Is it worth paying a tutor to teach "literacy"

[IntotheNittyGritty]

Im at my wits end. My DC is classed as extremely bright, articulate, expressive, etc (teachers words) but she doesnt show this in any of her writing. Maths, reading, comprehension and spelling are several years ahead of her actual age, but writing is way behind. (Level 3 in Year 6). Her handwriting varies from shocking to good, but very lazy. Punctuation, whilst understands its uses, isnt used (cant be bothered).
Teacher says she is progressing well and there is nothing to worry about, but I do worry because Im not seeing much improvement. At high school there is a lot of writing (I assume?). For three years running, her writing level has stayed the same.

I keep wondering about a term with a tutor, just to reteach the purpose of writing, ie introduction, story, conclusion, how to use present facts, how to present her written work, but dont know if this is a good idea or not. The school just doesnt seem focussed on the academic side at all.

She has no learning difficulties, isnt dyslexic, good socially, copes well at school etc.

[peacefuleasyfeeling]

Hi there,
I'm a primary school teacher who has tutored privately and as part of a funded scheme to 'pull up' the lower achieving pupils in my school. It sounds as if your daughter is uninspired and struggling with finding any real motivation to write. This isn't such an uncommon thing, but it deserves a closer look. Before I begin, I really want to emphasise that I am not a level-tyrant, who drives my pupils with an iron fist. Far from it. I do however believe in assessment as a useful tool for learning, when used well, and the process of making assessments in order to level is useful when trying to determine the next steps in learning.
Levels can be deceptive (and should be taken with a pinch of salt unless you are satisfied with the process through which they were set), although Year 6 levelling usually draws on a wide range of a child's writing in order to form a comprehensive picture. Best practice in schools promotes moderating levels and writing samples between year groups in order to avoid situations where a Year 3 teacher, for instance, may level a child higher than their writing actually merits, only for it to appear, in subsequent years, as if no progress has been made, when the new teacher arrives at the same conclusion after interrogating the pupil's writing samples.
I wouldn't buy the 'progressing well, nothing to worry about' line, unless you genuinely feel that achieving a level 4 by Year 6 isn't the end of the world. Perhaps you can ask to see exactly where this progress is being made, seeing as it is not reflected in her levels? Schools are required to track pupil progress in order to account for 'value added', and any child who has not made progress in three years will be flashing up on the spreadsheets like a beacon, especially if it is a Year 6 pupil who is not in line for meeting the level 4 target. Most teachers would be asked by their headteacher, or whoever is the leader for assessment in the school, to clarify this lack of progress and specify what support and interventions they have put in place in order to bring a child like your daughter along. It's no good, and it really lets children down when we don't pull out all the stops to see how we can best support pupils who for whatever reason do not make the progress we could normally expect to see. Very few things about your daughter are the same now as they were when she was 7, going on 8 in Year 3, so it seems silly that her writing should be, with no questions asked.
You mention that your daughter's reading and comprehension are good. Generally, I would say that children who have a love of reading and read a range of texts for pleasure make better writers, as through their reading they regularly access the work of more accomplished practitioners of writing, whatever the genre. Encourage your daughter's reading in every way you can, as a love of reading so often holds the key to inspired writing.
As for hiring a tutor, I would encourage you to go for it. Ask your daughter how she feels about it, of course. The role of the tutor would ideally be that of a facilitator, who would work at finding an intrinsic motivation for your daughter to want to put pen to paper. Or use a keyboard for that matter. It is lovely when children have nice handwriting, but if your daughter is held up by simply not enjoying holding a pencil, let her use a keyboard and see if she finds her motivation when not encumbered with a mechanical process she doesn't enjoy. (This is a very common stumbling block.)
Oh dear, I've gone and tired myself out! DD (10 months) is asleep upstairs, and I should try to catch up on some zzzs too, but it's nice to put my professional head on before I return to work after maternity leave next month. I wish you the very best of luck with your daughter's writing. Google someone like Pie Corbett in order to get a feel for what you want a great tutor to offer.

[sarahfreck]

I'd second the advice to get a good tutor (but then I'm one too!). Have you considered dyspraxia/dysgraphia. Children can be good at some motor skills and poor at others so beware the thinking ( that I heard from one teacher) of - oh no s/he doesn't bump into furniture so s/he can't be dyspraxic!
If children are having to use a lot of concentration on the physical task of writing then they sometimes are poor at punctuation, even though they know the rules. It isn't laziness, just that the amount of concentration needed to physically write and focus on the content of their writing leaves less "brain power" to focus on punctuation.

Does she express upset/frustration/anger at being asked to write?

[redapple80]

Hi I would say it would benefit but then at the same time the school really should be helping her. What level is she at? Have you been shown her writing?

[IntotheNittyGritty]

Thanks for your feedback. She just cant be bothered to write, and spends all her time thinking about it, by which time the lesson has ended and lo and behold she never finishes her work. Her handwriting can be beautiful, but again she chooses to scribble and refuse to use punctuation.

The teacher is making a big effort to refocus her attentions but she just isnt interested.

Something I have noticed recently though that whilst her spelling has always been good, in her recent work she is mixing all the letters up, but getting all the correct letters in her words. This has become really prominent in the last 6 months or so. And yet she gets very hard words to learn for spelling and always get them right. Just not in her classwork.

I have wondered about speaking to the teacher about any "condition" to investigate, but I am not really sure if there is a problem. Have had a look at Dysgraphia but not sure it really fits. She isnt clumsy in any way.

Whilst she doesnt express anger about being asked to write, she just wont do it. I have tried all sorts of projects at home to try and encourage her without success.

[maizieD]

And yet she gets very hard words to learn for spelling and always get them right. Just not in her classwork.

Lots of children can get spellings all correct when tested; there is a 'reward' (either intrinsic or extrinsic) associated with good marks in a spelling test. However, if she is not at all motivated to write, she's even less likely to be bothered about 'correct' spelling when she does put some words on the page!

It is also entirely possible that she is reluctant to write because she can't spell very well. If she is learning her spellings as 'letter strings', rather than relating the sounds in the words to the letters which spell them, the 'letter strings' could be going straight out of her head the moment she has spelled them for the 'test'. Imagine not being able to spell anything and not even knowing where to start in working out a spelling...not conducive to fluent writing, I think.

[throckenholt]

so how do you motivate children to write ?

I have 3 boys between 8 and 9 and none of them have much motivation to write. They are quite capable physically but very reluctant (especially with joined up writing).

You can make them write but I don't see how that helps in motivating them to want to.

[Mumofjz]

i have a DD (age 9 - year 4) and for the past 2 years have been told from school that her handwriting is poor, spelling is poor and concerntration is poor!!! She has a reading age of a year 6 - age 10/11 and comes up with wonderful sentences/scenarios etc when discussing the topic on the carpets - her vocabulary is fantastic and she works well with spoken words - however her downfall is when they move from talking about the topic and having to get down and write about it - apparently she will take 10/15 mins before settling down to write, sharpening pencils, checking everyone else is ok etc - all delaying tactics, then she has little written down to asses.

I have taken her (last 6 weeks) to a tutor (ex Kip McGrath School of tutors) and explained this - she firstly tested her for dyslexia (she was fine) as it can sometimes get missed if your child is good at reading and can write the written word without getting mixed up letters. We then sat down and talked about that maybe somewhere along the line, the learning of spelling from going from phonics etc (my DD writes like she hears still)!!!!! has been forgotton and this will be re-introduced, a wobble board (something about standing on it prior to writing helps kick in the brain for pen control) and taking her back to basics and re-building her confidence back up in writing.

I have spoke with DD about all this and she really enjoys going as there is no pressure from the tutor, she's there to assit and help (however many times my DD may ask) and we think DD biggest problem is (apart from her being a little bit flitty - can't concerntrate for long on one thing) that she thinks she's not as good as everyone else at writing etc and so she tries to put it off for as long as possible.

Sorry to ramble, but in a nutshell, i would send her, she's sounds a lot like my DD - i never wanted her to get to year 6 and this was still an issue, because when she's in senior school, she'll just get swallowed up in the system. :)

[southernbelle77]

Along the same sort of lines, DD is 6 and in year 2. She really doesn't like writing and although she can have neat writing (rarely) she usually has messy writing. Sometimes her spelling is good, other times still phonetic. She has a very good reading age, verbal ability is good and has good ideas but a stranger wouldn't know that as her writing does not reflect it. Is she too young to have a tutor or would it be worth trying to encourage that now?
Sorry for being no help to you, OP and interfering in your thread!

[Ariesgirl]

I think its worth noting that the OP doesn't mean handwriting here, everyone who is saying their child also has messy writing.

[IndigoBell]

If your DS is 5 years old he does not need a tutor.

The OPs DS is in Y6.....

Unless you meant your DS is in Y5?

[ZZZenAgain]

No harm in discussing it with a potential tutor IMO

[rjteach]

For those people looking for a way to motivate children to write try the storybird website. www.storybird.com Children can choose from the illustrations provided and link pictures which then form the stimulus to write from. These stories can them be sent to other people to share the story. I have my whole class regisiered and have been really pleased with how the children are writing at home in their own time and they love sending them to me to share. Not sure I have explained it very well! Is a very simple site to use though. xx