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Help for Reluctant Writers + A FREEBIE
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
You the know the story. A student avoids writing like the plague. They have no ideas for what to write. Writing feels like a chore.
I've been there with my own kids and there's help. Give these a try.
Guided Research Essay Projects
Often our students are reluctant to write because they're being asked:
a) to write about something they don't know enough about.
b) to write in a format they haven't been explicitly taught step by step.
Our "GREPs" solve both of those issues.
Guided Research - Through fun activities and curated sources you can cut through all the noise and have them do targeted research where they're being saturated in the topic without really knowing it. The topics are also very high interest.
Guided Essay Writing - I take all the guess work out of essay writing. I break it into manageable chunks and give them guided instruction through cut and paste prompts that help them write a well thought out, on topic essay. There are several types to choose from!
I hear from customers ALL THE TIME about how these have transformed their student's writing!
Is it worth giving it a try? Even your eager writers will love them!
There are several more on the website including Yeti, Vitamin N and writing a Childhood Memoir!
LIST MEMOIRS
Want to go a bit lighter and just get them writing every day?
Have them write lists - but targeted lists.
Here we give them practice thinking of ideas, gathering their thoughts and putting them to paper. That's it. The list is the end result.
BUT the collection of lists creates a mini memoir and snapshot of their life.
Writing that Feels Like Play
I have never met a student who didn't enjoy the writing of Gary Paulsen or Jean Craighead George so in the Wild Words series we draw inspiration from these greats and explore creative writing in a light and playful way. We "throw rocks at our characters" (develop conflicts), give nature a personality, get gross and descriptive - you name it. We DON'T ask them to write a full story - NO. We ask them to describe a setting, create a conflict, show a character trait. They develop all the skills of creative writing but without the overwhelm. |
Play with Vocabulary and Language
Homeschool resources are no stranger to grammar and vocab lessons. Most of you know my distaste for this lol.
That said I actually think how language develops is very fun and very interesting. I think words are fascinating.
These resources will get your students excited about language.
Word Lab - This is a universal product. Use it with any vocab list to add fun and creativity.
Teen Slang - we have 2 different units here that are completely different. One focuses on the history of slang from the 1900s to current and the other on today's slang.
We look at how language evolves, how we assign meaning, how language brings us together and reflects society.
It might seem silly to be talking about rizz and farming aura but it's RELEVANT, important to them ( and all generations) and a fantastic way to understand language more deeply.
Again, I have been there with the student who HATES writing and will not budge. I have found that approaching writing with understanding, compassion and low pressure while mixing in HIGH INTEREST bite sized and targeted writing that we've been able to move them from a place of viewing writing as a chore to seeing it as a way to explore.
Download 2 free lessons from our Teen Slang series at the button below!
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