Improving writing in Year 7 (for English and overall)

[iwantavuvezela]

My Dd, Year 7 is overall doing well, however her one area of "weakness" is writing, and this is showing up in her marks for English.. As this is something that she is going to have to do throughout her school years i would like to help her to strenghten her writing overall. Although she has good ideas, very strong verbally, these ideas/ thoughts do not really show up in her wriitng. She needs to develop her ideas, and also to be aware of overall punctuation and spelling errors.

Does anyone know of a resource - i would prefer book based - where we could possible do 10-20 minutes every so often from. Not sure where to start, but would like to slowly start to work on this with her so that when in year 8/9 she is more able.

CGP key stage 3 compete study and practice leadsyou thorough to year 9 level and has excellent exam technique too. Recommended by school and have served us well. CGP KS3 Spelling, punctuation and grammar workbook, My DS sounds similar to your DD, strong verbally but unable to translate this onto paper, especially for composition work. We already had mild dyslexia diagnosis at this age though, borne out through the mismatch between verbal English skills and written English skills. Another thing we do is challenge DS to spell out out good words that he uses in conversation, we do this in a light hearted way, not intensely. This is to encourage him to have the confidence to use these in written work. He's getting more confidence with this now, before too often choosing an easy to spell word rather than demonstrating his vocabulary. There are not insignificant marks for SPAG at GCSE.

Does she read?
Reading regularly will be the biggest help.

DS2's primary school is currently keen on the Storyteller's Illustrated dictionary, uk.mrswordsmith.com/products/storytellers-illustrated-dictionary?location=GB which claims to cover ages 6-13.

Otherwise have a look in W H Smith's educational section and see what you like the feel of.

Thank you for advice.
charles11 not reading regularly is an issue which we are working hard to make sure some reading is done daily - but there is not a natural love of reading

changemyname thank you will look at those resources

bluechamogagne thank you will look at that resource.

DS2 has some learning issues (visual processing) and so has a tutor. She has said that the single biggest factor in improving children's ability in english is reading. It will help both writing and comprehension.

She also recommended using descriptosaurus.

Have you tried short story books?
Sometimes they’re easier for reluctant readers to read. Do persevere with encouraging reading though as that’s likely to have the biggest impact on improving performance in English.
Have a set time for reading and let her read what she wants in that time. Maybe start reading a book to her.

The only way my reluctant reader actually reads is non fiction. If you can get her to read around her hobbies, film and tv tie ins, just anything, that's fine. Even if they read them again, again and again. However, my DS doesn't learn spelling this way, (cannot recall words in a photographic way). It sounds as if your DD verbal vocab is good and she can get this by listening to you, the radio, anything half decent on tv. But I'm afraid I've seen first hand that reluctant readers like this at this age will not just switch onto reading, despite what others say on this thread. As a parent you are willing your kids to be bookish. However, I've seen first hand the pain and lack of enjoyment from a child forced to read a chapter book commensurate to their academic level and age. This will never encourage a child to read. Nobody will want to do a task you find hard and unenjoyable. And despite the ideal, not all adults choose to read too. This doesn't mean that their English is necessarily poor. Above all, make any extra work you do fun.

If they are reluctant readers then you should read to them even more

cloudtree i am going to look into descriptosaurus - I have read aloud for the last 12 years to my DD. I do try and read more complex stories, or books that she would not so that she can access those stories. However we can only get through about a book (me reading) every 5-6 weeks, (and a very long book of 600 plus pages takes almost 10-12 weeks) so not enough.
But i am going to keep trying - i have found some excellent graphic novels, these she will gobble up as fast as i can buy them - but my worry is that it is the readng of more "descrptive language" that she needs, not her visual prowess and therefore love of anything illustrated.

Charles11 i am going to perserve though with her reading - we came up with a good method which is working, and that is that everyday we read side by side (our own books) but together - this worked and i need to keep this up!

Have you tried ordering "the Marvels" or "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" or "Wonderstuck" from the library. They're fabulous books by Brian Selznik which are told in a mixture of illustrations and words. So you'll get normal chapters interspersed with pages and pages of beautifully detailed pencil drawings which tell the story solely through pictures. You can't skip either the pictures or the words since they tell the stories together. So a similar concept to graphic novels.

I'd then tempt her with dystopian fiction with strong female characters
Hunger Games, Divergent etc

Audio books seem to help mine get reading more. Sometimes reading the books they listen to or others in series or by same author.

Though DD1 also been helped by some You tubers - www.youtube.com/channel/UCodbH5mUeF-m_BsNueRDjcw - Red often looks at classics she got DD1 reading Edgar Alan Poe.

DD1 moved on to others who do similar- analysis book and look at how stories are constructed.

It's spelling where my DC have problems, but we’ve come across things like HOT Root Words that help with etymology and understanding.

I second listening to Audiobooks along with you reading to her. With an audiobook ensure you have a physical copy so she can follow along. I also use the Mrs Wordsmith resources for teaching English. They have free stuff you can access on their website too. The dictionary is great. We have a word of the day my students need to learn and use in their writing.