Category: Writing

Improving Writing Skills with Treasure Hunts

18/4/2022

By Ana Elisa Miranda, Ute Limacher-Riebold and Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori

A Treasure Hunt is a series of written clues that lead to a treasure. This treasure can be any object, which will be hidden somewhere in your house or wherever you are going to play.

It’s a great opportunity to engage our children in reading and writing, and to develop confidence in creating and playing with languages.

In this video, we talk about:

How to play Treasure Hunt
How to support the writing process by using a template
How this activity can benefit our children’s spelling and writing skills
How this activity builds confidence
Different ways to play with

Young children
Beginning or emergent writers
More confident writers
Teenagers

Going beyond the template and being creative

Have you played Treasure Hunt with your children?
Will you try a different way to play?
Let us know in the comments!

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Resources:
How to make a treasure hunt for kids
Scavenger Hunt Fun
How to sneak in literacy in your multilingual home
How to build your child’s writing confidence
What if my child is reluctant to read and write in our home language?

Find hundreds of activity ideas for your multilingual family on our books:

The Toolbox for Multilingual Families
The Parents’ Guide to Raising Multi-literate Children

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Journaling in the multilingual home

21/12/2020

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I've been journaling my busy mind away since I was thirteen years old. The quiet moment between me, the beautiful red notebook I had, and my thoughts - the act of writing them down, putting them into words, organizing them and finding sense in everything (well, not always) has helped me calm my mind and gain perspective in many situations.

This was also how my passion for the written word started - I realized how well I could express myself and how I enjoyed crafting with words. Since then I went on to write many short stories (in Portuguese, published in a collection), blog posts, a novella and a book.

That was journaling in the most popular sense of the word.

Now throughout my teaching practice I've discovered that children can journal too - in many different ways! And what they have to gain from it is just as rich:

They can learn to sit with their emotions, think about and express them.
They can follow an interest, have a hobby and enjoy recording it.
They can become more fluent, confident writers.
They can become better communicators.
They can learn that writing doesn’t have to be a chore, that it can be cozy and creative.
And they can see how powerful a tool the written word can be.

In a multilingual home, journaling can be a compelling and effective way to make writing a habit and to support literacy in your family languages. Good reading and writing skills are a sum of consistent, small, daily efforts. So if literacy in the minority language is one of your goals, you will need to be persistent, patient and have a variety of activities under your sleeve.

If you'd like to DIY, here are some prompts you can translate to your language(s) and adapt to your family. You can write them on strips of paper and put them in a jar, box or tin; you can print them and glue them on popsicle sticks; you can make a little booklet and gift it this holiday season!

52 Journal Prompts for Kids to Record Their Lives and Thoughts
300 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids
(If you search for 'Journal Prompts for Kids' in your language you will find lots of great ideas!)

I have also researched and selected a few journals for your inspiration. Some are available in different languages, others aren't. I would love to know if you have a recommendation of a journal in your language!

A Pandemic Journal: Free Printable in Multiple Languages
The Happy Self Journal (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, German, French, Italian)
Big Life Journals
I Love the Earth: A Journal for Celebrating and Protecting our Planet
I Love Science: A Journal for Self-Discovery and Big Ideas
Journals by Wee Society
Me and My Big Move
Over Ons, Van Ons (Dutch)

Journaling is one of the tips for Writing Motivation you can find in The Toolbox for Multilingual Families. Add this book to your multilingual parenting arsenal!

Happy Writing! :)

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Multisensory activities in the multilingual home

8/11/2020

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We all learn and remember things in different ways. For some, hearing and seeing something is enough. Others might remember more easily when they do, touch or move. And we’ve all been transported into a memory by a sudden smell or taste…

Multisensory activities engage more than one sense at a time, and with that it creates more brain connections and stronger memory.

Children are curious, playful and active by nature - they will be much more interested and engaged in activities that involve a mix of movement, touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.

Fun and varied learning will certainly be more memorable - for the kids and for you - than worksheets.

How can you apply multisensory techniques in your multilingual home?

When learning a language we naturally use the listening and speaking skills the most. Try to use the other senses to help your children learn new words. Think cooking together, gardening, going for a walk, doing crafts, listening to music or audiobooks, playing, all while talking about what you’re doing.

Can specific tastes, smells, songs, dances, games or toys be connected to each different language?

When children start learning to read and write, especially in different languages, all their senses can be engaged in developing those skills.

Imagine seeing letters and words on paper, then practicing writing them with a pencil. Now imagine singing a song about the alphabet or letter-sounds, with accompanying movements; listening to a story and doing a gesture whenever you hear a particular sound or word; making letters with dough, seeds, etc; writing words with movable letters, chalk, paint, stamps; baking cookies and writing about it.

Which ones will create stronger brain connections?

Here are some activities you can try for handwriting, reading and writing.

And many more activities like these have been curated by Ute and I on our Toolbox for Multilingual Families!

I’d love to see what you and your children are engaged in!
If you’re on Instagram, please tag me: ana.elisa.miranda

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Reading and writing in the minority language

7/3/2019

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It still seems to be a controversial topic: can children learn to read and write in more than one language at once? Will they get confused and not do well in either language? Shouldn’t we wait until they can read and write in one language first?

There’s no black and white answer to these questions. Like other aspects of parenting, you must do what’s best for your children and what works for your family.

A great article on this topic is Biliteracy: When should kids start to read and write in their second language? on Bilingual Kidspot. The author differentiates the scenarios of learning to read in similar alphabets versus different ones, as well as different writing systems.
“Children can learn to read and write simultaneously in two languages if given the time and resources to do so.” (Chontelle Bonfiglio)

Despite initial confusion and transference between languages, there’s no proof that learning to read and write in more than one language simultaneously is harmful. Children all over the world grow up - and thrive - in multilingual contexts.

So, it’s never too early or too late to reflect on your family’s choice to pass on a minority language. Here are some questions to guide you:
★ What are your expectations?
What level of speaking, reading and writing would you like your children to obtain?
★ What is their motivation?
Is there a clear purpose for learning?
How do they use the minority language in real life?
★ What are the family’s long-term plans?
Are you likely to move countries? Will the children attend school in another language?
Where are they likely to go to University?
★ How supportive is your environment?
How involved can friends and extended family be in your children’s education?
Can you count on their school?
Can you find minority language resources?
Who can you go to for specific help?
★ Can you teach them yourself?
What will you teach them? When? How often?
Will you hire a tutor or enroll them in weekend lessons?

Another fantastic resource to help you understand multiliteracy and support your children’s development is ‘Learning to Read and Write in the Multilingual Family’, by Xiao-lei Wang. Her book is research and experience based, with lots of practical tips for each age group, planning advice and reflection.

No one will ever regret having taught their children their heritage language. The opposite is not always true.

★ ★ ★

Find support in our Facebook community.

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Write a short story book with your children

4/9/2018

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Do your kids love reading, being read to or watching movies? Do they like role-playing games? Do they enjoy good storytelling?

I bet they’ll get a kick out of creating their own!

Writing and sharing our own stories is incredibly motivating. It opens up a channel of connection and communication, where we dare to explore ideas and emotions beyond our everyday.

Creativity and imagination aren’t only important for artists. In today’s world, everyone should learn to see possibilities, think out of the box and find solutions. Not to mention be a little more empathetic and respectful.

Last year I organized a creative writing workshop with a group of 10-12 year olds. We had one weekly lesson where we learned about the writing process, wrote and shared our stories and in the end we printed a book! We had so much fun! I printed a very simple booklet but the children were very proud to see their work put together like that!

So, my idea for you today is: start creating a book of short stories with your kids. And why not make it multilingual?

Write a short story book with your children

Here are my tips:

★ Read good stuff. Talk about it. What makes it good?

★ Talk about writing as a process. Help them understand that no good story is ready the first (second or third) time you write it down. Some kids will have many ideas popping in their minds and they’ll rush through revision and editing. Other kids are reluctant to re-write. This is a good time to teach them to type and use spell check, thesaurus and a dictionary.

★ Give constructive and specific feedback. First tell them what exactly you like about their story. Then, ask them questions in order to fill in any gaps (think of the WH questions: what, where, when, why, how). Lastly, suggest how they could make improvements on their sentences, on their plot or overall language use.

The story of Austin’s Butterfly is a perfect illustration of constructive feedback.

★Talk about elements of a story. Every story needs characters, a setting (where it happens), a plot (what happens) and a time. It also needs a beginning, a middle and an end that flow.

Check out this video on how to write a story and this one on how to build a fictional world.

★Practice word choice. This is a fantastic opportunity to increase and polish your child’s vocabulary! Start by challenging them to use alternative words for said, good, bad, pretty, sad and happy (this is when a thesaurus comes in handy).

Check out this video on choosing better action verbs.

★Learn about how books are made. The kids will have a different appreciation for them.

★Find more about your child’s favorite author. Look for interviews on Youtube, their autobiography or an event nearby.

★Find opportunities to share. That’s the whole point! Next time you Skype with your family, have them listen to your child’s stories. Write down and illustrate a special copy of one of the stories and give it to someone they like.

Storybird is a great platform for sharing your children’s writing as well as reading others’ stories and getting inspired!

★Use a variety of prompts and activities. These are just a few suggestions:
Imagine Forest’s Free Resources
Once Upon a Picture - Images to Inspire
Imagination Soup - Writing Ideas and Strategies
Interactive Story Starters by Scholastic

★Set a deadline. Next Christmas? Their next birthday? That way you can have a special moment to launch and share!

★Type everything and format the text as you like. Add illustrations, a cover, a simple author’s bio.

★Print and have a little launch party!