What is detailed description (2)

We made question sheets for all of our foster children. Several children wrote the similar things on their New Year's cards, such as "I'm happy that I got good grades" and "I'm happy that I got XXth place in my class." We changed the questions for those children little by little. We knew that when we distribute the question sheets, children would talk each other and see each other's sheet, wondering "how should I answer the questions?" and "What kind of questions did other friends get?"

It took a lot of time and effort to create one for each child, but we really wanted to take this opportunity to let them learn more about how to write and explain. As I have written a few times, I personally feel that once these children experience something, they can make use of what they have learned next time. Therefore I think it's important to first give them an experience, to first share information with them.

To the children who wrote about their grades,

・ What kind of classes do you have at school?

・ When was the test you got a good score?

・Did you get good grades in any subject?

・Why did you get good grades?

・What kind of effort did you make?

・What does "good grades" mean to you?

And so on, questions become deeper depending on their ages and grades.

Upon answering each question, we made sure with them that they should think about it as sentences instead of just putting "yes" or "no". Since the questions were just for brainstorming, they don't need to include all the answers in the final composition. We asked them to think about the structure of the essay by themselves.

As a result, I think everyone was able to write a pretty good essay. In the previous example of academic record, some students even added their enthusiastic will, such as "I'm good at math and Khmer literature, but I'm not good at chemistry, so I want to spend more time studying chemistry." I am sure supporting foster parents will much enjoy reading these. I would be happy if they could apply the writing style when they have another opportunity to write essays in the future.