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**Writing **
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 As children start to write, they quickly find out that there is more to it than there seems. Firstly, written language is quite different to spoken language, in that ‘the context is usually included and the meanings have to be made explicit’ (Hill, 2006, p.280). Next there’s the fact that writing requires symbols to be written down, with the use of either a pencil or a pen. Letters, words, sentences and paragraphs must be written legibly for others to be able to read, and, within the text, meanings have to be conveyed. And that’s just the basics. ======

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 The developmental stages in writing follow the same pattern as in reading. At one end of the scale, children imitate adults by ‘making pretend marks on a piece of paper’, and play with drawing to represent their ideas. At the other end of the scale, children’s writing ‘resembles that of an adult’ (Hill, 2006, p.286). ======

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 Reading influences children’s writing, and likewise writing helps children to read. This shows that both are of equally great importance in the teaching of literacy, and that working on one will assist in the teaching of the other. ======

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As Susan Hill notes, ‘children’s writing provides a window into their thinking and problem-solving’ (2006, p.288), and this is one very good reason for assessing children’s writing! When assessing students in the very early stages of development, teachers look for the following elements: written language; ideas; and text conventions. As the levels of difficulty increase in student’s writing, the assessment criteria becomes more complex, incorporating organisation, language and mechanics into it. When the children are moving through these later stages of writing development, they gather an understanding of the writing process. This process includes selecting ideas, organising the ideas, drafting, revision and proof-reading, publishing, response and evaluation. Through all this, the children develop an awareness of punctuation, grammar and handwriting. ======