Written expression is the ability to communicate ideas in written form.

To write well, children need a variety of skills that develop across grades and ages. This video shares more about written expression milestones through a series of stages aligned with grade bands. If you’d like to learn more about the milestones for all the essential literacy skills, visit our online module here.

What does it look like when a child is struggling with written expression?

What it looks like to me

  • My friends write exciting and long sentences and mine are short and boring.
  • My teacher told me I need to revise my paragraph, but it makes sense to me.
  • I have some ideas on what to write, but I don’t know how to turn my ideas into writing.

What it looks like at home

  • My child’s writing seems disorganized, and I can’t understand her ideas.
  • When I ask him to write using complete sentences, he doesn’t know what to include.
  • My child’s writing seems too simple for her age.

What I see in the classroom

How can we support written expression?

What are some fun and easy activities I can do at home to support written expression?

These are just some examples of activities that you can do at home with your child to written expression depending on the stage of your child’s reading. To find more easy activities to do at home that support all the essential literacy skills, visit our online module here.

  • Writing Expectations: This chart shows the stages of emergent writing development. In preschool, it is common for children to create “letter like forms” and “letter strings”.
  • Pencil Grip: Holding a pencil incorrectly can take a lot of energy. This video shows how to support your child in holding their pencil correctly.
  • Model Letter Formation: Write letters in highlighter or marker and have your child trace them.
  • Multisensory Writing: Have your child form letters and words using shaving cream, in the sandbox on the playground, or with chalk. Using different textures supports your child in remembering the formation of letters.
  • Build Pre-Writing Stamina: Playing with play-doh or clay builds the small but important muscles in your child’s hands and wrists, which will help them be able to write more without getting tired. Check out these other ways to build hand muscle strength.
  • Daily Writing: Encourage your child to write throughout the day. Examples include writing grocery lists, letters to friends, or short stories. You can also give your child a story starter and have them finish the story.
  • Spelling: As your child writes, encourage them to spell the sounds they hear in the word(s). Stretch out the words to help your child hear and record as many sounds as they can. For example, your child may spell alligator as ‘aligatr’.
  • Sentence Expansion: When your child is writing simple sentences like “They are fast”, ask them questions such as who, when, where, why, and how, to help expand their sentence.
  • Convince Me: When your child wants something (more TV time, a special dinner etc.) have them write you a letter to persuade you.
  • Write an Outline: Creating an outline helps writers organize their ideas before writing.