Homeschool Writing

Build a family of confident writers

Your Homeschool Writing Strategy

Writing is the vehicle which God used to bring His Words to our ears. It is also the way in which we can interact with others- near and far. The world has become so close through the internet, and to avoid mis-understanding, we must write clearly; We must be able to persuade; to encourage; to respond to news and editorials; to critically analyse information; to add information; to lead and guide others.

How you go about teaching homeschool writing to your children in your home is completely your decision. Use this page as a springboard of ideas and methods of teaching writing skills to your family without the stress!

How to Teach Writing

How to teach writing? On this page, is my simple  no nonsense idea of teaching the Writing process - writing mechanics and written expression and the 10 steps involved in teaching homeschool writing. Find out more about how to teach writing. ( Steps 1-8)

Steps 9 & 10 - Teaching Creative Writing - these steps focus on teaching creative writing with a focus on style and using different forms of writing. 

Teaching Writing Skills

Writing Curriculum can be broken down into a number of skill sets such as

• Handwriting (mechanics)
• Composition
• Spelling
• Vocabulary
• Formal Grammar.

How will you develop these skills in your homeschool writing curriculum? Read more about Writing Skills

Find out how to teach writing skills in the context of literature.

Create a Language Arts Lesson Plan Through Literature

Learning language arts through literature is using literature as a base to teach handwriting, spelling, writing techniques, grammar and punctuation. This is done by selecting a model of excellent literature and drawing all the aspects of language arts from this. This can be used as a complete homeschool language arts curriculum which you create.

It expands the 10 Day Outline you see on the right. You can use any literary excerpts to create a language arts lesson plan.

Read more about Integrated Language Arts Lesson Plans

Ten Day Outline

• Copy the Writing
• Work on Spelling
• Grammar
• Dictation
• Keyword Outline
• Working with Words
• Work with style
• Proof reading
• Re-writing
• Final Copy
  

Modeling the Classics E-Books - 
Integrated Lesson Plans based on Literature

Modeling the Classics is an E-book using a simple, integrated approach to use literature as the basis of language arts lesson Plans - one book for multi-ages covering all the language arts! This is what the integrated language arts lesson plans (which I describe above) look like in reality. 

There are 2 Books to get you started:  Language Arts Lesson Plans based on The Hobbit;  Teaching Descriptive Writing;

Language Arts Lesson Plans based on Fables

How do you use Aesop's Fables as a base of a language arts lesson plan? Read the step by step way in which you can use any Fable for kids and create fables lesson plans around it.

Teaching Writing Strategies using Writing Forms

All the above steps deal with how to teach writing mechanics. It is also important for children to use their writing in different forms. 

Different writing forms have different purposes and giving children a writing strategy when they approach these different forms will build confident writers. As they experiment and learn various writing strategies, they can find the type of writing in which they can shine. Writing is fun and exciting, a way to explore words, and inspire others.

By teaching different forms of writing, the child can experiment with letter writing, poetry, play-writing, advertising, essays and so on. List of Writing Forms here.

For Example:  Subject Writing

• Biographical Writing,
• Autobiographical Writing,
• Newspaper Stories,
• How-to-Writing,
• Descriptions,
• First Hand Experiences,
• Book Report Alternatives,
• Eyewitness Accounts,
• Observation Reports,
• Personal Research Reports,
• Multimedia Computer Reports,
• Interviews
  

Free Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizers are a great way to organize your thoughts in preparation to write.

Free Handwriting Practice Sheets for Writing 

Design Your Homeschool Writing Curriculum

Looking at a big list of Writing Forms can be overwhelming and it is easy to be daunted by something which "someone" says we should cover.

So, how do we go about making the decision of what we want to include in our homeschool writing curriculum and when?

Want to design your own homeschool writing curriculum?  Keep reading here.

You will learn how to:

• Write across the Curriculum
• Remember the Big Picture
• Set your own Scope and Sequence
• View writing as sequential
• Keep your Goals in mind;
  

Teach creative writing using writing prompts

This page includes narration starters which can be used as creative writing prompts.  These can be used for both oral and written narrations. There are a huge list of questions here, but you don't need to cover every question for every story!

These can also be used as conversational starters so don't feel that answers need to be written down for all of these!  In fact, I mostly use the top 2 questions for my narrations, keeping it very simple and yet, employing the art of sequence and description. These are just ideas of what you may ask depending on the age of the child and the story you have just read - helping them to retell different aspects of the story by focusing on character/ setting/ conflict/ resolution and point of view.

Homeschool Writing Curriculum

Brave Writer - excellent writing curriculum ; An excerpt from their website:

"Brave Writer is designed to enhance the parent-child relationship through the teaching of writing. It is my contention that writers are grown best when students feel supported and free. Parents feel best when they have strategies they can trust to advance their twin goals: peace and progress in the writing process. Enter Brave Writer's abundance of programs (both self-teaching guides and online classes with instructors)."

Teaching Writing Structure and Style 

• IEW - Counting the Cost ( user review)
• IEW- All things Fun and Fascinating (user review)
• IEW - Review by Christine
  

Writing Strands - user review by Joanne

Write On: The Kid Friendly,  Mother Pleasing, Gentle Way to Write by Karen 

Online Writing help

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant A complete curriculum to walk the writer through the details of all phases of writing essays, including organization, revision, editing, documentation of sources, and specific instruction in how to write informal, thesis/support, argumentative, and exploratory essays. You'll find many useful free homeschooling resources here.

List of tens by Traci is a huge site offering writing ideas from grammar exercises, writing style exercises, writing prompts and far more - organized into lists of 10 ideas.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.  This classic reference book is a must-have for any student and conscientious writer.

Online Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar Sites

I'm really impressed with the layout and amount of games and interactive activities offered by Vocabulary / Spelling City;  It covers Elementary, Middle, and High School Vocabulary, Spelling, Writing, Parts of Speech, Handwriting, Alphabetical Order.

Much of the content is free, but you can become a premium user for a minimal amount per family per year.

Free SAT and Vocabulary games from Sheppard Software - an amazing selection across the ages.

Grammar sites

• KISS Grammar A top quality Grammar Program. You will need to find your way around the site, but you can print off whole workbooks. I have enjoyed using their methodology and worksheets for years. This truly is an amazing free homeschooling resource.
• Online Grammar and Writing Handbook - filled with Grammar and Writing Lessons.
• Daily Grammar Lessons sent to your email box Monday to Friday for free. Saturday is a quiz. Or you can access the lessons through their archives.

Learn Grammar Through Song

Winston Grammar

Greek and Latin Roots

Where to from here?

• Teaching Reading Sitemap
• What makes a Language Arts Curriculum?
  

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