Lesson 5: Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic
Reports, Stories and Other Writing
It may seem like an impossible challenge to help a child who has difficulty reading, writing and spelling to write a report or a story. However, these are important academic skills and should not be put off until a child can read and write, especially if he is delayed in doing these things.
The initial explorations of these subjects may need to be a duel project, in which you are extremely involved. Gradually, you will turn over more and more of the work to your child as his skills improve.
Creative writing is an effective way to teach many academic skills, including writing, spelling, grammar, literary analysis and creativity. It can be introduced as soon as a child can talk, so no matter what age your child is, begin teaching him to write stories.
If your child is unable to write or type, let him dictate his stories to you or into a tape recorder. Transcribe them for him onto a word processing program, so that you can easily edit the material. Initially, if you have never done creative writing, you may not want to correct his work. Just let him get used to making up stories. Most children plagiarize heavily at the start. You can gradually teach him to create new stories.
A story must have characters and a plot. Teach your child to create characters by having him draw pictures of people, or find pictures in magazines, and tell you about them. Make up stories, decide what sort of people they are, who their families are, where they live and so on. When your child has created someone particularly interesting, suggest he write a story about the person by thinking about adventures or problems the person might have.
Too many children write stories that have no plot. The stories read like a list with no connections. Ask your child to tell you about a problem his character might have. Or start with the plot by asking what would happen if…. Then encourage your child to have the hero try two or three times to solve the problem. The first few times, something will go wrong. The last time, the hero can succeed. This is a very basic way to create plot, but it is a starting point.
If your child has language difficulties, you may want to concentrate on pictures. If your child can draw, have him draw stories comic book style. Encourage him to use whatever language he has to tell you about the pictures. Write those sentences down just as he says them under the pictures. By not improving the grammar of the first draft, you will be able to watch his growth.
Once a child is comfortable making up stories, begin working on editing. If you edit on a computer, your child won’t see hundreds of red marks. You can discuss the changes together and make them right on the computer. Save a copy of each draft so that you can monitor progress. Remember to limit the number of corrections you make in any session. You don’t want to hurt his self-esteem, but you also don’t want him to remain static, never improving his skills. Choose a focus each time. If you are on a computer, change the settings so that the computer does not automatically correct spelling and grammar, but does visibly mark them. Then you aren’t the one telling the child the word is spelled incorrectly. The computer will do it for him, and he can change it before you even see it. Be sure to discuss grammar checking with him. The computer is only a tool and does not understand English. Sometimes its suggestions are incorrect. Treat what it says as a suggestion, not a law.
A child who has been writing stories is well prepared to begin writing reports. Reports are often challenging for learning disabled children, because their reading skills may be limited, or their ability to organize large quantities of material may be challenged. You will need to help him experiment with a variety of methods for organizing until he finds the one that works best for him.
Younger children can learn to write reports using picture books as resources. When we wrote our first report, we used a giant white board. On the left side, we made a column for each book, listing a short version of the title and giving it a number. The number would help us translate it into a paper report later. I told the children we were searching for the answer to a specific question. I wrote the question at the top of the board. Together we read the first book. Whenever we found a sentence that could be used in our report, we wrote it on the board and put a checkmark in the column for that book. When we read later books, we put additional checkmarks in columns for each book that contained a previously found fact. I explained that we wanted more than one source to be sure the fact was right. If we found conflicting facts, we marked them in a different color for further examination.
Once we had read all the books, we moved the facts to large file cards. In one corner, we placed the number we had assigned the source. At the top, we placed a brief header to tell us what the card was about. Later, when we had a plan for the report, we added the placement from the outline. When the children had more experience, we made outlines before doing all the research, but initially, I had a plan of my own and showed them how to organize their material after it was gathered.
The material is easier to work with when it is on file cards. You can spread the cards on the floor and shuffle them again and again until they are just the way you want them. You may want to use colored cards for outline headings. When the children have decided how they want the material organized, it can be typed into the computer. You may need to help with this. Now the children need only to put the information into complete sentences and add connections and analysis. This same process can be used by older children who are ready for more sophisticated research as well.
If a child has difficulty writing, but can type, have him place all the facts directly onto the computer. He can color code them according to his outline. Then he can copy and paste them into the correct order and again complete the sentences and add personal material.
Children with language disorders may need to simply talk about the material or again, as with stories, draw the report and offer whatever sentences he is capable of giving you. You can direct him by asking questions and helping him formulate answers, which can then be changed to sentences. Reports should be kept short and basic for these children.
Begin reports by asking for 300 words. Gradually increase the number of pages until he can, as a high school student, produce five to ten page papers if he is going to college, and three to five if he is not and can’t handle longer papers. You may want to write your own report and let your child observe your own work. If you begin by writing reports with your child, gradually turn over each step to him until he is writing his own. There should not be a set timeline for accomplishing this. It will depend on how often you require reports and what difficulties he faces in accomplishing this task.
