The writing skills that our fifth grade students display are the culmination of what they have learned in their elementary school years. As some children are natural athletes and some have to work very hard to become competent athletes, so too, some students are born writers and others must work very hard to become competent writers. A student needs different approaches for different writing tasks and must learn to discern which skills are needed for which task. In the Lower School, we lay the foundation for all these skills but the perfecting of the writing process takes practice, time, constructive criticism and maturity, as we all have experienced as adults who are required to write. Reading papers written by Lower School students underscores their lack of an experiential base, especially when writing conclusions to stories of fiction.
Endings are beautiful, non-sensical conclusions or short, sweet and final 'The Ends'.
Until our students live a little longer and experience life to a fuller degree, their writing will reflect their innocence and inexperience. However, there is a strong, positive correlation between children who read a lot and their ability to write using good sentence structure and vocabulary. The better writers are generally strong readers. Their reading has exposed them to the many ways stories develop and end. To master any skill, be it running and blocking in football, heading a ball in soccer, making precise turns in swimming, writing clear and concise paragraphs, takes practice, practice, practice.