Working on writing narrations

My 12 year old son has been actively doing oral narrations for a couple of years now. ( we were late getting into this! ) I felt we needed to start writing this year and it’s been a bit of a struggle, but through trial and error I’m slowly learning what works for him. Language is is hard for him, unlike his little sisters! 🙂

So I would like feedback on my most recent strategy, if you please. I’ve started writing out the beginning part of his oral narration and then letting him finish it. Specifically, we are working on “writing a complete thought”. He can talk and talk and talk during his oral narrations and then when he tries to write it, there is much “running on” with sentences and it’s VERY confusing to someone trying to read it. To help with this, I’m having him put his pencil down and tell me one sentence at a time before jotting it down. I also emphasize to stop the sentence with a period, then put his pencil down before moving on to speak his next thought to me.

I know this all sounds awkward, but it seems to be the only way I can get him to slow down and think out a complete sentence that makes sense before writing it. What do you ladies think about this? Has anyone done something similar that has helped?