One of my goals this year for my 8 yos is writing solid paragraphs and short stories.  We have found the 4-square method to be extremely helpful as an organizer.  Thankfully my son doesn't really mind writing so it isn't much of a struggle to work on this daily.  I feel the same about writing as I do reading, the more you do it the better you get at it.  I found one of those marble composition notebooks with pages that are half blank and half lined.  He doesn't enjoy drawing pictures much, but at least the option is there for him. 

This is also the first year that I have required him to answer history and science questions in complete sentences.  For now, I have asked him to use as many of the words from the question in his answer as possible.  We have discussed fragments vs. sentences.  Also, I have found that focusing on spelling in the answers of these questions is much more effective than a list for a test.  For my son, this is much more meaningful and sticks with him better because of the purpose.