How to Help Children Write Paragraphs

Teach your child to write paragraphs one sentence at a time.

It is never too early to begin teaching your child writing skills, particularly if she is having issues with organizing thoughts into understandable paragraphs. There are several methods used to teach children paragraph skills: outlines, helping-hand, and simple structures. Not only will this article help you teach your child write a paragraph, but you can repeat the process to create a multi-paragraph composition. With practice, writing essays will be a breeze for your child.

Instructions

1. Start with writing your child's assigned topic on the top of a piece of paper. Below it, write (on separate lines) numbers 1 through 5.

2. For number one, have your child write his opinion or answer to the topic question/issue. As an example, if the topic is about pets, he could write: "My favorite pet is my goldfish, Goldie."

3. For the next sentence, on line two, have your child write one sentence that supports the sentence on line number one. For example: "My goldfish never barks or makes noise."

4. Have your child repeat step three, on lines number three and four. For example: "Goldie is easy to care for." and "Goldie doesn't eat much."

5. For the last sentence, on line number five, have your child rephrase his first sentence. For example: "Goldie is the most perfect pet in the world."

6. Once your child has written all five sentences, instruct him to copy them onto a clean sheet of paper in paragraph form.

Tips & Warnings

• To create a multi-paragraph essay, simply follow the same outline. Start with your topic, and work with your child to outline three supporting statements. The information in line one will be the introduction with the supporting statements as a, b and c. Line two through four will be topics a, b, and c and their supporting statements. Line five will be the conclusion paragraph.

References

• Brain POP Jr: Writing a Paragraph