Helping a 3Rd Grader with Writing??

My son is in first and when he finishes reading his library books we have him write a simple paragraph about the story. 5 to 8 sentences about the plot, characters, and how the story progressed. It has gotten him in the habit of using more complex sentences, as well as reflecting on the stories he is reading. He is about mid-way through the Boxcar Children series and he keeps all of the short summaries he writes so he can go back to them.

I suggest you get a rubick from her teacher. A rubick outlines the skills to be learned step by step.

As a 4th grade teacher, she needs to know this BEFORE she writes a paragraph:
1. how to write a complete sentence with subject/verb agreement
2. write a sentence correctly with a capital at the beginning and punctuation at the end - and understand which type of punctuation to use
3. write her letters correctly - an 'a' should be closed; an 'e' should not look like a 'c', 'b' & 'd' should have the 'circle' closed, 'I' should always be capitalized, 'u' looks like a 'u' and a 'v' looks like a 'v' and so on...
4. write her letters starting from top then go down to the line - do not start from the bottom when writing letters or numbers
5. do not start a sentence with 'so' - that is conversational writing
6. never start a sentence w/ because (it becomes a fragment)

If my 4th graders could come in knowing how to do these things - my job would be so much easier. However, I have to reteach 1st, 2nd & 3rd grade grammar before I can even begin teaching them 4th grade writing on how to write a personal narrative or expository paper.

I am not a fan of journals - they are just busy work. It is not formal writing and it does not help with writing sentences or papers correctly. It has never helped my struggling writers. My good writers love it, but they are not the ones who need it. It does not help with generating ideas, elaborating details, writing with the senses or level of discomfort with writing. They simply do not help with writing.

Good luck!

**Sherry's example sentences are way too low level for 3rd & 4th grade writing but it does show a good example of how to form a paragraph.

the best way to write better is to write. that being said, making kids drill over the summer can be hugely counter-productive.
the best thing my kid did was to join gaia online, some sort of collaborative story writing game community. it jump-started him and then kicked him into high gear. writing reports for homeschool was okay, but not inspiring, but oh my! how he loved the peer feedback from gaia!
he just sent me the glowing accolade his writing professor at Towson U gave him this semester.
find something that gets her excited about writing, and then be encouraging, but not a drill master.
khairete
S.

Topic sentence.
Detail.
Detail
Detail.
Concluding sentence.

If you go to dollar tree they have story starter books with areas to write. They start a story and your child finishes it. We did this one summer probably when my kid was that age.

the teacher can give you some sheets that show what she is talking about. but in addition to that get your daughter a journal. and have her write in it every day. a paragraph about whatever she wants each day. and remember its also about her hand writing so practice that as well.

at 3rd grade a paragraph should have an opening sentence/subject 3 supporting sentences and an ending statement. not really all that involved at that age.
example:

Dogs are great pets. (opening statement)
They are super soft. (supporting statement #1)
Dogs can protect a family. (supporting statement #2)
Dogs are easy to train. (supporting statement #3)
I think dogs are the best pets. (closing statement)

Get a summer spelling list from the teacher so your child can work on all the words from this year. if you can get it get a copy of the 4th grade spelling list. read read read. I had my kids pick a subject over the summer and do research on it. and then we did field trips. but my kids had to pick it out and do some reserch about it and then write me an essay about why we should go to it. and it could be anything from a state park to a water park to a museum to a factory that made ice cream (oberwise was a fun trip lol)

its really about keeping up with reading/ writing and spelling

Honestly, I think the best way to help a child to write, spell, and understand sentence structure is to make them read. And not "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books. Real books.

Ask the teacher for resources. You don't want to find some online worksheets that actually are not in line with what your school's curriculum expects for this age group - if it's too hard it'll turn her off; if it's too simple she won't make any advances before fall. The teacher really should guide you here.

I would also try hard to make sure that she writes about things she actually likes and has an interest in! Ask the teacher how to make the content fun for her so she will WANT to write. Yes, she'll need to do some exercises from whatever resources the teacher recommends, but you can take it further and offer her a reward system for writing about something she really cares about. If she likes animals, work with her to look up three facts about her favorite animal and turn it into a paragraph, etc. Sports, dance, same thing. Ask her to produce a certain number of paragraphs each week about one topic she really likes to think about. Just a few, though! And it's in addition to whatever resources go with the teacher's advice.

It's key to get her to like the act of writing. Even if she's not an ace at sentence structure or paragraph structure yet, keep the focus on how writing stuff down can be fun. Maybe give her a special notebook and let her decorate the cover with pictures of her favorite stuff (they do this in the writing camp my daughter's taken for several years, so the kid loves that notebook and feels a personal stake in those pages).

One way to think of writing, as with math too, is to let kids know it's like a muscle: You have to exercise your writing for it to be stronger. If you don't exercise all summer, when school starts, you'll have a harder time, but if you do exercise, you'll be strong, fit and ready to play....In other words, fourth grade will be more fun and easier at the start if she practices some writing now.

Can't the teacher recommend some materials from any of the catalogs and publishers the staff use? I would think it would make so much sense to get something in line with this year's curriculum and next year's.

If the school has a resource room staffed by a special teacher, ask that person as well. A friend of mine has that job and she's very knowledgeable, able to help all the teachers with kids who need extra help in different subjects.

I think they should be able to write as well as they are expected to talk.

When my 3rd grader speaks to me, she forgets to express the subject. I stop her mid-sentence and make her provide me the subject. Is there any wonder how she writes a sentence.

At minimum, her sentence/paragraph should expres the 3 W's.

I will pull the "What your 3rd grader should know" book in a bit and add to my response. It will be late tonight, so if you are on the East Coast, expect to see it tomorrow.

From the book:

It starts out with writing a report. After reading a short story about box turtles, they suggest you plan your report. Find the ideas you want to write about. They suggest, 1. What box tutles look like. 2. Where box turtles live. 3. What box turtles eat. It is suggested to start a paragraph with a sentence that states the topic or main idea of the paragraph, followed by a few more sentences to explain the idea and give examples.

Each time you start writing about a new idea, you should begin a new paragraph, shown by indention.

They reiterate what I said earlier. "You know sentences, you speak and write them all the time. A sentence is a group of words that expresss a complete thought. Every sentence has a subject and a predicate."

Have her write a sentence, then show her how to spruce up her sentence with some nice adverbs.

My son enjoys enjoys really writing fiction. Give her a new notebook or have her use the computer to write you a creative short story every couple of weeks. It sounds like your daughter is not writing full sentences. Perhaps she is forgetting capitalizing or punctuation. Maybe she is not good at bringing together an idea...or having a beginning and an ending. Once she starts writing stories for you then you may see what the teacher is talking about.

The nice thing about summer is that you can do less structured learning. For writing I would do one two projects.

First is a journal. Just 15 minutes each night chronicling what she did that day. This works great if you think she would someday use diary (or blog). She could do it old school in a notebook (drawings are also great), or Doogie style on the computer.

The second is great for more creative kids. Write a story together. Have a goal of a couple of paragraphs each day. To keep it simple, you can write it 'fortunately/unfortunately' style. You start with a basic setup (There once was a boy named Fred who lived on a island.) The next paragraph is something that 'unfortunately' happen to him (Unfortunately there was a big storm.) Then some thing fortunate (Fortunately, the rain filled his swimming pool.) You alternate good/bad. By the end of the summer, you should see more creative writing and complete thought.

Either project, gently correct her writing, focusing on one aspect at a time (punctuation, spelling, capitalization). The best part is you have a great memento of the summer at the end.

Have her keep a summer journal. Not only will it keep her writing skills sharp but it's a great way for her to organize her thoughts and ideas, sort out her feelings. Encourage her to both write and draw in it, maybe add some photos. It will not only be good practice but a wonderful summer memory/scrapbook!

I love this site:
http://www.greatschools.org/worksheets/third-grade/writing/

I usually print a ton and let my daughter do a couple hours every day during summer. Once the summer work is done she can go play and do whatever she is supposed to do.

pinterest has some great ideas and free printables. Another great resource is looking up a website called Brave writer. And don't forget reading is the key.

Have her keep a journal over the summer - she has to write a page every day.
Besides writing she can also draw in it.
And it could be a big help when next year starts and the first paper 'what I did over the summer break' gets assigned.
The practice in writing and organizing her thoughts will be a big help.

Also - reading helps with writing!
You get familiar with sentence structure when you read it, and then you have a better idea what to do when you write it.

I've always let the kids have the summer off. I think it's sad to make them do school work during the time when all the other kids are outdoors playing, going to activities, having fun swimming, and just hanging out doing stuff.

If you really really have to do this then I suggest you simply google for sites that you like. Otherwise the teacher should be able to give you some links.

Hi L.,
At this point, your child should be able to write a simple paragraph:
First sentence introducing the topic about what he is going to write.
Two or three middle sentences with details about the topic.
Last final sentence writing a conclusion (thoughts or feelings about the topic he wrote about.)
To make the process of writing a paragraph easier, practice with him to write a list of 3 or 4 topics he wants to write about. Ask him to choose the one he likes the most, and then ask him to write 3 things or characteristics of that topic chosen by him.
He will get the hang of it if he writes every day something short in this way. It is very helpful that he reads A LOT either chapter books or short stories to help him to develop vocabulary and understand the concept of writing paragraphs.

Check out www.education.com, they have free print outs that can help with what your child needs.

I am sure you can find workbooks at the book store as well to help your child get ahead for next year.

3rd grade children should know proper punctuation and parts of speech. They should be able to put together sentences with no problems (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.).