Writing is one of the skills that we use every day, but that concept may be hard to grasp for young children. What better way to demonstrate the many uses of writing in the real world than to immerse kids in colorful and creative writing activities that they’ll love?
Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids is a unique kids’ activity book from Evan-Moor that teaches kids how to use their writing skills in the real world. This at-home workbook is great for fine-tuning skills, getting additional practice, or for that extra encouragement to develop a strong writing foundation.
Download these free sample pages from Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids here.
Why is teaching real-world writing important?
Although writing is one of the most useful skills in the real world, it’s often overlooked. Children sometimes find it difficult to motivate themselves to care about improving their writing abilities, especially if they don’t understand how it can benefit them in the long run. Teaching children how to apply their writing skills to real-life situations is a great way to motivate them to practice important writing strategies they will use later in life.
What’s inside Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids?
Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids is a unique resource because it not only teaches writing and its applications; it also intertwines art, problem solving, critical thinking, and other skills into its writing practice. The fun writing activities in each unit will help kids improve writing skills, spark creativity and problem-solving, and encourage them to express their ideas.
Each unit includes:
- A fun and creative writing challenge
- Inspirational messages
- Possible career or job ideas that use the skill presented in that unit
- Hands-on projects to demonstrate how to apply writing skills
- Easy-to-follow instructions so kids can complete the units independently
Here are some examples of the creative prompts and activities from Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids:
My Journal, My Experience Activity
This activity demonstrates how kids can use their skills to journal! This activity provides background on journaling, including:
Examples of journal entries
The purposes of journaling
Different methods of journaling, like drawing or rhyming words
How to use journaling to be mindful
Children will also get a chance to create their own journal entry with several fun, colorful activities. They’ll check potential journaling topics or drawings off a list, brainstorm some of their hopes and dreams, and practice writing from a different perspective, all before creating their own journal! At the end of the journal unit, children will be challenged to construct their own DIY journal.
Turn My Idea into a Video Game Activity
Tap into children’s interests with a video game themed writing activity. Children will be challenged to build and create a 3D model of their very own video game. The activities include:
Examples of video-game ideas and diagrams
Ideas for where to start brainstorming your own video game
A checklist for what parts of the video game students will write about
Ideas for designing and drawing video game characters and scenery
After learning about the different aspects of video game creation, children will create and write their own video game. Then, using household items, art supplies, and included reproducible pages, kids will create a 3D model of a scene from their very own video game!
This activity presents career ideas such as video game developer and illustrator, both of which use writing in their jobs—just like in the activity!
Pet-Care Directions Activity
Children practice writing out clear directions for someone else to follow with this fun and realistic activity! In this unit, kids will learn about:
Examples of pet-care directions
Scheduling, organization, and routine
Attention to detail
Components of pet-care directions
The different needs of different pets
Children will make a checklist of what some pets might need throughout the day, read about a fictional class pet, write steps to take care of a fictional pet, and then write a full pet-care directions list.
Using a writing planner and the skills they’ve learned, kids will write out pet-care directions for either their own or a family pet. This colorful activity will come in handy next time you go out of town and need to write directions for your pet sitter!
These full-color units, which combine creative writing with art, problem solving, and hands-on activities, will improve your child’s writing skills and confidence. It will also spark creativity and perhaps inspire a new career interest for them!
This creative writing workbook is a great resource to help inspire reluctant writers and demonstrate how writing is used in the world today.
Check out Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids today!
Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.