What can I do to help my boys with their writing skills?

Question

Everytime I give my boys a writing assignment, they fight me tooth and nail. They whine, complain, say there's nothing to write about, can't think of anything, and on and on. They'll sit there and tell me all sorts of stuff about their experiences that they're supposed to be writing about, but then refuse to put it on paper, cuz "that's just stupid". What can I do? How can I help them complete a story. Any ideas?
BTW, they're 8 & 10.

Thank you all so much for your great ideas. I can't decide that one answer is any better than another, so I'll let the community decided the best answer on this one...

Answer 1

A really great way to start a story (because that's what it sounds like you're trying to get them to do- fiction) is to start it off with a sentence yourself and then have them write the story based on that sentence. Such as "I woke up this morning, opened the door to my room, and to my surprise....." and then let them use their imaginations to go on from there. Speaking from the "other" side of the issue as a graduating homeschooler, whenever I was allowed to use my imagination, assignments didn't seem so.... assigned. Another idea is to make a list of words that they should include in their story. "Tractor, asteroid, rolling pin, cousin etc." You'll never know WHAT they'll come up with!

Answer 2

Most boys hate writing. They don't seem to mind the computer though. Maybe they can write it on the computer. If you are trying to improve their gross motor skills (actual hand to paper) then maybe they can start by creating a comic book, if they cannot draw then maybe just the script in the bubbles. Explain that a story has to have a beginning, a middle and an end. Explain that every sentence has to have a consequence i.e. that the sentence is a building block to get to the next part.
My girls are great writers, but when they were younger and I met resistance I would let them dictate it to me and I would discuss their grammar and choice of words, then i would imitate their handwriting and write it our for them, I felt they were getting too much homework and busy work. They are twins and one is in honor roll and the other in advanced classes. The one in honor roll actually write eight chapters of a very intriguing book. A work still in progress... They are now eleven. This worked for me. Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

What kind of pen or pencil are they using? Many boys find using an ink or rollerball pen much easier then a pencil or Biro as it slides across the paper. Start them off doing very short assignments. 'Two sentences to describe a cat" ; 'Three sentences about a boy who went to the moon.' and work your way up. Also try letter writing. Getting a letter is great fun so get them to write to someone, perhaps some one who is being home schooled in another country, or just granny and an aunt. Also work on writing instructions and non fiction which boys prefer and perhaps try and find some books they like and get them to write some further adventures, such as Harry Potter. You aren't alone!

Answer 4

When my son was that age, I found biographies about people he would be interested in (The Wright Brothers, for example), and I would have him write out word for word some of the chapters, making sure to use all of the punctuation shown on the pages. This way he got the idea of the flow of writing and the habit of using correct punctuation. Then I would have him pick a favorite person or a favorite vacation and have him write about that. Boys really and truly don't like spending the time writing because they have so much energy. So I wouldn't at ages 8 and 10 expect them to do much lengthy writing. :)

Answer 5

I used a "balloon" method.

Put the main thing in the middle balloon. Make strings come out of the sides of the balloon and another balloon is at the end of each string, and fill those balloons with more brain stormed stuff.

For Example:

"Going to Camp" goes in the middle big balloon. In the smaller ones put the boys' ideas. Maybe 'swimming in the river', 'eating smores', 'seeing cousin Mark from Pennsylvania', 'cabin snack fights', and all that.

Then rank the small balloons into an order, write a couple of sentences about each smaller balloon and you have a writing assignment that just needs refining.

Answer 6

Boys are much later in developing these skills, and to be real honest with you I have not met very many moms who had boys that were biting at the bit to do writing assignments.
Making this into a struggle is only going to re-enforce their dislike for it.
There is a Yahoo group called Home schooling boys where many moms have discussed "the writing issue", it seems to be a "hot topic".
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolingboys/
Maybe reading some of their posts will give you some extra idea's.
Our own son was the same way, he is now in his early teens, and doing much better, however over the years I did not force him to do long writing assignments.
We even tried a journal with a topic to write about on each page, he displayed the same brain drain as when he had to come up with his own topic.
We just had him verbally narrate a book, or tell us his story, and we simply corrected his sentences as he spoke, it worked great.
His writing now exceeds our expectations in grammar, spelling and vocabulary, it just took patience, and a willingness to adjust to his time table, instead of mine.

Answer 7

You've rec'd some great input so far!

Perhaps find a curriculum guide (if you're not already using one) to help.

Let them type it up, or use a voice-recognition program to dictate (like Dragon Naturally Speaking). Or let them dictate to you, you type it in, then let them edit it.

Is it really all that important to "put it on paper"? Some boys are just really against handwriting. My son is, but has had a HUGE developmental leap this year - he's 9. He types a lot and does IM'ing with friends and family and I won't let him use shortcuts/slang when he talks/types.

My best friend has a saying, "if it's not working, then it's time to take a break". Perhaps you just need to pick your battles and pick this up at a later date. Or slowly wean them into it. Or think outside the box. Let them write stories in chalk on the driveway, with wipe-off markers on the bathroom mirror/shower door/sliding glass door. Have them cut out words from magazines to make a story, etc. If their learning style is not auditory/verbal, then you'll have to adjust it to them.

One fun way is to have them co-write a story with a relative, like Grandma. Grandma writes a paragraph and mails/emails it to them. They write the next one and send it back, etc.

Answer 8

My 8 year old is the same way. Here's what I do:

If I meet with resistance, which is 90% of the time, I will ask him questions about the topic. When he starts talking, I start writing. I use a white board for this so that when he is done with his narrative, he can easily copy it.

I feel this is a good start because

1: They are his words, which proves to him that he *does* have something he can write about. Often his thoughts are coming in so fast, it's difficult to slow them down enough to allow the pencil to start writing. Talking does not slow him down though, so I use that to his advantage.

2: It gives him practice with his letters and punctuation. I liken it to doing a certain physical activity over and over until eventually, the muscles have a memory of that action and can do it with little conscious thought.

I did this with my oldest when he was younger. Now, when I ask him to write something, he does not say the dreaded "I can't think of anything to write about."

Answer 9

The best way to learn to write is to read. Have them read short paragraphs and then rewrite a sentence here and there. Or have them write a story together, each taking turns writing a sentence. ask them questions about why something happened and how, what happened next, what would happen if, help them - writing is a daunting task, but if you are willing to do it it will model good behavior and they will want to take over if it is fun. then turn the finished product into a lesson for spelling, grammar, elements of fiction, whatever...

Answer 10

I home schooled my little brother at this age. When I started he was two grades behind, now he's at the top of his class and my dad considers him his 'nerd' [with affection because my dad was a 'nerd'].

Now I'll stop boasting and give you my little bit of experience. I was a tough old bird [at twenty one]! He had to sit there and do it, or there would be a consequence, like he would have to 'do school' outside of class time or miss lunch or loose his toys. Mind you he earned something like 'computer time' if he finished his assignment.

I made him draw circles over and over to improve his visual writing, and he wrote things like, a letter to my dad explaining, why he should be allowed to go to his grandmother's house (I made him re-write it ten times because 'writing is re-writing'. [I gave my grandmother a copy of the final draft and she has it framed on her wall.])

We played mad libs, everyone's favourite game, so he learned all about parts of speech like, nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc... He's twelve now and has found a mad libs game on the internet called crazy libs or something, and has a ball playing and laughing about the crazy things that they end up reading.

I also was careful not to harp too much on what he got wrong. Kids that age are very sensitive to what might be considered stupid. I constantly told them 'there is no such thing as stupid' to no avail.

It's also useful to have some sort of big show about it when they do write. (Even if it's not that good.) Order their favourite meal, brag about it to your friends when they think you think they can't hear, tell 'daddy' first thing when he comes in. Reward, reward, reward!!! It gives the message you are the most talented person in the world, besides who wants to stay after class and draw circles? Ick!