I am very worried my son will never improve in written english.

[macrobiotic]

He finds it difficult to set out and write stories. He is in year 7 and has so much homework he doesn't get time to read a book. I am dreading when they have to start writing essays

At DS's school they give quite a lot of guidance on how to write essays in Year 7

They use something called P E E L
(point,example, explanation,link) they also get marking quide lines ie what qualifies for level 5, 6 etc
He may find it easier than writing non fiction.

Try not to stress too much. Have you talked to his English teacher? (sorry, probably a stupid question)

FWIW, my DH can't string together a sentence, let alone an essay yet he managed to get a degree in Business and has done very well for himself.

Haven't talked to his english teacher yet. Will get the chance to see her sometime in Dec. DS loves his english lessons, the teacher makes it a lot of fun. He has been taught P E E L. He did a piece of writing (1 page) and was levelled at a 4b most of his friends seemed to be getting levels 5c or b. He is doing quite well with his other subjects, great marks in all, it's just english that worries me the most. I'm the one that worries not him. Thanks for the reassurance SquiffyHock, I have heard so much how some children just change suddenly and start to improve at a dramatic rate.

I really don't think you need to worry - 4b is not hugely different from 5b, (I used to teach year 6) and you are right, children can make enormous changes at this age. If he loves his teacher that is a major thing!

Hi macrobiotic,

I had the exact same thing with my DS in Y7. His English essays were often levelled at around 4b when other children were getting 5 and 6s and the odd 7. We found that DS's relatively poor writing skills were having a knock-on effect in other subjects; History, RE, etc.

DS is now in Y9 and regularly receives 6c or similar in English, and is on target for an overall 6b or better by the end of the year. I didn't think this would be possible when he started secondary school.

Therefore, I'm amost certain you have absolutely nothing to worry about - but I know exactly how you feel!

If he is writing creative stories - get him to break it down into chunks - the beginning (sets the scene - who - where), middle (what's going to happen) & the end (how will it all end up) - sounds very obvious but it stops the overall task becoming too daunting.

For ceative writing he needs to think about what he can see, hear, touch, smell & taste in order to get some good discriptions in.

Mind maps are also good for planning & getting lots of ideas down quickly. These can then be sorted into an order when he comes to write