{"id":17767,"date":"2025-05-06T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=17767"},"modified":"2025-05-05T09:13:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T16:13:28","slug":"5-ways-you-can-help-kids-develop-their-executive-function-skills-for-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/5-ways-you-can-help-kids-develop-their-executive-function-skills-for-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways you can help kids develop their executive function skills for writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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One parent\u2013teacher conference stands out in my mind more than all the others. It was the beginning of the school year, and my partner and I were sitting in our son\u2019s fourth-grade classroom. The teacher began by saying the students had just taken a writing assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were given twenty minutes to respond to a prompt,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, our son\u2019s very creative. How\u2019d he do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0She took out a blank piece of paper with our son\u2019s name on it. We were confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wrote nothing?!\u201d I said in disbelief.<\/p>\n

This was a kid with a vivid imagination and an advanced vocabulary. He would tell elaborate stories at home. He would write and draw in journals, describing animals with quirky personalities and superpowers. But at school, in response to an open-ended writing prompt, he suddenly had nothing to say. Did he have writer\u2019s block? Maybe he was just having a bad day?<\/p>\n

The teacher didn\u2019t think so. She took a deep breath. So did I. Then I listened. Really listened.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s possible the higher demands of this writing task felt overwhelming to your son. Does he struggle with executive function?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStruggle with what?\u201d my partner and I said blankly.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s how we learned about executive function and why it plays such an important role in writing.<\/p>\n

What is executive function?<\/h2>\n

Some people have described executive function as an air traffic control system in our brain. Each day, our brain takes in new information and encounters new demands. Our executive function keeps everything straight so we can go on living productive lives.<\/p>\n

As adults, we struggle with our own executive function sometimes, probably without even knowing it. If you\u2019ve ever misplaced your keys, felt your mind wandering mid-conversation, or had trouble with multitasking, then you\u2019ve likely experienced problems with executive function.<\/p>\n

Why is executive function so important for writing?<\/h2>\n

When it comes to writing, executive function is what helps us set goals, plan, and organize. It also helps us manage our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during the writing process. This kind of self-management is known as self-regulation, and it\u2019s critical for writing.<\/p>\n

Self-regulation includes things like the attention and motivation needed to start writing (initiation), the self-monitoring and self-evaluation needed to keep writing (stamina), and the positive self-talk and rewards needed to overcome obstacles during writing (persistence).<\/p>\n

For emerging and young writers, difficulties with executive function happen more often than people know or understand. For children with learning differences (such as dyslexia, autism, or ADHD, like my son), who already struggle with executive function, writing becomes that much more difficult. Understanding that executive function difficulties are real\u2014and what you can do to help\u2014can empower kids to see themselves as writers in spite of how hard writing is<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What does the Simple View of Writing say about executive function?<\/h2>\n

The graphic here shows the key components of the Simple View of Writing: transcription, text generation, and executive functions. These three components all happen within the limits of working memory, meaning they constantly compete for our available mental resources. When one component takes up most of our working memory, we have less brain power available for the other two.<\/p>\n

The Simple View of Writing<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"ABeginning writers, as my colleague Heather Cella explained in \u201cWhy transcription is important in your child\u2019s writing and reading journey,\u201d<\/a> dedicate most of their working memory to transcription (handwriting, spelling, and typing) until these skills become more automatic. Once these skills are more automatic, more mental resources become available for executive functions, including the goal setting, planning, organization, and self-regulation needed for more complex writing tasks. When children encounter significant difficulties with executive functions (such as lacking the motivation to practice and the attention needed to start writing, as in the example with my son), it can adversely affect text generation, or their ability to generate ideas and compose text.<\/p>\n

The good news is there are lots of ways to help your child build executive function skills. For inspiration, let\u2019s look to what skilled writers do, including how they reduce demands on their working memory.<\/p>\n

1. Set goals<\/h2>\n

Skilled writers set aside blocks of time for writing, often each day. You can help your child establish a similar routine and gradually build their writing stamina. Building your child\u2019s writing stamina can increase their confidence with writing, and increased confidence provides the motivation needed to set more challenging goals and persist in meeting them.\u00a0<\/p>\n