Creative Writing – Wiggle Writing and MORE!

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This summer, I want to keep writing at the forefront, even though we’re not officially “schooling”. Since my boys (especially my rising 3rd grader) LOVE to draw, I thought it would be fun to let them do a little creative writing, inspired by Lines that Wiggle by Candace Whitman. (By the way, this is a great “any time of year” writing idea. If I was still in the classroom, I’d totally use it in a literacy center.)

Creative Writing in Action

Print off a page from the pack, like this one. (In the FREE 40-page pack, you’ll find creative writing ideas for Wiggle Writing, Shape Writing, Letter Writing, and Number Writing. There’s also a blank page for kids to make their own creations. The download link is at the end of this post.)

 

Ask the child to complete the image on the left side of the paper then write about the picture on the right side of the picture. (He used the wiggle line to create a fishing pole.)

 

Creative Writing and Spelling Mistakes

I don’t know if you’ve noticed a pattern when kids are allowed to have some creative writing time. I have. They don’t always spell their words correctly (in the example above: SAMINE for salmon). This is mainly because kids are still learning to spell and it’s hard for their brain to focus on being creative and spelling everything conventionally at the same time. Often times, kids are creatively “dumping” their words on paper, wanting to just get their thoughts down.

Just a side note: Multi-tasking is hard for humans in general. If kids are focused on reading all the words correctly, they often forget to make meaning of what they’ve just read (this happened to me even in high school). Adults can also have a hard time doing two things at once: driving in heavy traffic and carrying on a conversation.

 

What Should We do About Misspellings in Creative Writing?

• Write down some words before writing time. After your child draws his picture, ask him to tell you what he’d like to say. If there are some words you know he doesn’t have the spelling knowledge to spell (such as salmon), spell those words on a dry erase board or piece of paper and let your child copy the words.

• Ask the child to edit the misspellings. If this creative writing will be something that the child will re-visit often, I personally like the misspellings to be corrected. Often times, kids misspell words we’ve already taught them. I hold my son accountable by asking him to use his word wall folder and his one-page vowel pattern chart. He can go back and edit his own work using these resources.
• Let it go. Nit-picking every wrong spellings from our child’s independent or creative writing time can sometimes suck the fun right out of writing for our child, not to mention deflate his motivation. It could very well be that we just need to enjoy and encourage our child’s creativity instead of adding on, “…but that’s not how you spell…”

 

More Writing Ideas for Kids:

• Writing Longer Sentences (a roll and write activity)
• Simple Writing Lessons for Primary Grades
• Writer’s Notebook for Kids
• 25 Ways to Make Writing Fun

Follow This Reading Mama’s board Writing Ideas for Kids on Pinterest.

Follow This Reading Mama’s board Hands-On Spelling Ideas on Pinterest.

 

Download this FREE Creative Writing Pack HERE!

 

 

 

~Becky