Writing Growth in Young Children: What We Are Learning from Research. The Talking and Writing Series, K-12: Successful Classroom Practices (original) (raw)
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Writing Development In Early Childhood
Educational Horizons, 1985
T his chapter is about the beginnings of writing in early childhood. It describes what writing looked like and how it developed for one group of children between the ages of 2½ and 6 years of age. The portrait of young writers presented in this chapter is built on the foundation provided by emergent-literacy research, but also expanded and reframed using sociocultural perspectives on writing development. Until recently, most of what we know about writing in early childhood was shaped by the emergent-literacy perspective (Teale & Sulzby, 1986b). Prior to the 1960s, researchers working from a readiness perspective assumed that young children began to learn literacy through school instruction, and further assumed that learning to read preceded learning to write (see Teale & Sulzby, 1986a). From this vantage point, there was little reason to take note of children's mark-making activities prior to the start of formal schooling. Early childhood writing became an important focus for researchers and educators only when the beginnings of reading and writing were retheorized from an "emergent literacy" perspective (Teale & Sulzby, 1986b). Emergent-literacy researchers provided evidence that young children began to learn about literacy very early in life through informal interactions with parents, siblings, peers, and teachers. Whereas readiness perspectives focused primarily on reading as the precursor to writing, this new perspective broadened the focus to "literacy" and argued that reading and writing were interrelated and learned concurrently.
State of the Art: Children's Early Writing Development
1984
Noting the close relationship among reading, writing, and oral language documented by research, this paper considers studies of early writing development in the context of emergent literacy rather than in the context of work on writing processes and their development. Following a brief review of early studies of emergent literacy that includes analyses of both written products and literacy contexts, the paper examines in detail some recent studies within a conceptual framework that consists of three views of writing: writing as language, writing growth and development, and writing variation in context. From the significant amount of convergence in the findings of the studies, the paper concludes that what researchers are learning is not only an interesting picture of children's early writing development, but a valid one. (FL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can he made from the original docu...
STATE OF THE ART: CHILDREN'S EARLY WRITING DEVELOPMENT
1984
Noting the close relationship among reading, writing, and oral language documented by research, this paper considers studies of early writing development in the context of emergent literacy rather than in the context of work on writing processes and their development. Following a brief review of early studies of emergent literacy that includes analyses of both written products and literacy contexts, the paper examines in detail some recent studies within a conceptual framework that consists of three views of writing: writing as language, writing growth and development, and writing variation in context. From the significant amount of convergence in the findings of the studies, the paper concludes that what researchers are learning is not only an interesting picture of children's early writing development, but a valid one. (FL) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can he made from the original document. ***********************J*****************************************...
The challenges for young children learning to write are many, as they try to respond to their teachers' expectations, 'school language' and the complex, abstract notion of writing. Scaffolding the learning of young children is challenging for teachers, as they attempt to respond to the diverse needs of students, curriculum requirements and the expectations of employers and the community. Through conversation teachers and students work at understanding the expectations and needs of the other. The research study discussed in this article examined teacher/student conversations that focused on writing in three Australian Kindergarten classrooms in 2007. In some of the conversations analysed, the teachers and children appear to 'connect' and the children move forward with their learning as a result. This was not, however, always the case. The language of school literacy appears to be a particular barrier for some students. The author identifies the need for a 'shared language' if teachers' efforts to scaffold children's early attempts at writing are to be fruitful. Teachers must also know their children well.
1986
Using ethnographic techniques to obServe Seven fifth grade and seven third grade students, a study examined the function of children's oral language during creative wrWng_sessiens in typical classroom situations. Findings indicated_that oral language plays an important role in the writing_process;_specifically, that it (1) accompanies writing as an intrapersonal function, (2) helps vritert think about and revise their text, (3) helps writers make decisions about what to write, (4) is highly related to writing and almost_entirely on-task, (5) provides opportunities tor collaboration to enhance learning opportunities, and (6) helps students talk about and increase their understanding of the writing process. Results suggested that writing in the elementary classroom is a_dynamic and whole language cognitive process in which reading, listening, and speaking contribute to students'_writing. Analyses revealed that oral language provides_students with opportunities to test ideas and sound out the appropriateness of particular words or phrases. The Manual Observation Form-M0E--used'for data collection is described and a particular transcript of an MOF is discussed in detail.. Data are analyzed according to both Kasten and Halliday codes. Reading aloud and subvocalization are addressed as special issues.) (JD)
Developmental Trajectories of Writing Skills in First Grade
The Elementary School Journal, 2015
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Florida Educational Research and Development Council Research Bulletin, 1987
As an extension of a two-year longitudinal study involving various aspects of children's writing, a study examined the function of children's oral language during creative writing sessions in typical classroom settings. Using ethnographic style techniques, researchers conducted 46 writing episode observations of seven fifth graders in the spring of 1985, and 21 observations of six fifth graders and 36 observations of seven third graders in the fall of 1985. Both free writing (journal writing) and structured writing assignments were observed. Data consisted of verbatim copies of the student's written text, and notes of all behaviors and language exchanges occurring during the writing episode. Each incidence of language was examined and judged according to Kasten codes (consideration/pre-writing comments, language during text production, reconsideration of text language, other writing related comments, language unrelated to writing, and undetermined language). In addition, the same utterances were then reviewed according to Halliday codes for language functions (instrumental, regulatory, heuristic, interactional, personal, imaginative, and informative).
This study examined the change in complexity of kindergarteners’ writing after implementing writing instruction based on story elements. Writing samples from six students of three ability levels were collected over a 6-week period. Writing samples included students’ oral language, pictures, and written text and were analyzed using two rubrics specifically created for this study, one for writing development and the other for the inclusion of story elements. Findings from this study suggest that students from all ability levels understood the story elements, included them in varying degrees within their texts, and used them as cues to create more complex representations of their thinking. Additionally, acknowledging oral language and pictures provided a more accurate representation of the student author’s thinking than the written text alone.
Writing in Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2012
Writing is a critical emergent literacy skill that lays the foundation for children's later literacy skills and reading achievement. Recent work indicates that many early childhood programs offer children materials and tools for engaging in writing activities but teachers rarely are seen modeling writing for children or scaffolding children's writing attempts. Early childhood educational settings hoping to support children's literacy development should provide multiple opportunities for children to observe teachers model writing, provide teacher support and scaffolding for children's writing attempts and engage children in meaningful writing in their play. This paper provides twelve research-based guidelines for supporting children's writing development in early childhood classrooms.