As teachers we have standards to teach writing. Three things to write are letters, personal narratives, and poetry. Getting students to write and meet the standards is sometimes a challenge.

Writing letters can be fun with the right prompts. Often teachers have students write letters to the President of the United States, when they are studying the presidents. Sometimes they just have them write him when they have a question or an opinion. What joy I saw on their faces when the president sent the class an eight by ten glossy picture. Sometimes teachers have students write a sports star or athlete. I have been tickled to see the promotional stuff the students received from their athlete. Letters to Santa are usually a great way to get students writing. Getting students to write thank you notes to someone who came to visit the class or the teacher that was missed are also easy to inspire letter writing. Some teachers get students to write pen pals from a different country. Some teachers label this Flat Stanley. These experiences can turn into fun projects with the rough drafts, final copies and the responses.

Personal narratives are one of the easiest ways to get writing started. Giving the students a prompt to tell about one of their favorite Christmas experiences or one of their most embarrassing experiences usually gets them thinking. I love personal narratives because I get to write about me. The students rebel less when they get to write about themselves. It's something they know. I always seem to get the students that say I don't have any embarrassing experiences or a favorite Christmas experience. Then I respond by having them make one up or we think of some other experience they had to write about. A great time to have students write their experience is; after a field trip or special project. I love to include writing as part of their score for the project. Along with a presentation, they have to write a short narrative of their experience doing the project.

Poetry is my personal preference. Not everyone likes to read or write poetry, however, figurative language is part of the standard requirements. I have been saved many times in this area since there are so many types of poetry that one usually strikes a chord with the students. My favorite poetry project in the poetry quilt. This is usually the culminating activity of our poetry unit. We choose one of the student's shape poems to put on a quilt block. The blocks are sewn together to make a quilt top. The quilt is then put together, tied and donated to a crisis center or a shelter for the homeless. Each time my students make a poetry book or do a poetry unit, I usually write a limerick for each student. I have quite a collection and the students love to help me make their poem. I love the beaming faces as the students point out their quilt block or limerick on the poetry quilt. One year we published the shape poems and limericks in a hard bound class book.
It's amazing to me that students that don't like to write can get excited about writing when thought and effort is put into their assignments. Getting students to write letters, personal narratives and poetry can turn into experiences they remember for a lifetime. Writing is such an important skill. It can be very frustrating to meet state standards when you struggle with writing. Having fun experiences as you learn to write will make this mandatory experience easier.

Sheryl Dike McBride invites you to share your ideas in the form of articles and posts at the Listenandtutor.com blog. Sign in for up to date ideas and links to resources for working with students as a tutor and in the classroom at http://www.listenandtutor.com.