About Writing (and Big Kids)
I’m sure I’m not the only person who has realized that not much is written about how much kids write, right? Well, USA Today‘s Mary Beth Marklein published an article six days ago entitled “Writing leads to deeper learning, study finds.” Click here to read this piece, which includes stats and findings.
The article happens to be about college, but there are some interesting facts about primary and secondary as well.
Only about 1/3 of 8th graders and 1/4 12th graders are grade level proficient in writing, according to the 1008 National Assessment of Education Progress.
Of the time spent on writing in classrooms, only 15% is actually spent on teaching writing, another 20% is spent on performing writing, and about 50% is spent on grammar, vocabulary, handwriting, and spelling.
We’re collecting tips on teaching writing, if you can contribute, at http://contest.thewritingteacher.org.