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Let’s talk about getting children to write more - much more! 📝 Modeling is my first line of action when encouraging children to produce lengthier pieces of work. We’re not encouraging them to write more just for the sake of it; writers make their work more interesting by adding details. In this Night Zookeeper lesson, Will starts off by telling a story like this: “There was a girl and she had a cat and one day the cat ran away.” Many kids, when told to tell a story will write just like that! Here’s how modeling helps: Write down the story Will told. And then do a think-aloud. (Which simply saying your thoughts out loud so the students can hear.) “I like my story. But people don’t know what the cat looks like. They also don’t know if the cat had a name. I bet they would also wonder why the cat ran away. Was the girl a good little girl, or did she do something to the cat? And what happened after the cat ran away? Let me write this again and add more details so people know more about what happens in my story.” Take a look at my stories later today to see how I modeled free verse poetry with the girls this morning. Try modeling this week! And don’t be worried if your children write almost exactly what you’re writing. Over time they will start to be more original. And you’ll also specifically tell them to copy what you do, but with their own voice/story/ideas. (It’s kind of like those draw with me videos on YouTube. When kids first start doing them, they try to copy exactly, but very quickly they add their own flare, colors, characters, etc.) Link in my bio to a free trial of Night Zookeeper!