Is My Child Ready for Formal Writing?
Ø When do you begin to teach formal writing?
Ø Will they ever be able to write at a college level?
Ø When are they ready to learn how to write formal essays?
Ø What is abstract thinking?
Abstract thinking typically begins to emerge during early adolescence, around the ages of 11 to 14 years old, and continues to develop throughout adolescence and into adulthood. https://psychologyfor.com/abstract-thinking-what-it-is-examples-and-how-to-develop-it/
Abstract thinking is considered a type of higher-order thinking. It involves ideas and principles that are often symbolic or hypothetical. This type of thinking is more complex than the type of thinking that is centered on memorizing and recalling information and facts. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-abstract-reasoning-5181522
Students should wait until they are developmentally ready to process abstract thinking before starting formal essay writing.
Ø Children are usually ready to develop logical thinking at around 11 or 12 years old.
Ø They move from logical thinking to beginning to develop abstract thinking.
Ø Most students need another year or two to mature enough to be able to organize abstract thoughts.
Education is a process of training the mind. As the brain develops, students progress from learning what to think, to learning how to think. Students move from learning facts (concrete) to learning how to think (abstract). Students who are ready to use logical thinking skills to organize abstract ideas, are ready to advance to formal writing.
Reading to them develops the brain and prepares them for writing. Reading to them at their reading level and above connects brain pathways. The bests readers become the best writers. Recommended Reading Lists
When children start formal writing early, it does not make them better writers. Parents may see potential and ability in their children. They think their students are ready for advanced level of thinking. Parents need to understand there are differences in casual writing and formal writing. Starting advanced writing too early can mean frustration for everyone.
v For young students who love to write, writing stories and other papers is good. Encourage them to have fun writing.
v It’s good to teach students grammar and sentence writing skills at 9, 10, and 11. Pace it out to a doable level for them.
v Students who find writing to be painful, don’t push it. They need to move at a learning pace that does not frustrate them. Take it slower developing writing skills. Read out loud to them a lot.
v Be patient with children who are late bloomers in academic development. Children develop at different rates in different areas. Some children develop faster academically than others. Bear in mind that the rate of brain development is not an indication of the level of intelligence. It is normal for a child to advance quickly in one or two areas, while seeming to lag behind in other areas.
Formal writing can overwhelm many older mature students as well. They shouldn't be left to figure things out on their own. They need to learn how to use writing tools. They need to develop writing skills. They need to learn to write using writing structure and the writing process.
The Write Foundation teaches writing skills so students learn how to write.
Ø Prepare to Write
Ø Creating Sentences
Ø Sentence to Paragraph
Ø Paragraph Writing
Ø Essay Writing
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