How to Motivate Elementary Students to Write

For elementary students, writing can be a chore. Oftentimes, they are so focused on spelling the words correctly, or forming the cursive letters correctly that they forget about, ignore, or simply don't care about the contents of what they are writing. It's hard to motivate students to write, but if you use the ideas in the article below, you may find that they start to want to write, and if you're really lucky, they may even begin write enthusiastically, becoming true authors in the process.

Things You'll Need

• Journals
• Magazine
• Brown paper bag
• Classroom website

Instructions

1. Give them choices. Sometimes the writing prompts listed in the curriculum are downright boring to students, or worse, off-putting. For example, most young boys do not want to write about "My favorite flower" Make writing more attractive by giving them a choice of what to write about. List several prompts on the board; prompts that are attractive to both boys and girls.

2. Give them time. Students tend to shut down or panic if they are not given enough time to think of something to write about. Make sure you give them plenty of time to think about what they are going to write, and then give them enough time to write it. Yes, it is hard to find time to spare in the classroom, but you will reap the rewards of good writing if you can find the time to let them write!

3. 

   Give them a surprise. Cut out some funny or interesting pictures out of a magazine. Put them in a paper bag, and have the students draw out one picture without looking. Then, ask them to glue that picture to a piece of paper and write a story about it. When the stories are finished, have the students come to the front of the class, show their pictures, and read the stories aloud.

4. Give them a journal. Encourage them to write about whatever they are thinking about in their journal. Collect them on Fridays and respond, handing them back on Mondays. This will not only develop writing skills, but will help you develop a relationship with your students as well.

5. Give them publicity. Bind their stories into books, using simple cardboard covers. Have them illustrate, then read their stories to younger students, or to their parents during an "Author's Tea" event in your classroom. Alternately, publish their stories on a classroom website or blog, if you have permission from your administrator and the parents.

Tips & Warnings

• Because all students write differently, emphasize content, not length, of their work.

• If you read anything disturbing in anyone's journal, take it to your administrator immediately.

Resources

• Strategies for teaching writing to elementary students