Encourage your child to write a variety of types of text such as:
Small Moment pieces: Write about one time when ONE thing happened. Add thoughts and feelings about that event.
Opinion pieces: Provide an opinion and provide reasons of support.
Narrative pieces: Write about an event, describing thoughts and feelings.
Informative/Explanatory pieces: Introduce a topic, and use facts and information to develop points.
Read Other People’s Writing!
Third grade is a great time to have your child start reading magazines made for kids like Scholastic News. These often have different types of genres included in the articles. Read the magazines together and talk about what you like from this writing. This will help your child become a stronger writer!
Write What You Think!
Kids have very strong opinions! Ask your child to express an opinion about something through writing and be sure to include reasons to support their opinion. Then share it with the family “audience.”
Research and Report!
Have your child choose a topic they are passionate about. Then take your child to the library and/or let your child research more online about this topic. Work together to create an informative collage, magazine article about that topic, and use illustrations or photographs from magazines or online.
Keep a Journal!
Keep a family journal about weekend trips, or things that are important to you and your family. Your child can both write and illustrate in this journal. Pick a favorite entry and expand on that writing to create a longer piece.