Recently, I visited my favorite Georgia park, Old Roswell Mill.  Throughout my hike, I was reminded of the importance of the shades of color, beautiful sounds, and natural aroma that enveloped me as I walked.  These details made my journey transformational.  During this time, I reflected and realized how similar the importance of allowing our children to write freely is to wondering in nature. 

    Each time I visit Old Roswell Mill, I am drawn to different animals and plants that surround me.  The same can be said for drafting a piece.  It is essential to keep in mind that first copies are meant for recording initial thoughts and feelings.  While I have worked with families that hope their child’s writing will mirror their final draft, this simply isn’t possible.  It has been my experience that the best ideas originate when students are given the freedom to record without having spelling and conventions hindering the process.  These two components are important, but there will be time to reflect on these at a later point. 

    During each visit, I have varied encounters.  I have found that time of day has an impact on the animals, people and overall tone of the park.  The same can be said for the editing process.  The timing of this process can not be forced.  I encourage allowing students adequate time to self-edit before revisiting their work together.  Colored pencils or pens can be used to make this process more exciting.  However, this is a vital step in guiding children’s awareness of their writing. 

    For some students, editing spelling can be overwhelming and frustrating.  Therefore, I initially encourage students to perform their best with this task.  I then provide a tool to further guide their understanding.  This tool is featured in the picture below.

    The child is given the opportunity to record their first attempt at spelling a given word.  A check is then placed above every letter that is correct.  A second and third attempt is then made by the student to correct spell a given word.  After the third attempt, the spelling of a word is then provided for a child.                               

    The shades of green and yellow leaves, crystal blue water and gray gravel brought such beauty to my walk.  Providing your child the opportunity to illustrate can bring joy in the process and illuminate their written work.  Illustrating fosters pride and a sense of accomplishment in children’s work.  Simply provide their preferred tools and I’m confident you will be delighted with the result!

    I have had the opportunity to work with many families searching to provide authentic opportunities for their children to write.  Often, a journal is implemented to provide this opportunity.  While I applaud the implementation of this tool, some students require
further inspiration to write.  In these instances, sensory rich experiences can be used. 
I have outlined several types of these experiences below. 
 
     One of these experiences is nature immersion.  Throughout the Atlanta, Georgia area there are various parks and nature preserves. Within these special spaces lay a variety of animals, insects and plants to be discovered.  Leading your child in a guided
exploration of these areas can provide a truly fulfilling experience.  All senses are engaged as nature naturally unfolds before you.  This experience can also lend itself to the opportunity for your child to research further about the living creatures you encountered while exploring.  In the slideshow below, I have featured a few pictures from my favorite spots around Atlanta!

    I also encourage you to establish shared experiences with your child.  During one summertime lesson, I created ice cream with a student. This experience later motivated the child to write about the steps in the process.  She also wrote a beautiful story about
a town made solely of ice cream. It was a true delight!  A favorite trip or vacation spot can also lead itself to wonderful stories.  Often, I will use treasured storybooks to provide a catalyst for writing. Providing students the opportunity to rewrite the end of a familiar story, create an original version,  or change the setting excites students and inspires writing.  

    I firmly believe, tapping into children’s interests brings learning alive for students.  One of my favorite writing activities to provide students with an interest in the arts is “Scribble Writing.”  As the name implies, students are given the opportunity to construct a large scribble on a blank paper.  Using their creative talents, they form a unique picture depicting an object based on the scribble.  The picture is then used as a catalyst for writing. Many of the students I guide enjoy Legos.  I recently came upon art and writing projects incorporating these toys at Homegrown Learners. 
   

     Guiding children in becoming inspired writers can be facilitated by sensory rich experiences.  Allowing the child to fully experience the enjoyment of the trip,
activity, and craft facilitates the natural flow of future writing ideas.  Guiding child to enjoy rather than mandate a piece based on a specific writing topic lays the foundation for
students to become lifelong writers.  What activities do you enjoy establishing to facilitate writing inspiration for your child?

    Writing provides a foundation for communication.  Through writing, authors are able to share ideas and vivid details that may escape the conventions of casual conversation.  Due to the nuisances of language and grammar, I have guided students who carry a fear of writing.  For some, this fear of writing is ingrained; others simply find the process tiresome and dull.  Therefore, in the next few blog posts, I will provide ideas to guide children into becoming better equipped and more inspired writers. 

Create a Space

    Creating a space is essential for guiding budding writers.  One would not think of going to the hardware store to read a novel or visit the library to practice their drum solo.  Creating a space for writing is equally as important.  I have had the opportunity to guide several students in the process of strengthening their writing skills.  I found providing a means of collecting all their brilliant ideas centering on a specific topic to be an essential first step.  Therefore, having 2-3 favored brainstorming tools available for the writer is important.  I will explain in further detail in my next post directions for guiding students in the use of both the Circle Map and Bubble Map featured in the picture below.   

    I also ensure that colorful, developmentally appropriate writing paper is available.  I have noticed colored paper excites and motivates students.  However, the hue of the paper can influence the writers’ mood.  Research suggests that colors including light blue and green create a mood of calm and centeredness.  While red and orange create moods of vibrancy and excitement.   Check out the University of Georgia article on the impact of sensory details on student learning.   http://sdpl.coe.uga.edu/researchabstracts/visual.html

    It has been my experience that including in this space a personal word wall is beneficial.  This word wall can be centered on a specific topic including “Water Words.”  It may include words that the student has struggled to record previously.  Grade level sight words may also be featured.  Displaying this word wall in a prominent location is essential to facilitate its use.  I encourage the creation of the word wall to be a process shared between you and the writer.  When children are actively involved in the process of creation, they are more likely to use this tool.

    Including within this space the opportunity to fidget is also important.  Many students require movement while brainstorming and explaining their writing ideas.  Squish balls, balance ball chairs, and visuals can be used to provide opportunity for movement and tranquility within the space. 

    A carefully planned and well-organized space is ideal for guiding children into becoming inspired writers.  When the writing process is looked upon with excitement and passion, students are more likely to write with eagerness.  The space provided for children lays the foundation for future writing experiences.

      With the implementation of the Common Core, increased demands are being placed on children to produce high quality writing.  Despite children’s best efforts, the content may be overlooked due to the presence of reversals, lack of spacing, and random capitals interspersed throughout their writing.  While I have seen teachers use a multitude of methods to guide children in correcting these mistakes, the strategies implemented often only offer a temporary fix or teach a reliance on a tool to compensate.

      Let’s take a closer look at the mistakes children can make in their writing.  I will then offer a solution to train children’s brains to eliminate these errors and increase writing production.

      The conventions of writing can be challenging for students.  Beyond age 8, some students continue to struggle with distinguishing b and d in reading and writing.  This behavior in turn impacts their comprehension and readability of their written work.  Others may write words as one continuous unit as opposed to incorporating spaces between words in their sentences.  I have seen students incorporate capital letters randomly throughout their stories as well. 

      While all of these behaviors may distract the reader and interrupt the flow of writing, these behaviors tell a much deeper story.  While observing a student writing, whose work contained these traits, I noticed many of her letters including t’s, b’s and y’s were formed beginning at the bottom.  While this method is not inherently wrong, the amount of effort and stamina required exceeds that needed by beginning at the top.  Also, for letters including p and q, requiring the student to cross the given line, she stopped at the line.  Thus indicating neural misfiring, causing many of the writing characteristics described earlier.    

      How can these neural pathways be strengthened thus eliminating many of the earlier described behaviors?  Tutor Wise offers clients brain training sessions specifically targeting children’s production of written work.  This program is designed to strengthen the neural pathways and in turn makes writing easier for children.  The end results in an improvement in the quality of children’s writing and an increase in their confidence.  Contact us today to find out more about how our services can assist your child in the process of becoming a better writer!

    With education research suggesting a variety of strategies and techniques for learning, how can you select the best suited strategies for your child? Considering the functions of brain hemispheres and your child’s preference will provide guidance in this area. 
Understanding the hemispheres and the most effective methods for presentation of information is essential in facilitating the learning process.

    The primary methods used in classrooms appeal to eft brain learners.  These
learners assimilate new information into their short term memory through concentration and structured lessons.  This brain hemisphere is responsible for interpreting auditory
information and works with details to synthesize the main idea.  Left brain learners excel on tasks involving logical/analytical processing and understand the nuisances of language with ease.  These traits naturally lend themselves to today’s classrooms in which
lessons are established in a structured format involving rigorous demands of
language.

     The question then becomes what if a child possesses the ability to learn through pictures and colors, understands and thrives when humor is integrated into the lesson and understands the whole idea before breaking it down into essential components? 
These attributes describe many right brain learners.  They learn through movement and visual stimuli.  The right brain hemisphere is responsible for long-term memory and
automatic processing.  Students  that are right brain dominate prefer options when completing a task.  They enjoy environments that are unstructured. 
 
     With a basic idea of the brain hemispheres and their role in the learning process, how can you better equip your child to excel in the classroom?  I believe a strengths
focused approach is ideal.  Praising and emphasizing your child’s strengths is essential. 
As I previously shared, for students with a right brain preference, visuals are key. Developing interesting stories and pictures to accompany challenging spelling words will assist in recall. For instance, while working with a first grader on the word city, I created buildings and streets integrating each letter of the word.  I then went on to explain that all the individuals in the city had a special power, they could fly.  The use of visuals can be extended to math facts as well.  These methods provide right brain dominate children with the “hooks” needed to improve their recall.  On the contrary, left brain dominate child learn best through activities involving the structure and practice. 
Therefore, spelling activities requiring them to write words several times using paint, markers, and/or scented colored pencils are fun ways to create memorable learning experiences.  Left brain learners would benefit from audio books and video lectures on
a specific topic or process.    

     Through careful observation and study, your child’s learning preferences emerge.  Carefully noting these preferences and considering them when supporting instruction at
home will benefit your child.  Whether your child is right or left brain dominate, making learning a memorable and engaging experience is essential in creating life-long learners. 

      Are you interested in learning more about how the brain impacts your child’s behavior at home?  Are you looking for methods to assist you in guiding your child to become a hard working and responsible adult? The Dyslexia Network of Forsyth County is holding a workshop lead by Mary Hynes Danielak, Psy.D.  This workshop offers parents a 5-step parenting program for enhancing their child's behavior in the home based on brain research.  Further information can be obtained by visiting www.dyslexiaforsyth.com.

In a previous post, I shared the powerful impact visualizing can have on improving student comprehension.  However, this technique is not limited to reading comprehension.  Preview and Review highlighted in “Helping Students Take Control of Everyday Executive Functions” by Paula Moraine also sheds light on this powerful tool.  While this text and technique are targeting students with executive function challenges, its scope is much larger. This technique can be used to help prepare students for everyday occurrences, building their self-awareness and empowerment.   For example, to begin each student session, I always provide the students with an overview of the lesson and activities that will be encountered.  This provides me with valuable insight regarding student motivation, current energy levels and confidence in approaching the tasks as often students share their thoughts and feelings regarding these activities. Initial session time is also used to review concepts previously visited and clarify any lingering questions that may have been encountered.  At the conclusion of the session, there is always a time for review and a discussion of what’s to come.  I have found this method to be invaluable.  Not only does it allow the student to connect with the material learned and ask questions, it provides them with the opportunity to share their voice.  In sharing their voice, students gain the awareness that this is their learning journey.  I am there to guide them, providing tools and techniques as needed.  However, the student learns more about themselves and their value.  The question then becomes, how can this technique be applied outside of session?  As I shared, the scope of this technique is quite broad and its application will depend on the individual needs of the student.  It could be used as a morning and evening routine to discuss upcoming chores and tasks that will need to be completed around the home.  It could also be used to prepare the child for upcoming assignments and tests.  However, I believe you will find, the individualized application of this technique will yield positive lasting results.

Are you looking to gather further insight into how the Tutor Wise LLC mission is put to practice?  Would you love additional educational activities for reinforcement and practice?  There are two new opportunities to fulfill both these requests.  First, I have an active Twitter page.  This page contains educational research articles, comments on educational ideas and even some celebratory remarks for student successes! Care to check it out?  Visit: https://twitter.com/TutorWise .  Also, Tutor Wise now has a Pinterest page.  Pinterest offers a creative and fun method for collecting educational ideas from teachers, tutors, and parents.  The pins I have collected relate to a variety of topics including technology, reading, and math.  For inspiration or to print out freebies check it out at: http://www.pinterest.com/tutorwise .