Tag: WERD Coach Youth

Interaction is Important

Stories have many moving parts, and sometimes it helps to think of each part as a thread in a tapestry. Each thread has its own colour, texture, and role to play in making the tapestry special. However, it’s the skill with which the threads are woven together that really brings out the beauty.

When it comes to words, there is nothing more beautiful than well-written descriptions. Young writers must learn to include figurative language and imagery throughout their stories. At first glance, this seems challenging, but there are a few strategies and guidelines that help make the process easier.

One way is to have characters interact with the setting. Instead of dropping random sentences of description for characters and setting separately, have the characters react to their environment. For example, if writers want to show that the path characters are walking on is rugged, they can have characters stumble on an uneven pavement. And to emphasize an untidy room, characters can trip on an object that’s out of place. Characters can also make observations about their environment through dialogue, rather than the author just telling readers what’s there.

Those observations should be accompanied by emotional reactions in order to make them meaningful. When these things are done, writers will also have an opportunity to show a character’s attitude or personality through positive or negative reactions. So after the experience, characters could say things out loud or think something that helps readers learn more about them.

As a result, a lot more showing instead of telling can happen because these are instances where imagery can be used. Writers would be able to describe what characters are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching, as well as how they move and feel. And because actions and reactions are part of plot development, stories can move forward with excitement and energy instead of stopping for unconnected descriptions just to bring readers up to speed.

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#NarrativeWriting#BetterWriters

What Makes Good Characters?

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#NarrativeWriting#BetterWriters

All stories include characters and great characters engage readers. If you read up on developing characters, you’ll realize that often great characters are developed over time, as the audience gets to know them and learn to love (or hate) them. However, short stories don’t have a lot of time or words or pages to fully develop characters the way novels and movies do. So how can young writers use the principles of characterization in their writing? Well, the secret is in using every opportunity to help the audience know more about the character, to develop an emotional connection with them. And to do that, young writers have to use their words wisely.

Here are three things young writers must do well in order to make their characters memorable and believable.

1. Describe the characters in ways that creates an image in the mind of the reader.

This is like explaining who the person is – personality, looks, and behaviour altogether. The main thing here is to create an emotional reaction, not just a physical image in the mind of the reader. Show more than what the character looks like.

EXAMPLE – Andre was the kind of child everyone else in the class hoped to never meet alone on the playground. He was big and burly and the rest of us thought he must have been some kind of mutant teenager who got stuck in standard three.

2. Use dialogue to help readers learn more about the character.

The fact is that we judge people by the way they speak and the words they choose, so dialogue is an excellent way to bring characters to life and make them seem like real people. This also includes internal thoughts. Whether the story is from a first person perspective (writer is main character) or third person (writing about someone else) it puts readers in the head of the main characters and that’s a beautiful perspective to help them know who characters are, and what they think.

EXAMPLE: “Aye! Small head! Tankabean head!” Andre shouted from across the field. My first reaction was to ignore him. Of course he wasn’t talking to me. I tried to run in the opposite direction but somehow Andre had run 15 feet in 5 seconds. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and said, “Yes, is you ah talking to! Who else head small like marble and shape like a tankabean?” And with that, he pushed me to the ground, hard.

3. Use actions and behaviour to show who characters are.

Using descriptive words and imagery helps add to the readers’ mental picture of the characters. Compare the examples below to see how much of a difference this makes.

EXAMPLE 1: Andre ran after me.

EXAMPLE 2: Andre charged after me.

EXAMPLE 3: Andre charged after me like a raging bull.

EXAMPLE 4: Andre charged after me like a raging bull intent on impaling its victim.

It takes practice to develop writing skills like this, so be sure to have your child/student practice their writing regularly. And not just through responding to prompts, but guide them in targeted practice.

5 Ways Kids Can Write About Setting (Like a Boss)

Like many other aspects of narrative writing, describing setting requires some skill. Most people think the main skill is in using effective imagery and descriptive writing, but the most important aspects of describing setting are knowing how much to describe and when to include those descriptions.

This post explains five things young writers must do with their setting in order to score high in their narrative writing. But first, let’s understand what setting is.

Setting is the context of the story – where the story is taking place. This includes place, time, and social environment. So, Trinidad, a primary school in Arima, after school, among a group of friends. Pretty basic, but that understanding keeps focus on the interactions and how the story unfolds.

Ok, so now on to the tips.

1. View setting as a part of the story.

Young writers often see setting as something separate that they have to mention all at once as they describe where the story is taking place. Instead, they should see the setting as something that’s integrated into the story, affecting and being affected by the characters and events.

2. Show characters interacting with setting.

We are influenced by what’s in our environment and react to it. So when they’re in school, children interact with desks and chairs and other students, which is very different from being at home interacting with couches and dining tables and siblings/parents.

3. Let setting unfold throughout the story.

This means that readers won’t learn about the setting all at once. Instead, as the characters interact with or notice details about their physical environment, the audience learns more and more about it.

4. Use descriptive language.

Descriptive language goes beyond the use of adjectives and adverbs, or similes and metaphors. In fact, the most effective descriptions incorporate imagery, which is sharing the world of the story from the character’s eyes. How they see it and feel about it.

5. Remember time.

Sometimes young writers forget about time, so they start a story and give many actions and then it seems like only 2 minutes have passed. It’s important to show the realistic change in time. So, no jumps to the future and no lagging in a single moment for too long.

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#NarrativeWriting#BetterWriters

3 Ways to Wow Readers in Reports

To many people, reports don’t feel like creative writing, and figuring out how to score well in reports is a challenge. If students understand a couple of basic things about reports, they will consistently perform better in their writing. #BetterWriting

Report writing takes many students outside their comfort zone because it asks for a formally structured response that excludes all that they’re most familiar with – expressions, casual language, and opinions.

Exceeding expectations in report writing relies heavily on using formal vocabulary and precise language that is void of opinions.

Students must detach themselves from the events and the outcomes and look at situations from an objective position. Even when describing their own role in an event or activity, information should be presented in a measured way.

#chronologicalorder

1. Connect actions using time order

Following time order is especially important so readers can get a sense of how things happened. Connecting ideas is also important, so transition words and phrases should be used to show which came first and which came next.

There are many great transition words and phrases, but the basic ones – next, before, after – work just as well too.

The main thing is that there’s enough information given so readers have their questions answered. It’s good practice to list a few questions that the target audience might want/need to know, then ensure these are answered.

#avoidopinions

2. Avoid opinions

Opinions have a way of sneaking into everything students say and write, even without them knowing. So, to say “avoid opinions” might seem obvious for a report, but it is easier said than done.

One way to ensure that students avoid opinion is to have them think of every detail in terms of their five senses. If they did not see it, hear it, taste it, smell it, or touch it, then they need to be careful.

So, it’ll be a statement of opinion to say that someone got angry. You don’t know that for sure. You see behaviour and interpret it as anger, but you don’t see the anger.

What you see is someone walking away, stomping their feet with a lot of energy. Or maybe someone’s brow getting forrowed and their eyes looking red.

When writing about the actions as they are observed, students should carefully avoid subjective descriptions. Adjectives and adverbs introduce opinions, so avoid that as much as possible.

Also, students should report the words other people say, but not explain what they think the person means.

#telldontshow

3. Tell, don’t show

Report writing asks students to tell what happened, and not to show what happened. This is the exact opposite of what they would be practicing in narrative writing.

For reports, students should carefully avoid descriptive language that introduces how they interpret situations. So, using adjectives and adverbs is frowned upon.

Students don’t have to worry about how participants do their actions. They just need to focus on what was said and what was done.

When relaying information about what was said, reported speech is important. No direct speech or dialogue should be used.

Tell readers what was said, nothing more.

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#WritingReports#BetterWriters

3 Ways to Wow Readers in Narratives

Understanding the prompt is the first step in scoring high on any writing assessment, but there are other things students need to do in order to get high marks. For narratives, there are three areas that are so important if students neglect any they’re guaranteed to fall below their target. Exceeding expectations in narratives means doing these three things exceptionally well.

Many times students write to meet the minimum requirements without even knowing it.

While the CLOG rubric breaks down a narrative into its sections, the holistic rubric looks at how all the pieces work together to create an overall amazing effect.

Help your child exceed expectations with narratives by building vocabulary, practicing technique, and enjoying the writing process.


#showdonttell

1. Show, don’t tell

This is one of the most talked about aspects of writing stories. New writers have a tendency to talk their readers through a scene rather than sharing experiences.

“I was afraid.”
“I heard a scream.”
“She saw the book on the table.”

In each of the examples above, the writer is telling the reader what’s going on. The issue here is that the reader has to create their own experience.

That’s a problem because either the reader will think of something different from what the writer intended, or the reader will have difficulty with doing it and get bored with the story.

Let’s fix the sentences to show more.

“Fear swept through me with a sudden chill, causing my insides to churn with each heaving breath.”

“I didn’t know where the dreadful noise was coming from, but it pierced through the night into my soul.”

“The books were stacked neatly on the corner table.”

Notice that each “showing sentence” includes vivid imagery and descriptive language that aims to stir emotion in readers.

One word of caution: all sentences don’t have to be like that. Truthfully, it’s ok to tell readers things sometimes as it helps move the story along quickly and adds energy too.

The trick is to know when to show, when to show and tell, and when to tell only. That comes with practice.

#connectactions

2. Connect Actions

In the excitement of writing stories, many writers skip details and just go for the good parts. The problem with that is it often confuses readers.

Readers need to know how characters get from point A to point B. Readers need to know why characters are doing what they’re doing, what motivates them.

Every action has a cause, and every action has an effect. Connecting these causes with their effects helps readers make sense of what’s happening in a story.

#writerealcharacters

3. Write real characters

Characters need to be believable. Even fantastical superheroes from alternate galaxies need to have characteristics and personalities that make them seem as if they could exist somewhere.

That means characters must have realistic human qualities. They must feel. They must react to the world around them in ways that are justifiable. And, they must have goals, desires, dreams. They must want something.

Of course, that is for main characters. Writers don’t have to go into detail with every character, but even side characters must bring up thoughts of real people.

So, the grocery store clerk must behave like a grocery store clerk would behave in real life. The taxi driver must talk and look like a taxi driver.

A good practice is to observe people to see what they do and say and use that as inspiration in stories.

#CreativeWritingforPrimary#NarrativeWriting#BetterWriters