As a full-time tutor, Hannah often gets enquiries from parents about supporting children with creative writing for the 7+. A passionate reader herself, Hannah regularly uses books to encourage the children she works with to love language and fill their own stories with inspiration! Here are two simple ways parents can support with this process.
This may seem like an obvious thing to say, but there is no better place to learn the craft of writing than to see it in action! There are 2 ways to do this. Firstly, offer your child reading-age appropriate books (your child’s teacher can suggest these based on your child’s ability) to read for pleasure. Secondly, pick a high quality text to read to and with your children. Here are 5 modern books:
And some classic books:
When reading these books to your children, make sure you pause at regular points and talk about some of the words and sentences the author has used. Focus on quality reading and discussion not on the quantity of pages read! Ask questions like:
Talking to them about the book helps children to become aware of language and to think more about it. Make sure you answer the questions as well and share what you are enjoying about the book. This models to them what talking about books looks like and shows them that enjoying books is something adults think about too! Having said this, try to avoid stopping every few sentences in order to allow them to listen to and enjoy the story. Encourage your children to use the words and phrases they have heard when you are discussing things with them in real life. Maybe even write some of the favourite words and phrases down on a board or on post-it’s somewhere where the child will see them regularly. Maybe create a word wall somewhere in your house with the words and phrases stuck on. When they write, this will help them to become more familiar with the new words and phrases and then use the new words and sentences in stories they write.
When you want your child to write a story, here is how to use the books you have read to inspire and stimulate them.
And finally, start small. Don’t worry if your child has not been able to memorise and use all the phrases they liked in ‘Anne of Green Gables.’ It is more important that your child enjoyed the book, has understood and followed the plot and heard the rich language contained in it. Even if they use 1 word or phrase for each book, they will soon begin to build up a bank of language to add to their writing.
We store some data to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with this. You can learn more here
Start the discussion!