For the parent teaching writing
A little help
with writing time.
Your child has ideas. These guides help you teach the sentences and paragraphs that put them on paper, one small piece of homeschool work at a time.
Start here
The Writing Revolution for homeschool: where to start
A practical starting point for homeschool parents: use a familiar reading, model one sentence, and choose writing practice your child is ready for.
Sentence practice
Because, but, so examples for kids, with practice stems
Because, but, so examples built on one short reading: three worked sentences, practice stems your child can finish and what to say when an ending goes wrong.
Paragraph practice
How to teach paragraph writing in your homeschool
Help your child turn a reading into one focused paragraph: an original worked example, a second reading to practise on and a free printable paragraph worksheet.
Sentence practice
Sentence expansion: worksheets and examples for homeschool
Teach sentence expansion from a short original reading: a worked example, two kernels to try with suggested answers and a free printable worksheet.
Sentence practice
Sentence combining worksheets and examples for homeschool
Teach sentence combining from a short original reading: six ways to join sentences, a worked example, three groups to try and a free printable worksheet.
Where to start
Sentence first,
paragraph later.
The five guides work best in order, and every step starts from a reading your child has already talked about. A child who finds the paragraph hard usually needs more time on the step before it, not more paragraphs.
- 1. One sentence, modelled aloud
Write a stem such as “Mina carried her paper inside because...” and think aloud about what the word because is asking for. Finish it from the reading, then let your child try the next one.
- 2. One sentence start, three endings
Send “Sam stayed indoors” three ways: because gives a reason, but gives a contrast, so gives a result. Your child sees that the joining word decides where the sentence goes.
- 3. One kernel, three questions
Start from a bare sentence such as “The bird dived” and ask when, where and why. Each answer comes from the reading as a short note, then all the notes go into one fuller sentence.
- 4. Two short sentences, one joining word
Take “The string snapped. The kite drifted away.” and join them with when, because, but or so, keeping every fact. The joining word your child picks shows how they think the ideas connect.
- 5. One paragraph, one question
Ask one question about the reading, such as why the family changed their walking route. Notes that answer it go in. A true detail that does not answer it stays out.
On our reading list
Good places
to keep learning.
Original teaching sources and thoughtful classroom blogs. The posts explain how we adapt the ideas for a parent working with a child at home.
- The Writing Revolution
The authors' introduction to the book and the approach. Start here for their own explanation and official resources.
- Doug Lemov's field notes
A classroom example of extending because, but, so to help older students explain a quotation.
- Tom Needham on teaching vocabulary
A teacher's account of using because, but, so to practise new words in meaningful sentences.
- AERO's writing guides
A research organisation's practical guidance on paragraph structure, with links to its sentence-writing guides.
Ready for your kitchen table
See what a little
practice looks like.
Open a complete reading and sample worksheets, with worked examples and suggested answers for you.
Look inside the worksheets