Our Students Need to Write More

During the past decade, I’ve spent a fair amount of time evaluating student writing and teaching SAT prep essay workshops and online high school literature classes. I’ve had the chance to read hundreds of papers from students all over the country, and I’ve discovered one small key to success in writing: Write More...

That’s a directive that easily questioned– write more what? Words? Minutes? Pages? My response is simple– YES to all of the above. Students who write often, tend to write better and more easily than students who are rarely required to pick up a pen (or turn on the computer). Read more

A Science Mystery Solved- Color and Light

*Be sure to check the end of this post for news about upcoming events! NANOWRIMO starts 11/1!

We had an unexpected lesson in the science of color and lighting this past week. Donald graciously used most of his vacation week to paint our kitchen and dining room, and it was one of those snowball projects. We were going from a deep, warm red to a nice mellow Behr color called “Bagel”– a warm golden yellow.

Five gallons of paint of paint and six days after we started taping, the project seems to be all done except for untaping and putting everything back in. However, we had a most interesting science lesson along the way. I enjoy choosing paint colors, and can usually visualize exactly what the color will look like on the wall. This time, by day two of painting, I was getting worried. The nice mellow color on the chip was glowing a rather violent orange hue on the wall. It looked dreadful– but not all the time. There were a couple of times when I looked at it and it was perfect! Read more

Language Arts Workshop is Up- And You Can Get It Free This Week!

When I sent out last month’s newsletter, I fully expected to have my workshop, Teaching Language Arts the Easy, Natural Way, up by the end of the week. I didn’t count on having to move my website and fix all sorts of interesting technical difficulties!

The exciting part of all this is that you can get the audio workshop free when you purchase Lynda Coats’ wonderful phonics curriculum, All the Letters, All Year Long. Lynda is the author of the Far Above Rubies and Blessed is the Man unit studies, and she’s really hit a home run with her new phonics program. It’s unique, comprehensive, and amazingly affordable! There are several great reviews at Lynda’s website– be sure to read them!

So why am I offering the Teaching Language Arts workshop free with Lynda’s book? It’s because a group of the Coats’ friends have gathered together to create an amazing group of bonus gifts (over $100 worth!) in order to benefit Lauren and Lynda. You see, Lynda’s dear husband, Lauren, has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. He is home from the hospital, under the care of hospice, but as in any situation like this, medical bills continue to mount. Read more

Perfectly Parsed Piffle- The Writing Evaluator’s Dilemma

As parent-teachers, we’ve all seen boring writing assignments– a grammatically-correct report that simply paraphrases an encyclopedia entry or a five-paragraph essay that piles one trite cliche on another, and concludes without a glimmer of an original thought. If you’re anything like me, you may even remember writing a few of those! The cause of such frightful compositions usually lies in an inadequate reading foundation (input) or in a poorly-thought-out writing assignment.*

I’ll write about how to remedy the causes another time, but today, I’d like to discuss how to evaluate this kind of writing. To a parent, perfectly parsed piffle often poses a dilemma. If there are no obvious mechanical errors (spelling, punctuation, grammar, word usage), does the student’s work deserve an ‘A’? How do you grade a paper for shallow content and lack of originality– and should you even do so? Read more

Essay Workshop in Woodbridge, VA

If you’ve been waiting for the next Beat-the-Clock Essay Workshop, it’s scheduled for Wednesday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This popular SAT prep writing workshop will prepare teens for the timed essay on standardized tests, as well as those found on college exams. You can read more about it and find registration information on my website! We may, if there is enough interest, follow the student workshop with a one-hour parent workshop on Evaluating Writing. Just let the hostess know if you are interested when you sign up.

This is one of the most rewarding and fun workshops I do. Students often come in feeling uncertain of what is required for the SAT essay and unable to write quick essays, but they almost always leave with a feeling of genuine accomplishment. We write two timed essays during the day, and the students take home a little handbook that will help them continue to practice. It’s a lot of fun, and I hope to see you there!

Can You Write Persuasively?

I’ve been thinking about writing persuasively this week. There are many times in life when you want to write persuasively, and it pays to know how do it. Sometimes, nothing more than a refund is at stake, but at other times, something much more important may be riding on your ability to persuade someone else to see your point of view.

Persuasive writing has been on my mind lately as I’ve read about the case of Melissa Busekros, a 15-year-old German girl, who has been taken from her family, primarily because the family has chosen to homeschool their six children. People around the world are writing to the German government in protest, as this act seems to violate Germany’s own determination, via ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 26/3, passed May 1948), that it is a primary right and responsibility of parents to determine the education of their children. You can read more about the story at Netzwerk Bildungfreiheit and at the website of the International Human Rights Group.

The following letter, written to the Minister of Bavaria, about the case was forwarded to me, and I’d like to point out a few elements that the writer has included in an effort to make the letter more relevant and compelling to the reader. Read more

Enthusiasm- It Makes Learning Stick!

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Have you ever thought about the part that enthusiasm plays in the learning process? I have noticed that when I’m interested in something, I learn it so much more easily than if I’m not enthused about the subject. Interest fosters attention and focuses the mind, making learning a truly delightful experience. Beat-the-Clock Essay Workshop

I witnessed enthusiasm in action on Saturday when I taught a lively group of teens how to write a timed essay for the SAT or ACT (at a Beat-the-Clock Essay Workshop). Throughout the four+ hour workshop, these delightful students remained focused and interested. There was so much participation that we could have gone on for at least another hour!

When the teens passed in their class evaluation forms at the end of the workshop, the comments were enthusiastic and positive. One teen, when asked what she liked about the workshop, wrote “Everything! I had a blast!”

Imagine that. Cooped up inside on a spring morning, writing timed essays, and she really had fun!

Another teen, in answer to the question about what could be improved, wrote “More essay writing.” Oh my– most teens who had to write two essays in a day would be more than ready to quit!

What was up with this group? I’ve taught this workshop in many places, and some groups are so quiet and unresponsive that we could easily trim the very same material by almost an hour. These students were so engaged and enthusiastic that the day just flew by (and no, I don’t think any of them are available for adoption!).

I don’t know the source of their enthusiasm– they were mostly, but not all, homeschooled high school students. They asked questions, they offered to read their essays aloud, they made the most of their time with me. And guess what? I’d be willing to bet that because they participated actively, they will remember what they learned.

Enthusiasm is a wonderful motivator, and if you can trigger your student’s interest, and encourage participation, the labor of learning is suddenly reduced. Enthusiasm makes learning fun!

On a personally enthusiastic note, I just uploaded the e-book edition of the new third edition of my book, Transcripts Made Easy. I’m happy that it’s finally done!

Sentence Fragments- To Use or Not To Use…

I’m working on a small book on evaluating writing, so in my last e-mail newsletter, I asked if anyone had questions on the subject. One mom sent in the following question, and I thought I’d share it, along with my answer.

Q- My children read quite a bit and enjoy it. I see that even good writers may at times use fragments instead of a full sentence. They use that for effect. This brings questions to my children, as their composition book tells them not to. Read more

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