Children should keep a diary

For most of young children at schools nowadays, writing is an activity that they find intimidating, tedious or just plain difficult. In light of this, as a teacher, I will always remember an old saying, practice makes perfect. Developing strong written communication skills is a vital component and it is a long process.

A diary represents a private space in life. A diary is also a tool for self-discovery, an aid to concentration, a mirror for the soul, and a place to generate and capture ideas.

The first and obvious benefit of writing a diary is that it engages our brains. To write, we have to think. By keeping records, one is able to monitor the practice. Writing encourages students to explore their mind.

Second, it improves spelling and grammar. The more a child writes, the more likely it is that he or she will seek the correct way to form letters and spell words.  Additionally, regular writing helps children practice structuring sentences and learns a variety of sentence patterns.

Thirdly, by writing diary, it helps with reading. As we all know, reading and writing go hand in hand.  The mechanical process of spelling out a word, letter by letter, reinforces that word’s construction and helps a student understand what he or she is writing and how to sound it out.

These are only some benefits that I can figure out at this moment.

Although I do not teach English at school now, I do require my students to write diary, in Chinese language. At the beginning of this year, I want them to write three sentences. There are a few students who are lazy to complete this work. And only few of them can write complete sentences. But until now, I found some improvement from these Year 2 students. They make fewer mistakes on writing words and the use of punctuations. And I found out that encourage is the most powerful tool.

I am so happy to see improvement from students. I will continue my effort to lead them to better writing skill.