Writing is a two-step process. The mind has an idea or thought and shapes that thought into words. Those words are then placed onto paper:

The key to teaching elementary writing is giving the student plenty of practice in each individual step before putting the whole process together. If you ask an elementary student to write something "out of his head," he may freeze. Instead, give him plenty of practice in oral composition (turning an inarticulate idea into words). Ask him to tell you stories. Ask him to tell you what he's going to write about his history assignment. Prompt him through a verbal summary of his science lesson.

Also, do dictation exercises two or three times a week. When a child hears a sentence and writes it down, he's practicing putting unseen words down onto paper. This is the second step in the writing process.

How do you put these two steps together? Before you ask the student to write, make sure she knows exactly what words she's going to put down on paper (the second step of the writing process). Talk about what she will write. Ask her to tell you, orally, what she'll be putting down on paper in a moment. Be willing to repeat these words back to her as she writes. Susan has found it helpful to allow elementary students to dictate what they're going to write onto a tape recorder, and then to write from the tape recorder's dictation. This will take some of the pain out of elementary writing!

Remember: It is very common for elementary students to read on a junior high or even high school level, while still struggling with writing. Be patient, supply lots of practice (write a sentence in each subject every day), and wait for the writing ability to mature.

Susan also feels strongly that you should not force elementary students to do creative writing unless they have a talent for creativity. Creativity can't be forced or instilled. If the elementary student is writing a little bit every day in history, science and literature, don't demand stories and poems as well.