely overwhelming to children who dive in without a plan. Make sure your child knows there is a method to the madness. The Reading Clinic tutoring centers, which are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, implement a program called Writing With Ease, which is centered on six writing steps: Collect, Arrange, Write, Improve, Rewrite and Publish.
Collect is the brainstorming process after a topic is selected. The student creates a list of details, in no particular order without using complete sentences. This is meant to extract all details needed for the assignment without over-thinking.
Arrange. From the rough list, have your students group items accordingly or maybe just order them chronologically if applicable. From there, plug all details into a one-paragraph outline which should look like this:
Topic Sentence, supporting details, supporting details, supporting details, conclusion.
Use a full sentence for the topic and concluding sentences and key words for the supporting sentences. This is just an outline so it is important that the paragraph does not appear to be complete after this step.
Write. Now the student is finally ready to begin to write. Remind your child to stick to the outline unless he has come up with more details that will easily fit with what is already outlined. Prompt him to focus just on the writing, not on spelling, grammar, etc. This will alleviate some of the added stress associated with writing.
Improve. To encourage the child to self-edit, search online for a grade-appropriate editing checklist which your student can follow independently. Have her go down the checklist, and make edits as necessary while she checks her spelling with a dictionary. After your child has gone through his draft, you may go through it one more time with him to make sure he didn't miss anything. Discuss all errors as needed.
Rewrite. The rewrite does not need to be a completely new draft, just a culmination of all of the edits into a clean final draft. Do one more check for errors.
Publish.Provide some form of recognition for this fantastic accomplishment. Whether that is by handing iit in to a teacher for extra credit or simply posting it on the refrigerator, your child needs to know that all of his hard work is acknowledged. Maybe your student would like to read it out loud for the whole family.
If you are developing assignments at home, have your child take advantage of that freedom. Question her about her interests, favorite pastimes, pet peeves or best friends. Have a dialogue to learn what excites your child; then have them write about that topic. Be sure to let your child know she can also make up her own stories where the possibilities are endless.
Try to rotate different styles of writing such as narrative and informational. You don't want your child to get over-comfortable with only one style.