We write for many different purposes, and the writing standards address that fact. Teachers will ask students to write opinion pieces about books or topics, informative pieces that contain facts about a topic, and more traditional-style writing called narrative in which students write about specific events or details.
How parents can help: Help your child see the different types of writing you do in your adult life. Talk about the writing you do for work and the more casual writing you do to friends. Then have fun encouraging your child to write their own opinion pieces — ask them to write a review of last night's dinner or the last family movie you watched.
Writing standards address editing and publishing work. Teachers and students may work together to edit drafts of written pieces, focusing on specific suggestions to make the writing more clear or informative. The standards also address sharing written work using a variety of digital tools.
How parents can help: Help your child feel good about receiving feedback. Constructive suggestions can help make a child's writing clearer and the writing process more enjoyable. Then, discover ways to share your child's writing with a larger audience — email or mail stories and poems, have your child contribute to the family blog, and keep an eye out for writing contests designed just for kids.
Students will be working with classmates on research and writing projects. Together they'll collaborate to gather information and present findings in an accurate way.
How parents can help: Consider checking out some "how-to" books from the library. Discuss the way the book is designed to teach someone to do something. Notice the format, short directions, and pictures or diagrams. Then, choose a topic to create your own family "how-to" book. It could be for a well-loved recipe or some other task that has multiple steps — how to clean the bathroom, unload the dishwasher, or program the DVR.
Parents can help promote their writer in many ways, and here are just a few: find time to share and celebrate the writing that comes home from school, highlight how writing is a part of every day, and take the time to notice and appreciate the beautiful writing found within books.
Used with permission from Reading Rockets