When students are asked to write a simple essay, all trace of excitement on their face will quickly disappear. Therefore, it is quite challenging to teach students how to write because a good number of them find it boring.
Students are hardly interested in knowing the rules of grammar and structures of a sentence. They find it complicated and overwhelming. Hence, they are unable to express themselves clearly on paper.
These challenges sometimes make students get frustrated and in the long run, lose interest in writing. Then it becomes even much more difficult for them to learn how to write better. Fortunately, all hope is not lost for such students as there are ways you can arouse their interest and get them excited about writing. As example, “I need help with my homework” can be pronounced aloud to help them with a paper.
But the tips below would get students excited to learn and improve their writing skills.
Ways to Make Writing Fun for Students
Peer Editing
Introducing peer editing among students offers numerous advantages. The student’s editors would develop a sense of responsibility and equally motivate them to learn about the rules of writing. Consequently, this improves their style of writing and establish them as authorities. Furthermore, they learn to identify weaknesses in the writing of their colleagues and develop ideas on how to make it better.
Show Different Samples of Writing
If you present students with just a type of writing, some may find it boring as students have different tastes. Hence presenting them with different kinds of writing such as drama, poem, essay, academic work, article and prose may allow them to find what suits or interest them the most. Some may find writing articles much more interesting; others may find writing poems fun, and so on. Consequently, students will be able to find their voice and style of writing.
Involve Students in the Production of Plays or Dramas.
If your students learn different types of writing, For example, dramas, short stories or plays, then you can add some fun by engaging them to bring this writing to life. You should do this by organising a play in the classroom. Let the students write the storyline as well as create the play. You make it more fun by recording the play on video using a camcorder or a phone.
This way, students would be excited to have made some contribution to writing and creating the play. They will be so thrilled to show their work to relatives and friends. Hence they will develop an interest in writing because they find it exciting and engaging. Also, these projects can help shy students become more active in class.
Encourage healthy Competition among Students
Students find competition an exciting activity to take part in. So take advantage of this and make writing competition more creative to get students attention. You can introduce writing competition for the “best stories”, “best delivery” or even most “improved writer.” Every student would want to win any of these creative categories, so they feel motivated to learn more about writing.
Encourage Students to leave their Comfort Zone
Some students will create their best work if they are made to step out of their comfort zone. Therefore you encourage students to explore other writing options. Also, give them the freedom to experiment with their writing ideas and style. These can make them see writing from another perspective and in turn, helps to polish their skills.
Involve Students in Group Work
Some students learn better when they are involved in group activities. At such, you should put students who are struggling into a small group. When these students take part in a larger project, such as a drama, a series of poems, or a play, they can see that their peers made contributions to the writing of these projects. This can arouse their interest in writing and hence, motivate them to develop their writing skills.
Conclusion
Students must develop enough passion for Learning to write well, because it is considered a lifelong process. When students are not properly motivated to write, they will lose interest in it. So employing ways that make writing fun and lively will arouse the student’s interest to write.