American children must be ready to learn from the first day of
school. And of course, preparing children for school is a
historic responsibility of parents. Should you help your child
with writing? Yes, if you want your child to: You know how
important writing will be to your child's life. It will be
important from first-grade through college and throughout
adulthood. Study after study shows that students' writing lacks
clarity, coherence, and organization. Only a few students can
write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many
as one out of four have serious writing difficulties. And
students say they like writing less and less as they go through
school. That's why the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement (OERI) suggests that you help your child with
writing. OERI believes you, a parent, can make a big difference.
You can use helping strategies that are simple and fun. You can
use them to help your child learn to write well--and to enjoy
doing it! This leaflet tells you how. One of t