Writing level behind maths and reading level. Normal?

[Runoutofideas]

I've just had parent's evening for my daughter and was told her levels are currently 4c for reading, 3a for maths and 3c/3b for writing. While I can see progress is being made in all areas, is it considered normal for the writing to be lagging behind somewhat? The teacher didn't seem in any way concerned and just suggested that dd tries to use more interesting vocabulary when she writes. Is it likely to be something that catches up as she matures or is there more I can do to help her with her writing now?

Adults (not necessarily those on mumsnet) often appear able to read much better than they can write. Their writing often appears shockingly badly spelled, is ungrammatical, it's badly punctuated and so on. So it's not all that surprising that children can show the ability to read better than they can write.

My DS's levels are similar. His writing is a whole level behind his reading.
I would imagine it's fairly common - reading is a "passive" skill whereas writing is more active (I know I find it much easier to read in a foreign language than write, for example.

DS gets frustrated because writing is too slow for him and he struggles to put thoughts into words. And because it's an effort he doesn't like to do it - a vicious circle!

He has targets about using more interesting vocab and different sentence structures - thinking about these slows him down even more.

I'm not sure it will necessarily "come" as he matures. I can see he is progressing (which is the main thing) but I suspect he will always find reading much easier.

DS has to write his spelling words into sentences. I tend to talk them over with him and we think of ways (together) to make them more interesting. This works for us as it's something he has to do anyway - he would not be happy at having to do extra writing and I don't want to turn it into a battlefield. Plus as they are only sentences it's not so much to think about. (though of course this doesn't help the stringing sentences together step).

If your DD writes anything perhaps getting her to think about how she could improve it (not going on about it, just e.g. thinking of an adjective she could have used)

All three of my children had writing levels up to a whole level behind their reading and maths levels throughout primary school, as did the children of my friends, so it must be quite common. I really don't think it is anything to worry about - it is a skill that in many ways can't be taught, but rather improves through experience and maturity. It is also something that they practice less than reading and maths, if you think about it (most children do simple maths, and read books at home every single day but not many pick up a pen and start writing). I can tell you that you wouldn't know that my children's writing levels were behind their other levels at primary school, now that they're doing GCSEs and A levels

Thanks all. It is reassuring to see that this is probably quite normal. The way they teach writing seems very structured, with lots of things to remember, so I'm not surprised some bits get missed.

I have been a primary teacher for ten years and yes, totally normal to have writing levels lower, right the way through to Y6, which is why teacher wouldn't have been concerned.

I always say writing is one of the hardest things we ask kids to do! They're trying to put several skills together all at once - constructing their ideas, spelling, punctuation, handwriting...not easy. I think it eventually does become more natural, but for most not until secondary level.

If you'd like to do more work with your daughter still, she could be encouraged to keep a diary or a journal perhaps? Does she like writing fiction or non-fiction more? If interesting vocabulary is a target, the other way you could approach it is to "collect" words together - so encourage her to find new words in her own reading, and give her a point for each one (with so many points = a small reward). Thesaurus work is also useful. Hope that helps!

Thanks LMK75 - that's really useful. I like the collecting words idea. She reads a lot and shows good comprehension skills, but I am not sure she always fully understands the meaning of every word. I think she'd enjoy looking them up and coming up with alternatives. Thanks

Writing tends to improve with writing, with doing lots of it.
Some children get worried about misspelling too many words and so write very little to avoid mistakes, and their writing suffers.

This may not be your daughter's problem, but encouraging her to write more, without worrying too much about the 'correctness' of her spelling, may help.

Many children take a very long time to learn to spell all common words correctly, because at least 3,700 of them contain some quirky letters (frIend, bUild, Once...).

Thanks - spelling is not the issue. It is the content of the writing and using varied grammatical structures which stumps her a bit. I think she gets carried away with getting her ideas on to the paper without thinking about the best way to express those ideas. For example, she recently had to write a book review. She wrote quite a lot about what was going on in the story, but forgot to write about the characterisation, what she enjoyed most about it, how the author had used language etc as she was too busy regurgitating the storyline.

Just changed nickname mid-conversation, sorry! (Oh the pressure of "witty name"....!)
The issue you mention, re not understanding words entirely, is again very very common. When reading begins the focus is often on "what does it say" not "what does it mean", then by the time they can read fluently you often find they have gone past a lot of misunderstood words. Clarifying them really helps. She could create her own "mini dictionary" - and check she can use the word correctly in a sentence or two, as sometimes the dictionary definitions are confusing.
Regarding structure, sounds like she needs some help with planning before writing. Rather than practise writing, you could plan with her instead. So check she knows which text type it is (e.g. review, story, instructions), clarify who and what it's for, and see if she knows what the features of each type are. She can then create a very simple plan. I've found some children work best with a template provided to give them structure (your classic beginning/middle/end for example), but others like to jot ideas down on mini post-its and then put them in a sensible order afterwards.
Hope that helps!