Ideas to get my DD practising writing independently.

[ohmygosh123]

She is coming back to the UK next year from overseas where there is no independent / creative writing yet in school. She is great with textbooks as that is what she is used to - but simply refuses to write independently 'because we don't have to do it at school'. Has anyone got any ideas for what she can do (suitable for 6-7 yr olds - Year 2) to get her practising writing. Also what is the standard of the above average kids. She is used to being top of the class here and she's going to get a big shock when she gets back to the UK and has to make up stories etc.

I've tried things like mini accordian books as she likes craft and drawing. But I really need to get her to be able to sit down and write on her own for 30-40 mins as apparently that is what the class that she will be joining has just started doing. The better children can fill 2 pages in that time .....

Or do I let her keep doing what she likes (spelling, grammar, reading comprehension - Bond type things) and hope she is more obliging for her new teacher?! I'm going to try and see the school before the end of the summer term so she can see the kind of things they do so it isn't too much of a shock, but was hoping for some ideas to help her in the meantime.

If only there was somewhere where I could see sample work, I'd have something to show DD ........ unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an independent writing book that she can work through!

I think I'm going to go back to sticker charts - its a battle for the first few, but then she is really motivated by seeing what she has done. You've inspired me UniS - I've got to do something!

This is a piece by a Y2 child in my class last year own spelling/punctuation based on work on Ananse stories

Up, up, up where the clouds shook and rumbled lived Nyame the god of all things. He kept all of the storys in the world. He kept them in a box, not an ordnary box, it was a story box and he shared them with ...no one!
Down, down, down in the jungle Ananse lived.
One morning Ananse was sad, lonely and hurt. He knew every one loved a story. If I could get my hands on Nyames golden box thought Ananse every one would be my friend.
So Ananse climed up, up, up and bowed low be for Nyame. Please can I buy your Golden box?
NO! I will give you the box if you can bring me three things. The leopard, the hornets that sting like fire and the fairy who is never seen. Then my storys will be yours. Fank you fank you said Ananse and spun a web down, down, down back to earf.

and this is by a different child work based on Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief again own spelling and punctuation

The Centaur is a very rare, magical creature.
A centaur has the body of a horse and the head of a man. Its body is magical and to be a true centaur you must be made of lightening bolts and thunder booms. Most centaurs are a beautiful rich chestnut colour.
In the wild some centaurs live in forests while others live in large cornfields.
When they gallop they send out showers of tiny splinters that leave tracks. They hunt for food at night to avoid people who hunt them. Centaurs have been tracked and killed almost to exstingtion because their blood is very magical and poisonous.
If you are very lucky you might catch a glimpse of one by moonlit steams, but be careful because they are very bad tempered and fierce.

sorry both pieces are approx 20 mins independent writing.

Mrz I wish you taught my daughter - she loves reading about those kind of things .... now I just have to figure out how to get her inspired to put pen to paper! Thanks so much - it really helps to know what she should be aiming at. And I've ordered the Spiderwick recommendations......

Is there a book with the Ananse stories in that you'd recommend - just been looking again on Amazon .......

www.chironbooks.com/PDF%20files/Anansi_stories.pdf

anansistories.com/

africa.mrdonn.org/anansi.html

I used Illustrated African Folk Tales and The Pot of Wisdom with my class and lots on on line stories

Mrz Is that average/mean student work or is it top of the class? Not to be awkward but I know most teachers keep the best they had from year to year IME to show how inept the next year is (raised in france [buwink]).

If it is average DD1 is way behind.

second piece is average first piece was written by a child who often struggles due to low attendance

The first time Jared, Simon and Mallory saw Spiderwick they stood and gazed in shock at the spooky old house. It had no neighbours. They were horrified.
The old spooky house was surrounded by tall, dark trees. The house was big and dirty and two cracked brick chimneys rose from the roof. Plants were growing up the walls it was horrible. The windows were stained and cracked and couldn?t even open. The curtains were ripped and falling down to the cold, dirty floor.
The children looked at the house it was creepy.

Someone has probably already seen it (making easter lunch so a bit busy) but try to get her to do a diary. Write letters/emails to friends or family. Get a pen friends from a specialist chidrens penfriends agency. Get her to write out recipes in her own way - so take an adult cookbook and get her to do it child-friendly (so she is. Thinking about wording, 'ask a grown up to...' etc.

Kids today! When I was her age I was writing books on my little typewriter. Ok so they were crap and my newspaper didn't take off..

Jared, Simon and Mallory stud on the lawn and stared at the old victorian house in shock.
The dark, gloomy house had tall trees surrounding it there was two chimlees and lots of windows. There were no neighbors. Plants grew up the walls and rotten steps led to the door. The anshent door had rusty hinges and cracked paint.

So the first Spiderwick one is a more able child, and the second one is a child who finds writing a little bit harder?

No the first Spiderwick is an average child, the second is a child who was very behind in Sept and is on SA for literacy

How does that work in the wonderful levels scheme of things ....... I am most interested that my DD keeps improving steadily ...... but I am also trying to get a handle on how the UK system works and what equals a level 2 and a level 3 - not in terms of whether they use full stops etc, but in the actual quality of writing.

In France it is a simple matter of marks and one of three boxes ticked - clear to proceed to next year, needs additional assistance in order to proceed, or need to repeat a year. At least it is in my bit of rural France. But given they seem to start at the front of the text book and finish at the end, I suppose they don't need to do much more assessment, other than the half-termly tests!

I agree with you Frontpaw - but I think some kids don't care about mistakes, and some do. I remember being encouraged to write at school from an early age ..... DD hasn't had that. To be fair to DD, she is about to turn 6 (July) and is a year ahead in a class of 6-7 year olds over here - and doing 6-7 year old Bond books etc in English, and was in a class of 7-10 yr olds when I sent her to 'english' school. Sadly the french system only makes little perfectionists worse - and being put with older kids in Wednesday 'english' school made her even less likely to knowingly risk making mistakes. Strangely enough she doesn't go to the latter any more and prefers to practice at home with me.

The centaur writer was a 2A last year the Spiderwick are currently 2c/b and 1a/2c (not secure) as you can't judge from single pieces.

This is written by a Y1 (5 year old) who joins my class once a week for writing.

The secret poem

My secret is made from magic beans that dance all day.
My secret is made from dew drop jewels that sparkle in the sunlight.
My secret is made from a kite that flys in the bright ble sky.
My secret is made from a choclat river that goes around the wirld,
My secret is made from a coin I found in my pocket.
My secret is made from a dragon that breaths fire.

Well I wish DD would sit down and write like that - then I'd have nothing to worry about!

so what inspired that poem then. Presumably something read in class - or did he/she just come up with it off their own bat?

It's very loosely inspired by a poem we had read.