 “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”- John Steinbeck, Noble Prize Author This month we’re sharing insights on overcoming writing challenges from some of our very own writing experts at The Village Tutors “Good writing helps a student communicate clearly and effectively. That’s not all. Writing also serves as a cornerstone of learning. It can improve a student’s ability to organize thoughts, encourage deeper engagement with information, and help connect the dots between ideas.” - Kate O'Reilly, The Village Tutors The Village Tutor, Marjean Gonzalez shares that “Many students groan when they receive a writing assignment. I often hear, “I don’t know what to say!” It doesn’t help that the accompanying rubric for grading the assignment can look quite intimidating. However, I find that, once I start talking with the student about the topic, they have plenty of ideas; the problem is, their ideas are jumbled up, not thought out completely, and not organized. My job as a tutor is to help students examine texts, and examine their own thinking about the texts or topics. Brainstorming out loud is a great place to start, followed by jotting thoughts down on paper, and then organizing those thoughts into paragraphs.” Marjean continues, “In language development, writing is the last and highest skill to be developed. Think about going to a foreign country without having studied the language prior to your trip. By the end of the first week, you can pretty much understand the gist of conversation, but you might not feel confident to speak the language, and you certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable writing in a new language! It’s the same for students. Children benefit greatly from having discussions, and the one on one tutoring setting is an ideal place for students to be skillfully guided in discussion of their topic, questioned for the purpose of developing their thoughts, and then, to experience the power of writing to express their thoughts. Parents can encourage this writing process by looking for ways to have casual discussions on a variety of topics.” Writing Resources We highly recommend "The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects" by Joan Sedita. This was inspired by Hollis Scarborough’s “Reading Rope”. This “rope” metaphor can be used to depict the many strands that contribute to fluent, skilled writing and focuses on five fundamentals of a comprehensive writing curriculum. This article shares the basics on the five key strands and how to provide explicit instruction for each strand:
 Another one of our favorite resources at TVT to support writing is “The Writing Revolution” co-authored by Education Journalist, Natalie Wexler. The Writing Revolution’s evidence-based strategies ensure that all students at all levels can produce clear, coherent, unified, and structured writing. The Writing Revolution offers implicit instruction on how to help your students:
Our team is expertly trained to support students with writing, and we welcome the opportunity to work with you and learn more about your needs. Contact us today to get started, as we look forward to developing a customized plan for you. |
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