The Benefits of Writing in a Group
Writers grow when ideas are shared!
You may have your own personal herd. (One HTHL member has 14 children!) You may have 2-3 children in your family. You may have a co-op filled with kids. Or if you are like me, you may have only one child that you are homeschooling. Your group size does not matter, but writing in a group matters. If you want to become a better writer, research indicates that writing in a group benefits the beginner, advanced, or professional writer.
The Benefits of Writing in a Group
Benefit #1 Writing in groups produces better…
- content
- sentence structure
- organization of ideas
- descriptive words
Examples of writing input include:
- Talking about and sharing ideas
- Feedback on content
- Editing
- Encouragement
Benefit #2 Group writing also develops humility and the life skills of respectfully giving and receiving input.
Benefit #3 In the working world, writing is a collaborative effort. It is an important skill for employment. Authors of books, legal papers, magazines, scripts, business reports, academic papers, and even the US Constitution are the products of collaborative writing. They all contain varying levels of input from an outside source. The student who learns this skill will become a better writer and will be able to apply this skill to whatever career they choose.
How do I deliver a group writing experience if I have only one student at home?
We have many families with only one child that use our program with great success!
•Utilize the “pause” screens throughout the program to talk with your child. Conversations are a necessary pre-writing step.
•In the “First Input” step, follow these additional steps:
- Print additional “PIP” or Praise-Input-Praise worksheets.
- Identify 2-3 additional “PIP”ers or people (adults or children their age or older) who are willing to give input.
- Student presents their work to the “PIP”ers as per the model on the filmed instruction.
- “PIP”ers complete the worksheet and give it to the student.
All the writing process steps can be effectively completed with a parent and one child. As a parent, don’t forget to join in the fun in all the writing process steps!
Whether the writing group size is large or small, your young writer will benefit from a group writing experience and Here to Help Learning’s Writing Program can help you make it happen.
Popular Home to Home Blog Post: Seven Benefits to the “Talk Before You Write” Teaching Strategy.