[Podcast #244] Middle School Writers: Natural Stages of Growth in Writing #3

Brave Writer Podcast

Welcome to our third episode in our Natural Stages of Growth in Writing series! Today we cover the Middle School Writers stage, which typically occurs around ages 9-12.

This stage is all about building confidence, instilling in your student that they can consistently express themselves well in writing. 

On today’s Brave Writer podcast, we:

  • dive into freewriting practices—generating ideas and writing in short spurts,
  • walk through how to do low-stakes revisions to help kids get comfortable with messing with their writing after it is on the page,
  • and talk about non-writing activities students can do that contribute to their writing skills.

Be sure to check the show notes’ resources section below for links to our online Summer Camp (it’s free), Fall Class Registration (beginning July 22), Brave Writer Training (sign up ends July 31), our Tools for the Art of Writing, and all our Bundles.

Show Notes

Freewriting

Freewriting is a powerful practice for building confidence. Start by setting a timer for seven minutes (three, if necessary). The only rule is that your middle-schooler has to write the whole time. They can generate a list of their topics ahead of time or decide in the moment. They can even write about how much they hate writing. This practice will show them that they are capable of writing even without a lot of preparation.

Low Stakes Revisions

Revisions can feel like a personal failure and cause your student to shut down. To help them feel comfortable with their writing being shaken about, engage in low stakes revisions. Rather than focusing on grammar or syntax revisions, make up a silly revision task like “retell this story from the perspective of a dog.” This gets them used to changing their precious writing, not getting stuck in debilitating self-doubt.

Non-Writing Activities

Writing is a form of self expression. If your middle-schooler is hitting a roadblock with writing, change things up. For example, watch a movie together and discuss it. You are showing them that they naturally have thoughts and opinions that are worth sharing. They can then take that confidence with them as they approach more formal writing tasks.

The middle-school years can be an especially fun and fruitful time for your writers. We hope you can enjoy them!

Resources

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Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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