Writing With Kids

When I was little, I hated black licorice and watermelon. Adults handed them over like they were treats. Could I have ice-cream instead? Nope. So I stared at these “gifts,” picked at them, tried to like them, and grew to hate them even more.

Writing from someone else’s idea is about as appealing to me as eating black licorice, which I no longer hate, but it’s far from being my favorite treat. Even now, well-meaning folks are eager to tell me what I should write. I usually respond by telling them it’s their idea, and they should get started on it.

Warning: Unless they’ve had a teacher who understands the whole writing process, kids aren’t used to having lots of choice in writing. It’s scary to jump off the cliff without the safety net of knowing exactly what the teacher wants. It’s much safer to sit nicely at the edge of the cliff — do a good job, stay in the lines, and know your audience (the teacher, of course).

When I was in tenth grade, we had a new English teacher. She was young, with long dark hair, and the boys all had a crush on her. She was unlike anyone else who taught us in that small northern Minnesota town. Many of them had been around for decades. Some even called me by my mother’s name. Cool, collected, organized — This new teacher, who left us after that year, sat in front of us and we barely moved. I still can’t figure out how she had such great control, unless it was because she was so different from us. The assignment I still remember was “My Letter to the World.” We could make a collage, write poetry, put it in any format, but it was to be our statement about what we wanted for the world. She had a list of criteria — type of information to be included — but she didn’t tell us exactly how it had to be done. Wow. I remember researching periodicals (pre-compter days), and talking with friends. Choice was new to us. We each ended up with unique projects. Instead of doing enough to get by, or focusing only on impressing the teacher, we really got into the activity and made it our own. Ownership in writing. It’s big. It’s where we learn to love the process. I need to go look around.  I may even still have my “letter” somewhere.

It takes awhile for kids to feel comfortable with having more choices in their writing. They’ll need your support and encouragement. Get to know their interests, family, and activities. Look at your writing assignments with an eye for choice. We have our lists of things we want kids to learn, whether those lists come from the state, district, school, or our own thoughts about education. Can you still cover what you want them to learn with just a little more choice? Let me know what happens…