Your Child Can Write

Schools and parents are struggling to improve the media literacy of children. We constantly try to get them to improve their writing. Let's face it: those who write better often stand a higher chance of advancing in their future careers. Fortunately, there are places on the web where children can learn to write well, while having fun at the same time.

Why Heather Can Write
Henry Jenkins features teener Heather Lawver who organized The Daily Prophet (DProphet.com), a web-based newspaper for the fictional Hogwarts. It's no surprise that with the popularity of Harry Potter, The Daily Prophet has a publication staff of over 100 children from all over the world.

"Heather is a homeschooler who hasn't set foot in a classroom since first grade.... Teachers sometimes complain that popular culture competes for the attention of their students, a claim that starts from the assumption that what kids learn from media is less valuable than what schools teach."

The other sites mentioned in the Jenkins article are:

• http://www.fictionalley.org
  The largest Harry Potter archive where fanfiction writers can share their creations.
  
• http://www.sugarquill.net
  Its peer-review process and "beta-reading" service helps writers improve.

You know how your children are. They can look so bored when they study Math, Pilipino, or anything that looks like homework. But when they talk about Harry Potter, Yugioh, PS2, or Gameboy...

It's nice to see that there are sites online that successfully marry the opportunity to improve one's writing skills, with your child's main interest.
[ First posted on 02/11/2004 by Manuel Viloria ]