Teaching writing at home
Daily writing time, a simple process, and how to give feedback without red ink everywhere.
The What Works Clearinghouse practice guide on elementary writing recommends daily time to write, teaching the writing process for different purposes, and building fluency in handwriting, spelling, sentence construction and typing. At home that can be ten minutes a day: a journal line, a letter, a list or a story, with you reading it and saying one thing you liked.
Checked October 29, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law and its education department before you act.
A way to start
- Write for ten minutes every day, about anything.
- Plan, draft, fix, share: teach the four steps once and reuse them.
- Praise one thing, then ask the child to fix one thing.
- Keep a few dated samples; they are your records too.
The free path
- Writing prompts for kids
- Peabody's story library as models
- Copywork sheets
- Dictation sheets
- Keep a portfolio of work
Curriculum, if you want one
Language arts programs compared. They are listed side by side with no ranking, and each one carries a one-word faith-based or secular label.
You don't have to be good at this to teach it
You do not have to be a good writer to teach writing. Reading a child's work aloud, saying what you understood and where you got lost, is the whole skill.
Check your state
Some states list the subjects a homeschool must cover. See the law page for your state.