How to Foster a Love of Writing in Your Students

 

 

The first of school, my students could have cared less about writing. It was not something that they did often, and when they did have to complete a writing assignment, they didn’t like it. Now, school is almost over for the year, and I can’t get them to think about much else. They write and write often. And, the great thing is that I don’t have to tell them to write. In fact, they write on their own, and they can’t wait for me to critique their work. So, how did I get those reluctant writers to begin writing more?

Be an Example

As a teacher, we must lead by example. My students know that I loved to write. They also know that I write often. It helped that I write for the local newspaper, and many of my students had read some of my articles. They later learned that I write on-line and blog. I frequently shared with them the reasons that I love to write. I talked passionately about my writing, and my students saw my excitement and wanted to be a part of it.

Publish Student Work

Many of my students did not know that they could have their writings published. So, when they saw my writing on-line, they became motivated to write their own short stories, poems, and articles. I then made it a point to submit their work to any and every writing contest that they qualified for. Yes, it was a lot of work. However, it was worth it. A few of my students won writing contests and were recognized for their work. This help to make the other students work harder and write more.

Encourage Expression

Even though my students are pre-teens, they are very opinionated. They loved to let you know what they think and how they feel. So, I let them. No, I don’t let them their feelings out or disrupt my class. Instead,  I have them transfer their feelings to a journal or diary.

Use the Local Newspaper

Because my students know I write for the local newspaper, they are always telling me about things that are going on in the community or in the school. Instead of grabbing the scoop myself, I encourage them to compose new stories on their own. These are critiqued, and if they are interesting, I submit them to the local paper.

Getting students interested in writing can be difficult. However, I have found that if you show your students how much you love writing and the world opportunities that it can open up, they too will develop a love for writing.

 

How to Keep Students Interested in Learning

Keeping Students Interested in Learning

Keeping students actively involved in learning can be a challenge. Sadly, your students may not love  your subject area as much as you do. The following are a few strategies that you can use to help motivate your students to keep learning. 

Relevance

No matter what you teach, you will need to make it relevant to your students. Use "real world" examples. If you are a teach math teacher, teach your students how to balance their check books, how to make a family budget, how to look at unit prices at the grocery store. Help your students understand how to invest, how to manage money, and the importance of saving. Use fun games that teach the importance of math.  If you teach English, you can teach your students how to compose resumes, essays, analysis papers, and letter writing.

Blogging

Your students love to voice their opinion. Let them. Design a class blog. On this blog, students can share ideas and important information that they have learned in class. They can also post their poems, essays, research papers, and school related pictures.

Outdoor activities

Get those students outside. Let them explore nature. How? If you teach art, let them paint pictures of nature. If you teach English, you can have them compose poems about nature. You can have them write comparison/contrast essays about the different types of flowers, seasons, or other objects you find outside. If you teach math, let them go outside and measure the distance from one building to the next. If you are a science teacher, the great outdoors offers a wealth of activities that you can use.

Power point presentations

Let your students do power point presentations. They love to work with technology, so let them. Have them design a power point presentation that is relevant to your subject area. Be sure to provide guidelines.

Use different ways to motivate your students to learn. Try the above activities.