6 Creative Writing Tips For Children

Is your child in the early stages of 11-Plus prep? If the answer is yes, then at some point you’ll probably want to know how best to help your child feel exam-confident. 

What does successful preparation look like?

I believe effective preparation has your child at the centre of the process. Actively listening to your child will help empower their drive. To me, successful preparation doesn’t mean following a speedy upward trajectory. Instead, it involves working on a child-friendly level, observing, questioning, problem-solving and allowing children to tell you what you want to know.

Common issues faced by children:

• Creative children who suffer from a lack of motivation
• Logical thinkers who believe they lack creativity
• An over reliance on basic vocabulary
• Under confident: unsure of how to start a piece of creative writing

It’s true that 11-Plus exam prep can be a shocker to first-timers. Here’s why it can sometimes feel overwhelming for Mamas and Papas:

• You have a busy family life so you’re not looking at your child’s academic progress in microscopic detail. Your child is bright and they seem to be doing well at school…so when you start 11-Plus prep, tiny issues (which didn’t seem to matter much before) come to the surface, and they can quickly turn into mountains, if they are ignored, inhibiting progress. As a parent, you then feel a pressure and your fight, freeze or fight response kicks-in. This can feel emotionally tiring.
• Once preparation is underway, you’ll quickly be able to assess your child’s confidence level. It dawns on you that a lack of confidence might be why their progress is lagging. Confidence in the foundational skills is beneficial to build, before leaping into exam papers.

Your child’s exam prep phrases may look something like this…

• Building awareness and confidence in using exam skills through fun, focused writing. These skills include, ‘show not tell’, ‘language devices’ and ‘punctuation for effect’.
  
  
• Answering past paper questions – covering the different question types (description, continue the story etc) specific to your target schools.

• Timed exam paper practice (to build stamina and expertise).

I harp on about reading all the time, because it matters. Making space for your child to read will develop your child’s grasp of language and in particular the all-important inference skills. This is often even more important for families where English is spoken as an additional language.

Are you ready to help rev-up your child’s creative confidence? The summer holiday can be the ideal time to give these tips a go, ready for the new school year.

1. Ignite your child’s curiosity

Encourage your child to read  fiction or/and non-fiction books, depending on your child’s personal preference. If they love what they read, it will inspire their imagination. Read my blog for ideas on how to inspire creativity in your child.

For reluctant readers of fiction, you can try the following to help foster creative writing confidence:

• Turn ideas from non-fiction books into new fictional ideas
• Use creative images from Once upon a Picture or  Imagine Forest
• Use imaginative video clips from The Literacy Shed

2. Retell a story 

• Retell a story in your own words using a video clip or a chapter from a favourite book. 
• Add your own ideas along the way to build creative confidence.
• Use Story Cubes to create a story – roll, tell and write.
• Use the book creator app to create stories on your iPad.
• Write a book review to share with friends.

3. Space and time

It doesn’t matter how good your source of inspiration is without the time to think through ideas. Try decluttering the space where your child normally studies. This will help your child to explore their individual voice. Creative flow happens in its own time, you just need to nurture a relaxed environment, so progress can happen. 

4. Embrace drafts & encourage 

Writing is personal. It’s all about exploring our own thoughts, feelings, as well as those of the characters we create. As parents, it’s hard as you may not know how far away your child is from being truly exam confident. 

Often when parents see an exam marking criteria grid, it’s normal to first feel overwhelmed. You may wonder how best to prepare your child so they can reach the required standard. Every child is different and it takes a different amount of time to consolidate the skills required. 

Drafting will help your child to improve their writing stamina. It’s easy to do, but try to avoid openly criticising your child’s work, for example by saying, ‘poor spelling or not enough written on the page’. You get the gist.

Have you ever noticed how it’s easy to point out what’s wrong? No matter what the context. Whenever I give my tutees another pupil’s work to mark, edit and rewrite, they love pointing out the mistakes (because it’s easy) and saying how they plan to make it even better. I think it’s really useful for children to peer review work so they learn that no one’s work is perfect. There are techniques we can learn to improve and it’s ok to get things wrong, before getting things right. It’s good for children to know that writing is always work in progress. 

 The chances are your child is aware of their strengths and weaknesses. It can be helpful to bring them out in the open, acknowledging the areas to improve, framed in a positive light. 

For example, ‘yes, I can see spelling is a little tricky for you at the moment, but I know it will get easier with some regular practice’. 

‘Story endings are just as important as openings, I wonder how you could make your ending more surprising?’. By being curious, you are showing an interest and you will empower your child to do their own problem-solving – yielding longer-lasting change. 

5. Share Writing 

Share your child’s story with a friend or a family member. It will give your child a confidence boost knowing they’ve done a good job. Some shy children may not want to share their story straight away. This is ok, it might just take a little longer for them to warm-up to the idea. 

6. Free Writing 

Letting go and writing non-stop for about a minute, about any topic, is a great little exercise. One of its main benefits is it helps children to release any pressure they may be feeling about putting words onto a blank page. Remind your child that they don’t have to share what they’ve written so there’s no fear of feeling judged. 

Conclusion 

Remember, regular practice sessions, no matter how small, are the building blocks for progress and transformation. 

Join Clare’s 28-day 11+ English Kickstart Programme


W: www.creativehare.co.uk | E: clare@creativehare.co.uk