WRITING ACTIVITIES

Does your child struggle with writing?

According to the latest Nation’s Report Card results, 71% of students tested in grade 8 scored below proficiency in writing. This is not due to the pandemic. For the past 20+ years, over half of all 8th and 12th grade students have consistently scored below average. So if your child is struggling with writing, you’re not alone.

Research has shown that the biggest problem students have is coming up with an idea, and once an idea is found, expanding on that idea. When a student writes 3 sentences, stares at the ceiling and complains, “I can’t think of anything else to write”, this is actually a thinking problem, not a writing problem. The mechanics of writing are easy to master, just like the multiplication tables, but it is the thinking component of writing that makes it a high-level skill and one of the most difficult to master. Good writing depends upon good critical and creative thinking skills.

The good news is that critical and creative thinking skills are fun to teach and fun to learn. The Incite To Write program stimulates children’s thinking skills as they learn to master curiosity and the art of inquiry. Strategies encourage them to explore, imagine, analyze and observe, and to take ownership of their thinking process.

By the time students sit down to write, they are eager to pick up a pencil because they have so much to say. After all, that is the main purpose of writing to begin with, so it is no wonder kids stress over it if they have nothing to communicate or express.

Who is Incite to Write for?

Elementary and Middle School Students who:

Love writing but desire an accelerated program
Hate writing, struggle with writing, or find writing boring
Scared to write or pick up a pencil
Need an easy-to-understand yet sophisticated writing curriculum
Need to address learning gaps
Didn’t get it the first time
English Language Learners
Kids who are homeschooled, unschooled or engaged in alternative education

Incite to Write is highly motivating and makes writing exciting and accessible. Students love it because it engages them in imaginative activities that are active, hands-on and fun and that address the multiple ways students learn. Students gain confidence as they learn how to use their minds to explore, imagine, observe, inquire and analyze, and how to communicate their thoughts in writing.

The Incite to Write strategies are supported by research studies approved by ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) and meeting ESSA’s most demanding evidence level, ESSA Tier 1 (See Research Evidence Here). In addition, all activities are fully aligned with Common Core English Language Arts Standards:

The corresponding Common Core standards are indicated at the bottom of every strategy and worksheet.

INCITE TO WRITE MODULES

The skills for good writing are the same regardless of how old you are or what level you are at. Incite to Write addresses all the skills students need to become competent, confident, and powerful communicators. The strategies are designed to be used at any level and used again and again as students achieve writing mastery.

While the Incite to Write activities are positioned for elementary and middle school students, many college professors use these strategies successfully, as well as parents homeschooling with K-2nd grade children.

Each module incorporates thinking and imagination strategies that are proven winners with kids and have been used successfully with thousands of students in classrooms and homes around the country.

The Modules Consist of:

Strategies:
Strategies are learning tools that can be used with all age groups and with the same students again and again until mastery is achieved.

Worksheets:
Worksheets are generally used once and reinforce the strategies. Worksheets provide step-by-step practice in a systematic way to increase understanding.

Videos:
Short, 5-15 minute videos in Modules I, II and III show teachers and parents demonstrating several of the strategies during a workshop conducted by Incite to Write creator Carol Aubrey. You will learn writing tips and how best to implement the strategies.