It can be hard for tweens to handle a big project because they have to figure out how to manage their time and research and write, as well as pick a topic that they have never done before. It’s important for your child to learn these skills, but you can cheer her on and give her advice while still letting her work on her own. As a parent, you can help your child if she gets stuck on one of the steps.
Take charge of time
When you cross something off your list, it can feel great. Your child feels the same way. But that doesn’t mean that writing the paper right away is a good idea. Before she starts, make sure she thinks about her topic choice very carefully. Have her stay for a day, or even a few days if it’s a long project. She can also make a list of all the tasks that need to be done for the project as a whole, so she doesn’t get behind.
Choosing a Subject
You can talk about possible topics with him when you do things like make lunch, drive him home from after-school activities, or fold laundry. In order for him to learn about, think about, and write about the topic, you should help him choose one that he likes.
No, he doesn’t like it very much. He might like to talk about World War II watercraft. This is what you say: Is he interested in other cultures? He might be able to compare foods from two countries that are very different from each other.
It’s hard for any writer, young or old, to face a blank page, no matter how good they are. A good idea for you to do to help your child come up with new ideas:
Brainstorm without having to edit. Write down every idea your child comes up with. Do not cross out any of them. He even knows how to set a timer. He can do it all! Have him look over the list to see if there are any hidden gems.
Flip through your class notes or textbooks to see what you need to study for the next class. Let your child look for things that make him want to learn more. This is a chance to look into it more.
People should go to the library. It’s a good idea for kids to go to their school library or even a favorite book store and look through the books. Books can help your child come up with good ideas. Do the same for him. Let him look through newspapers and magazines as well. Having a wide range of ideas makes it more likely that a good one will come up.
Talk to his family and friends. Suggest that he talk to his grandparents about the history they lived through. The people in your child’s life could be a good source of information, too.
After your child picks a topic, talk about it together to make sure it’s Goldilocks-like: make sure the topic is neither too specific nor too broad. Your child might look at the assignment now. If the assignment is to write about a person or an event, that’s a broad subject. Rather than “JFK,” you should talk to your child about “JFK’s civil rights record” or “JFK’s death.”
You should tell your child that what he doesn’t write about is just as important as what he does write about. Help him figure out which parts of the assignment should be covered and which parts of the paper should not be written about.
Evaluate the resources
When your child comes up with a creative idea for a project, it’s time for a little reality check. Yes, it might be a good subject, but are there enough resources to help you study it? There are many resources at the library now, and librarians can help her find them. Books and back issues of periodicals are just two of them. Remind her to look at more than the first site that comes up if she gets her information from the web.
She should use both secondary sources, which show another person’s point of view, and primary sources, which are original records from the time being studied, like letters people wrote, old maps, and audio recordings from the time. Your child can find these things in a museum, on the Internet, in a great aunt’s attic, or by talking to family members about what they know about these things. When you use a mix of sources for research, it makes it more powerful and allows your child to come up with her own opinion while also benefiting from the knowledge of experts.
Take a look at, and then double-check, the Assignment
Do this at every step: brainstorming, research, and writing. Make sure your child reads his or her assignment at all times. In fact, he might even want to run his idea by the teacher, who might be able to give him advice on how to improve it. You can ask your child to do the assignment with you as well if you want to.
