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3 Simple Ways To Keep Your Middle or High School Student’s Writing Skills Strong This Summer

The bell rings and suddenly school’s out for summer. The last thing you want as a parent is for your child to lose all the critical skills they’ve learned over the past academic year. You may be asking yourself, what are some simple ways to keep my student’s writing skills strong this summer?

There are 3 easy things you can do to keep your middle or high school student’s writing skills sharp. 

See your teenager’s confidence and growth explode this summer in one of our writing sessions.

1. Prompt Them With Writing Goals  

The easiest way to sharpen those writing skills is to prompt your student. No, it doesn’t need to be a full-fledged essay response. But it does require them to pick up a pen or pencil to write a response. Try to have them:

  • Brainstorm at least 10 things they want to do this summer (like a bucket list)
  • Then ask them to categorize their answers into groups (i.e. outdoor activities, travel, food, etc)

Not only is this a fantastic way to see what they are interested in and how to make their summer one to remember, but you’ll also start to see how they think. Use this type of prompt to spur conversation. They won’t even realize that this was a writing activity!

2. Dive Deeper With Simple Sentence Strategies

The next strategy to deploy is to have your child use at least two WH (what, when, where, what kind, which, how, and why) prompts to elaborate on their sentences. It could look like this:

  • Suzy walked her dog. ➡️  Yesterday, Suzy walked her dog to the park because the dog needed exercise. 
  • Jimmy went to the movies. ➡️ Jimmy went to the movies with his friends to watch Spiderman. 

The key here is to get them to start thinking about the importance of details and how to describe those details in an order that naturally makes sense.

3. Gain Writing Confidence In A Summer Writing Camp

While the examples we gave throughout this article are very elementary, you can adjust the strategies to meet your teenager where they’re at academically. Did your child say they want to go to camp or prepare better for the upcoming year on their summer bucket list? 

The Write Turn has summer writing camps for middle and high school students where they’ll learn strategies for planning, writing, and most importantly revising across all genres of writing.

Explore every genre (narrative, expository, persuasive, literary argumentation) in our evidence-based writing program that provides 20 hours of specialized and explicit instruction. 

Soon, they’ll be masters at: 

  • Planning, writing, and revising
  • Brainstorming and organizing ideas
  • Elaborating on those ideas
  • Sentence-combining and writing grammatically correct sentences
  • Annotating text for literary analyses
  • Using more descriptive vocabulary
  • Using basic and more advanced punctuation

This is the perfect program to set your student up for the upcoming academic year. Claim your seat today before your preferred writing session fills up.

Your Child’s Writing Skills Are Ready To Be Sharpened

Don’t let the summer pass you by until it’s crunch time to get ready for school! Keep the learning alive by signing up for a summer writing session.

How To Support Junior High Students In Becoming Stronger Writers

Are you noticing your students struggling to transform their ideas into words on a page? 

If so, this isn’t an uncommon challenge to have. Visual writing organizers, templates, and outlines are helpful, especially at the start of a child’s writing journey. However, some students don’t learn how to write detailed, well-crafted sentences or how to revise those sentences effectively. 

Build confidence in your young writer by joining us for our summer writing session.

The FIX Strategy’s 3 Key Writing Components

After years of research, development, and classroom implementation, The FIX Strategy has proven to be an effective evidence-based revising method for students. This method combines language processing skills and self-regulation techniques to maximize a student’s writing potential. 

    “Focus” ensures all necessary elements of the writing piece are included.

    “Identify” gives students a chance to find problems within their writing to confirm its message communicates exactly what was intended.

    “EXecute” teaches students how and when to add, delete, move, or rewrite text throughout their papers before submitting it for a grade or peer review.

    1. Explore Mind Mapping Concepts

    Before students begin writing, they need a solid plan. The Write Turn teaches them how to brainstorm effectively and organize their ideas into categories. This helps students clarify their thoughts and ensures they’re ready to start writing with purpose and direction.

    2. Growing Ideas With Details

    Once a student has their ideas organized, The Write Turn further challenges them to turn those ideas into detailed, grammatically correct sentences. They learn to craft sentences using proper punctuation and even advanced punctuation to develop their creative writing style. This step encourages students to build depth and clarity in their writing.

    3. Revise Quickly For Quality Enhancement

    The structured approach of the The FIX Strategy helps students move beyond surface-level corrections, focusing instead on revisions that truly enhance their writing. Specifically, they learn how to question and think critically about their work; to make changes that elevate the content and quality of their essays.

    Writing & Academic Success Share A Critical Connection

    The 2024 Nation’s Report Card reveals that a third of 8th graders are not reading at the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) basic level. The results are even more alarming for writing. In the most recent assessment, only 33% of 8th grades and 24% of 12th graders scored at or above a proficient writing level. Only 1-2% of American high school seniors could write a persuasive essay at an advanced level. While templates can provide initial writing support, students are not learning HOW to get their thoughts on the template; and certainly are not learning HOW and WHEN to make revisions that can improve the quality of their essays. What’s more, these templates often become a crutch – leaving students struggling with clear expression and revision skills when they reach high school. Many students won’t ask for help because they end up feeling too ashamed or embarrassed to reach out. These same students also have difficulties revising their work to align with standards for school, test-taking, career, and college applications.

    The Write Turn addresses these issues by emphasizing writing mechanics and critical thinking over perfectionism – helping students develop into confident, independent writers.

    We Prepare Students With Practical & Proven Writing Strategies

    Spark conversation with your child or students by having them think about what they want to do professionally. They may not realize that writing is also a career requirement outside of “normal” writing spaces like a research scientist writing a technical report; a lawyer hammering out detailed legal revisions for their client’s case; a teacher writing a student’s progress report; or a business professional preparing a proposal.

    Getting students to relate to writing strategies is a challenge for both parents and educators. Sign up for a summer writing session to simplify the process.

    3 Advanced Techniques To Master Writing For Standardized Tests 

    Is your child or student preparing for an upcoming standardized test and plagued with test anxiety? It’s easy for test takers to get overwhelmed with all the grammatical requirements of writing an effective test response. These 3 advanced writing techniques will boost their scores if they understand them. 

    What are they? Let’s dive in!

    Join us on our upcoming webinar for more insights.

    1. Understand How To Use Commas, Semicolons, & Colons 

    Unsure exactly how to use commas, semicolons, and colons? Avoid digging through textbook definitions for answers, and discover an easier way to understand (and explain) the differences between how to use commas, semicolons, and colons.

    Separate With Commas

    Think of commas as the part in a conversation where you usually pause to take a breath or connect a thought. Using commas in your standardized testing answers should separate independent and dependent clauses. 

    Separating list items: She bought pencils, paper, and peaches.

    Joining separate, complete thoughts: I love reading, and my sister does too.

    Adding supplemental information: My aunt, who lives in Atlanta, visited me last week.

    Add Semicolons Appropriately

    A semicolon combines independent but related thoughts without overcomplicating the sentence. 

    I love baking cupcakes; it reminds me of growing up with my grandmother.

    A semicolon works for the sentence above because each separate thought can stand alone but eliminates the need to add a conjunction. The second sentence usually supports the first sentence.

    Clarify Lists With Colons 

    Colons make lists with two or more items easier to digest and should also be preceded by an independent clause. Colons help create a visual break, making it easier for readers to identify each listed item.

    I need 3 things to study at my best: water, a laptop, and music.

    2. Keep Your Answers Short Yet Concise

    There is a time and place for complex answers. For example, a university or organization will expect you to offer more than simple yes or no responses when interviewing for a position. However, standardized tests typically prefer shorter grammatically correct answers. 

    No need to overthink it! Simplify your student’s writing skills by reminding them to Keep It Short and Simple (K-I-S-S):

    Keep is a reminder to stay focused on the main idea.

    It involves using clear and straightforward language.

    Short means limiting unnecessary words and excess punctuation.

    Simple supports grammatically correct answers that get to the point.

    3. Direct Readers With Smooth Transitions

    Transition words offer a more natural way to move from one topic to the next. A few of the most commonly used transition words are:

    • However
    • Therefore
    • Additionally
    • Furthermore

    When answering identifying questions, confirm that students understand both the exact meaning and purpose of the transitional word or words they want to use. When in doubt, have them read each answer carefully to determine whether it sounds correct and flows or needs to be adjusted.

    We Prepare Students With Practical & Proven Writing Strategies

    A single student will take over 100 standardized tests from pre-K to 12th grade. However, many people wonder whether standardized assessments truly measure what students know, can do, and are capable of learning. Until standardized tests are eliminated, The Write Turn offers evidence-based writing instruction for all students, including those with learning disabilities and language delays.

    Join us on our upcoming webinar to learn how to better support your student(s)!

    About The Write Turn

    At The Write Turn® we specialize in providing explicit strategy instruction in written language. Students of all achievement levels — students with learning disabilities to high performing students — are benefiting from our evidence-based writing program. We also service students with expressive and receptive language delays and language-based learning deficits that affect reading and spelling.

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