1

A Booklet on Writing

by

Evelyn Egan, M.Ed.

Developmental Stages of Writing/Spelling from Birth up to 3
rd
Grade

Development across the language modes of oral language, reading, and
writing
Source: Cooter, Jr, R. B. & Reutzel, D. R. (2004). Teaching children to read:
Putting the pieces together. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Oral Language Acquisition Reading Development Stages Writing Development Stages
Sounds, cooing, babbling Picture-governed attempts:
Story not formed
Scribbling and drawing
Holophrases and telegraphic
speech
Picture-governed attempts:
Story formed
Prephonemic
Vocabulary growth and
negation language structures
Picture-governed attempts:
Written language like-print
not watched
Early phonemic
Vocabulary growth and
interrogative structures
Print-governed attempts: Print
watched
Letter-naming
Vocabulary growth, analogical
substitutions, and passive
language structures
Print-governed attempts:
Strategies imbalanced
Transitional
Adult-like language structures,
continuing vocabulary growth,
and the ability to articulate all
the sounds of the language
Print-governed attempts:
Independent reading
Conventional
* This figure shows how speaking, reading, and writing are integrated.





2

How is early writing acquired?
Source: Morrow, L. M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years:
Helping children read and write. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

1. Childrens early literacy experiences are embedded in the familiar situations and real-life
experiences of family and community. Many things family members do on a regular basis
involve literacy. They write each other notes, they make to-do lists, they send greeting cards, and
they write directions.

2. Early writing development is characterized by childrens moving from playfully making
marks on paper, to communicating messages on paper, to creating texts. Children are at first
unconcerned about the products of their writing; they lose interest in them almost immediately.
However, once they begin to understand that the marks made can be meaningful and fun to
produce, they are determined to learn how to write.

3. Children learn the uses of written language before they learn the forms. In observing
children scribbling and inventing primitive texts, researchers have noted that children seem to
know what writing is for before they know much about how to write in correct forms.

4. Childrens writing develops through constant invention and reinvention of the forms of
written language. Children invent ways of making letters, words, and texts, moving from
primitive forms to closer approximations of conventional forms.

5. Children learn about writing through explicit instruction from teachers and by observing
others more skilled than themselves. Children need to be guided and taught about writing by
supportive adults, and they need to observe adults participating in writing. People who are more
proficient writers play an important modeling role in childrens writing development.

6. Children need to write independently. When they write independently, they are involved
in practicing aspects of writing letter formation and differentiation, similarities or differences
between drawing and writing, spelling, punctuation, and so forth.

7. Children need to write in social settings. Social interaction is crucial to learning to write.






3

Writing Development Stages:
Sources:
Cooper, J. D., Kiger, N. D., Robinson, M. D., & Slansky, J. A. (2009). Literacy:
helping students construct meaning. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning
Cooter, Jr, R. B. & Reutzel, D. R. (2004). Teaching children to read: Putting
the pieces together. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Morrow, L. M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years: Helping
children read and write. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Writing Development
Stages
Characteristics How to Assess, Scaffold, and Instruction
Techniques
Scribbling and
drawing
- Consists of drawings
and/or pictures
- Circles, curved lines,
letter-like forms,
interconnected loops
- Linear, moving from
left to right
- Recursive writing:
the tendency to reuse
and repeat certain
scribbling and
drawings
In order to nudge young writers into the next
phase, their attention needs to be drawn to the
text in subtle ways. Finger-pointing or drawing
a finger under the words as they are read can
be a subtle clue to a child in the picture-
drawing phase that the meaning is actually
conveyed in the test and supported by pictures
rather than fully conveyed in the pictures.

Young writers need to be exposed to more text.

More emphasis needs to be given to the letters
and words on the page.
Prephonemic Stage Children begin to use
real letters, usually
capital letters, to
represent their
meaning; letters do
not represent their
phonemic or sound
values. Rather, they
use letters as
placeholders for
meaning, representing
anything from a
syllable to an entire
thought.
Young writers who can reason that a longer-
sounding word should be a longer-looking
word are ready to begin alphabetic instruction.

Those who do not grasp this concept may not
be ready and may need more exposure to text
through lap reading or instruction using Big
Books in pre-school or kindergarten settings.
Early Phonemic Stage Children begin to use
letters, usually capital
consonant letters, to
Continue to work on alphabetic instruction.
4

represent words.
Children at this stage
have discovered that
letters represent sound
values. Children write
words represented by
one or two consonant
letters usually the
beginning or ending
sounds of the word.
Letter-Naming Stage It is a small but
important jump from
the early phonemic
stage. This stage is
recognized by the
addition of more than
one or two consonants
with at least one
vowel used by young
writers to represent
the spelling of words.
Continued experiences in reading

Phonemic awareness

Alphabetic principle
Transitional Stage Invented spelling
phase; the words are a
mix of phonetic and
conventional
spellings. Typically,
young writers
overgeneralize certain
spelling
generalizations.
Children in these phase need to receive
increasing levels of phonics instruction as well
as encounter greater amounts of text so that
they may become aware of the conventions of
phonics. Often, instruction in morphology or
etymology can help students learn standard
spelling patterns.
Conventional Stage Students are able to
spell most words
correctly.
Teaching writing becomes a matter of refining
word choice so that the write understands the
difference between blaring and loud, often
referred to as shades of meaning. Students can
be taught to use figurative language, such as
personification, similes, and metaphors
effectively.






5

Formats for Promoting Language and Vocabulary:
Source: Morrow, L. M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years:
Helping children read and write. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

1. Aesthetic talk typically revolves around childrens literature. Children have the
opportunity to interpret what they have read or listened to. Children can participate in aesthetic
talk when discussing literature, telling stories, and participating in Readers Theatre.

2. Efferent talk is used to inform and persuade. Efferent talk occurs in discussion of the
themes being studied. It also occurs in situations such as show-and-tell, oral reports, interviews,
and debates. These types of interchange are more formal than previously discussed and often
require preparation on the part of the child.

3. Dramatic activities provide another avenue for different types of talk. When children
participate in dramatic activities, they share experiences, explore their understanding of ideas,
and interact with peers. Dramatic experiences can include informal role playing in dramatic-play
areas of the classroom. Use of props and puppets to act out stories provides another avenue for
talk.

How to Promote Writing at Home:
Source: Morrow, L. M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years:
Helping children read and write. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

1. Expose emergent writers to writing tools such as paper, markers, crayons, chalk, and the
like.

2. Help emergent writers on how to hold markers or crayons. Guide their hands to paper to
help them understand that paper is the place for writing.

3. Make sure that when emergent writers are making their first attempts on scribbling,
parents do not tell the children what to write. Encourage children to be spontaneous on their
writing and decide for themselves when the marks are intended to represent something. This type
of reaction is a positive, encouraging sign to children.

4. Model writing for children. Interact with them when writing. Remember, social interaction
is crucial to learning to write.

5. Provide experiences with environmental print, including print they see on television, on
food cans and boxes, on signs, in stores, and on the computer. It is also important to have an
interaction with children about their experiences with environmental print.

6

6. Expose emergent writers to rhymes and songs, hand puppets, playing with toys and games,
playing with clay or play dough, finger painting, using chalkboards, and painting on easels.

7. Reading aloud is also helpful because it can motivate children to emulate writing or to
make their own books, no matter how crude the first attempts.

Student-generated examples of the developmental stages of writing:

Scribbling Drawing



Prephonemic Early Phonemic




7


Letter-naming Transitional