Teaching Writing Skills to High School
Students

From LoveToKnow Freelance-Writing

Teaching writing skills to high school students can be a good way for freelance writers to earn extra cash between assignments.

Earn money while sharing your passion.

Teaching Writing Skills to High School Students: A New Career Opportunity

For the freelancer with a passion for the written word and a need for supplemental income, teaching writing skills to high school students can be a great choice. According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, only about 35% of high school seniors have the skills necessary to write sufficiently. Clearly, this means there are plenty of opportunities available for freelancers who enjoy working with young people.

Some of the ways freelancer writers can enter the teaching profession include:

Overseeing the production of the high school newspaper or yearbook
Providing individualized tutoring for students who need to improve their writing skills
Assisting students in polishing essays for college applications and scholarships
Working as a substitute teacher for the local school district

Although a graduate degree is often required to begin teaching college students, this is not generally necessary for working at the high school level. A bachelor's degree, writing aptitude, and plenty of enthusiasm will help you get your foot in the door. If you're interested in substitute teaching, however, you will need to meet your state's requirements before seeking employment. Some states require a teaching certificate, while others only ask that you be a college graduate and pass the necessary criminal background checks.

Essential Writing Skills for High School Students

The essential writing skills for high school students are the same skills you use on a daily basis in your career as a freelance writer. The trick to teaching is breaking these concepts down to an age-appropriate level and showing how working to improve writing skills can benefit teens in their daily lives.

Research

If you're teaching non-fiction writing to high school students, keep in mind that while teens are proficient at using Google and other online research tools, they often have trouble with library research. Additionally, some students struggle to determine if a Web site is written by an authoritative source and will need to be reminded that the accuracy of content on the Internet should always be verified.

Writing

As a successful freelance writer, you know that facing an empty piece of paper or a blank computer screen can create a feeling of panic. High school students who dislike writing often don't realize that they shouldn't be counting words or correcting mistakes on the first draft of a project. Encourage your pupils to write freely and worry about revisions at a later time.

Revision

Teens are impatient by nature and eager to complete an assignment. Once they've written a rough draft, they find it difficult to change the structure of the piece to make an improvement. Teachers who work with high school students often find it's a challenge to help teens understand that revision is not the same as simply spellchecking a research paper before you turn it in.

When teaching revision, bring in samples of your own writing or share anecdotes of how your favorite novelist revises his/her work. For example, Stephen King has often said the best approach to revision is, "Kill your darlings."

Editing

Editing encompasses grammar, punctuation, and spelling. While these skills aren't exactly fun for most high school students, they are an essential part of learning how to be an effective communicator. The Chortling Bard: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for High School by Jane Bell Kiester may be a useful tool for sparking your student's interest in this area of the writing process.