ABSTRACT
Teaching children to write can be exceptionally rewarding work. If you have been close at hand while young writers find a voice that is uniquely theirs and begin their early mastery of the written word, then you are fortunate indeed. Writing at its best is a powerful medium: it allows us to recount experiences, real or imagined; to express our thoughts, feelings and ideas; to argue, advocate and persuade. As they learn to do these things, children grow to think how writers think, to feel how writers feel, to experience what writers experience, and to write how writers write. And good writing can change things for the better: we need only to think of the power of a good letter of application or a well-written complaint; either can have an immediate and sometimes dramatic effect on our lives. For those lucky enough to be shown how to do it, there is true delight to be had in that sense of achievement and fulfilment which comes from knowing that one has written something and written it well. To leave children unable to write, more particularly unable to write well, can have a direct and damaging effect on the options that might be open to them in their adult lives.
