Writing at the middle school level, sixth to eighth grade, involves a variety of writing skills. The writing resources discussed below will focus students' attention and help them write better while learning how to write longer and more complex pieces of written work.
Grammar Skills
Before being able to write a book report or essay, middle schoolers must master the basic grammar skills:
- Punctuation
- Capitalization
- Complete sentences
- Plurals and possessives
- Nouns and pronouns
To reinforce these basic grammar skills middle schoolers' writing should always be assessed and corrected for grammar. If the middle schooler's writing has lots of basic grammatical errors correct each type of error only once; have the student correct any subsequent errors of each type to improve his or her grammar skills.
Grammar Resources
For middle schoolers who need additional grammar instruction or grammar skill improvement, the following resources are recommended.
Editor in Chief B1 [The Critical Thinking Co., Jan 1, 1995] is an excellent resource for middle school students who can work independently for 10 minutes or longer. This workbook uses short paragraphs, excerpts, and passages with grammatical errors for the student to find and correct. Each worksheet and block of text is also accompanied by an illustration so students who have difficulty with reading comprehension can have a greater understanding of the passage presented.
The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon [Pantheon, August 10, 1993] is a great resource for upper middle school students who are reluctant to complete worksheets or for students who do not benefit greatly from drill and practice grammar exercises. Carefully assess the student's writing to determine which sections of The Deluxe Transitive Vampire grammar book to assign for reading.
Creativity
Like all writers, middle school students may encounter writer's block. To help overcome writer's block students may find it helpful to read a variety of writing to find a good written work or a prolific author to emulate.
Creativity Resources
Middle school students should be reading both literature and non-fiction as part of their language arts (LA) or English curriculum. If these reading assignments can be incorporated into their writing instruction, excellent results may be had. However, sometimes it may be necessary to assign additional readings as part of a middle school writing curriculum.
Rudyard Kiplin's "Just So" stories, available in a variety of editions, are perfect for adding to a middle school writing curriculum. Slower readers will appreciate the stories' short lengths, while more advanced readers will appreciate the ingenuity and originality of Kiplings' stories. After students have read two or three of the stories they should then be able to write their own version of a "Just So" story.
For improving creativity in middle school poetry writing any of the exercises from Kenneth Koch's Rose, Where Did you Get That Red?: Teaching Great Poetry to Children [Vintage, June 16, 1990] will help middle school writers find their muse, or at least give them a good chuckle and see that poetry does not always have to rhyme or be serious and staid.
Additional Writing Resources for Middle School Students
Behn, Robin. The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach. Collins, 1992.
Strunk, William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. Longman, 1999.
Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Gotham, 2006.
Word Roots: Level A1. TheCritical Thinking Company, 2002.
Improving middle schoolers' writing and grammar skills will require a multifaceted approach incorporating a variety of resources, materials and workbooks. With the right combination of curriculum, reading assignments, writing assignments and resources, student writing will improve dramatically through better grammar skills and increased creativity.
Tracey Carter - Tracey holds a B.A. in English from Hood College and is an avid reader, educator, blogger, and aspiring librarian.
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