Mark W.F. Condon: Blog

If you want to get your kids excited about writing, then you may want to consider inviting them to write books. Right, books. As odd as that sounds, even very young children can and WILL write books if we give them a structure that is manageable. The path to good writing is not a direct one. If you can get them excited about the possibilities of creating colorful books using unusual media, or making snazzy books using a computer program, then you are well more than half way to making writing not just acceptable, but in fact as exciting as it should be for every child. 

For example, for tinies, teachers or parents can take a piece of colorful construction paper, lay 3 or 4 pieces of plain (not lined) paper on top of it, fold it (Hamburger-style, not Hot dog), put two staples in it and voila you have a blank book with a colorful (if blank) cover!

Put a pile of different sizes of those “books” (from 2 x 3 inches to 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches or even larger) into any pre-school or primary classroom (or on the kitchen table). Maybe you could position them attractively on a “publishing” table with crayons, markers, pencils, etc. and invite the children to make books about what they know for friends and family they care about. Immediately the most intrepid of your kiddos will be making books. They will be proud of their books. They will work hard writing stories, making illustrations, really thinking about their project. The rest of the curious crowd will see what the fast starters are doing and pretty soon everybody will be making books.

Why? Because if children have been exposed to books, story-time, bed-time, Let’s-look-that-up-time and the rest, then they have already grown to understand just how special and important books are. The idea of associating themselves with something that important is a natural hook for kids. Every kid wants to be more powerful (every adult, come to think of it!). Wouldn’t it be cool if kids associated writing with power?! (Pen…sword…get it?)

For older kids that can work as well. Typically, they will immediately see blank books as a threat of course…since they have learned how to win at playing school, and this is definitely new!  So this could shake things up a bit. But if you ask them to create a little book for the little kids in other grades, then everything gets clear and safe again. Just like with the littles, the confident and intrepid bigger kids will start first. The rest will see that it doesn’t bite or stink or give them cooties, so they will come along. Especially when they see the smiles all around when the little ones actually are given the books to read and enjoy. They’re hooked. They’re WRITING!

Note: The best teaching in these circumstances, as always, is that the teacher/ parent makes a book right along with the kids. Invite the children to watch. “Do you want to watch me make one?” Make them the audience and show them how you consider who they are in your decisions, perhaps thinking aloud as you write, “Oh, she’ll like that.”

With THAT concrete book making success in place the book writing structure you offer can be elevated to the use of the computer, with RealeWriter, the picture book making software. Technology, keyboarding, comfortable revision and editing, sharing what they learn, regularly bringing parents the good news from school in the form of a book, literacy works for everybody

Download a free version from http://www.realebooks.com, and put that hook “out” as an invitation.

With a book as a hook, you’ll “catch” the kids improving their writing fluency, production and attitudes about writing.