Kerry Beck’s Blog

A few months ago I shared a writing tip you could use in your classroom or homeschool. Since that time I was once again reminded how important it is to let our children have some ownership over their writing topics. Let me share my story….

A week ago my son listened to IEW Student Writing DVD for his assignment. His lesson was on writing a biographical sketch in a 5-paragraph paper. In the back of my mind I thought it would be great if he wrote about one of the early church fathers. We were studying the end of the Roman civilization and it would help him remember one of them. Besides, he could read one of the books that we didn’t have time to read in history. Of course, he wasn’t very interested in those men.

I could tell his disinterest as we talked about his topic. So, we started talking baseball. He had just finished reading a biography of Derek Jeter, so I suggested doing his paper on Jeter. He didn’t complain and even told me of two other sources he could use. He had to use a minimum of 3 sources and only one could be internet.

It was decided. He would write about Derek Jeter.

This week he found interesting and important information about Jeter. Today we narrowed his paper to three topics about Derek Jeter. Next week, he will outline his paper and begin writing.

Believe me, I have a much happier son because he is writing about someone he likes, not someone Mom told him to research. I know his paper will be much better, just because he has an interest in his topic.

Do you let your kids take leadership, and ownership, in their writing topics? If not, why not? Next week, discuss an assignment and then let your kids choose their own topic. They will be so glad you did and you will be glad when you read their finished paper!

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
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Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms with a lesson on writing a biographical sketch. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.