Parent Tips: Lesson 2.4

Jul 1

This is the big moment! Even if your child is used to writing paragraphs or essays at school, it is unlikely they’ve ever been asked to build an argument around a complex thought process. So, Practice 2.4.1 as well as 2.4.4, which asks your child to write in essay format, are Big Brain Leaps.

If your child doesn’t know where to start, please remind them that they should use the numbers they’ve put on the bubbles in their argument diagram to guide their writing. Some kids think that it’s cheating to write what they have in their bubbles. It’s not! The actual writing of the argument will now mostly be copying all the hard-won thoughts they put into their diagrams into text form, with some adjustments and additional connections. Please assure them that this is OK and strongly recommended. You can also point out to them that the writing experience likely feels much easier than all the pre-writing work, even when they move to writing in essay format in Practice 2.4.4. Helping them notice this phenomenon will reinforce the value and importance of this pre-writing thought work.

Note that it’s OK to feed your child prompts to help them write. But for now, please focus on helping them connect high-quality thoughts and less on whether they’re catching every comma. We promise that the focus on mechanics will return soon. Lesson 2.4 is a very big brain leap, and you’ll be helping your child solidify their understanding of writing as mainly a process of expressing thought; aka, we’re teaching them the hard way for now, because the mechanical parts of writing are much easier to learn than the thinking. Deep breaths. This is a huge moment for your child. Give them a high five!