TDavenport

THe importance of teaching a student to extend his/her writing is highlighted in this section.  Students are encouraged to go beyond what they usually put down on paper.  Going beyond the basic "I like ..." and "Flowers are pretty." will help the student grow.

Some important points to remember are:

Good writing must have a Beginning, Middle, and End. Encouraging a child to really think about this will improve writing skills.  SOme children are very good oral story tellers and usually include BME to their stories.  however, writing stories on paper is a whole different form.  This is where many children have problems.

MAtching words to pictures, moving beyond "list" stories, talk bubbles(encourage dialogue), story webs, and using details are other points to remember.  Specific details help a child extend thier thoughts to give a more enriched story.  Teachers should also help by creating vivid pictures in the minds of students when telling stories.  Learn to tell a story orally first, then write it down.  This helps with u sing dialogue in the story.

Reading the pictures is a great way to understand a story.  Elaborate on the story through the use of details in the pictures.  Make sure the picures give enough detail so that the setting of the story is evident.

As teachers, we should make the writing experience seem less threatening and more manageable. THink of writing as talking on paper.