Childrens Literature and Literacy

Early childhood writing can span the gamete of scribbles and inventive spelling. When we define writing we mean more than the penmanship or learning pen holding tools to build dexterity as a writer. Writing is the act of encoding meaning into texts that others can read.

We know that writing in the early classroom does predict later success. Especially around name writing (Hammill 2004; NELP 2008). Overall students who exhibit emergent writing skills as measured by name writing score better on measures of decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension in first grade (Shatil et al. 2000)

Emergent writing also supports the alphabetic principle. As students formulate scribbles and letters they are mapping sounds to graphemes.

We also know students move scribble to script in a developmental way as with other early literacy skills. They begin with tiny marks on a page, move to scribbling, separate proto-letters, inventive spelling, and then name spelling and first letter writing.

Early Child hood writing goals for 4 and five year olds:

L.48.23 Draw or “write” to convey an idea, event or story. “Writing” involves scribbles, letters and/or letter-like shapes (e.g., make pretend list or use their words to dictate a message to communicate with others)

L.60.25 Draw original stories with a beginning, middle and end

L.48.24 Write in a manner that is distinct from drawing. Combine scribbles with letter-like forms

L.60.26 Use early developmental spelling. May use one letter for the initial or final sound to represent whole word

The Common Core has a writing strand for Grade K-2.

Have daily time for writing. Begin the preschool day having students sign in and writer their names. This also becomes a a powerful growth artifact. Yet also have time to write stories and play at being a writer. This includes drawing a picture and dictating a sentence or having a writing station in your center.

Up to 2nd grade a minimum of fifteen minutes a day should get spent turning ideas into print.

Do not correct inventive spelling. If you are writing to convey meaning into print you do not have to fix misspelled words. Focus on converting the ideas. Though the mistakes students make can often provide better understanding of their phonics level than reading alone.

Model writing. the students need to develop a love the word. They need to see you their teacher as a writer. They also need to see ideas getting converted into print as a model.

Scaffold writing in your classroom. You can utilize Writers workshop in the early grade classrooms. Remember that playing at writing is learning to write. Assign jobs such as sentence starter or make students a “news reporter.”

Engage in group writing activities. Collaborative writing activities increase chances for dialogical strategy exchange.

Surround your classroom with environmental print. Label everything.

Utilize Writers Workshop.

Encourage school and home writing connection. Provide a series of writing prompts and ask parents to do 2-3 a week with students. You can give out a monthly writing activity calendar and people pick 3 of the five ideas each week.

Remind parents to focus on the storytelling and that we are not teaching spelling. Encourage them to write with their students.