Explain what nouns and verbs are. Explain the different types of sentence structures as well. At this stage, children should know that a subject and verb are needed to make a complete sentence. Make sure basic grammar skills are used, including ending punctuation like periods, exclamation points and question marks.
Show the student how to use her own ideas to initiate storytelling. What will be the main idea of the story? Tell the student to keep this in mind as she writes the story. Go over different subjects the student is interested in and have her write a story about one of them. Brainstorm with the child. On a piece of paper, have her write a list of all the things she wants to talk about in the story. Have her mark them off the list, once she writes about them.
Encourage the student to read books. Make frequent visits to the library to check out all the books that seem interesting to the child. Read aloud to the student on a daily basis to reinforce and show how stories are constructed. Ask the child what she liked or didn't like about the story. What did the author do that she would like to implement in her future stories? Teaching the child to think critically will help her become an advanced writer and thinker.
Read the student's story out loud with her. Reading the story out loud clearly points out grammatical errors and shows the child if the story flows. Use this as a tool to reinforce grammar again. Be positive and encouraging with your feedback.
Write, proofread, rewrite---in that order. Have the child write an outline first. What will be in the story and in what order? From there the child can write a rough draft. Explain what a rough draft is. Ask the child to proofread her own work before you read it. Tell her to make corrections and rewrite the story. Now you proofread it. Make a note of all the edits. Be gentle with comments, and first point out all the right things the student did in the story. Have the child write a final draft.