Composition and Writing

Creativity at work
 What is Writing?
 Writing comes in three modes
 Expressive mode: A free flow of ideas and
emotions from ones self
 Poetic mode: Considered a type of art and
often relates closely to expressive
 Transactional mode: An attempt is made to
persuade or advise others

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 How is writing different from
Composition?
 Children compose before they write
 Children can dictate the stories they create
to others
 Children often compose their stories
from bits and pieces of other stories
they have heard

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
How good writers write
 Good writers prepare
 Brainstorming, outlining, etc.
 Good writers convey their own ideas instead of
copying others
 Good writers convey their thoughts clearly
 “Show, don’t tell”
 Good writers convey actions/events through elaborative
descriptions instead of just “telling” what’s happening
 Good writers use correct grammar and punctuation
 The Components of writing
 Emergent Writing Components
 Recurring principle: writing consists of the same moves
repeated over and over again
 Generative principle: writing created by employing the same
small set of letters combined in different ways
 Sign concept: a graphic display representing text
 Flexibility concept: the idea that letters can be varied to
produce new letters
 Directionality: the arrangement of print on a page
 Negative space: the space between words
 A child’s first name is often the first thing they write.
Writing these first letters is a good start for learning to write
the rest of the alphabet

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 The Components of Writing
 Early writing
 Tracing: writing over letters that have been
already written
 Copying: Using the letters someone else has
written as a prompt to write one’s own letters
 Generating: Creating one’s own letters without
prompting
 Inventory principle: Children tend to make lists of
letters and words they can write

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 The Components of Writing
 More Practiced Writing
 Invented spelling: early spellings children produce
on their own
 Cpidrmn = Spider-man
 Letter-name strategy: using a letter to spell a
sound if the name of the letter closely resembles
the sound
 Prk = Park
 Incorrect use of digraphs: using one letter to spell
a digraph
 Pepr = Pepper

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and Composition.
Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 The Components of Writing
 More Practice Writing Cont’d
 Invented spelling of long vowels: lack
markers to indicate length
 Invented spelling of short vowels: use of
letter-name strategy in place of short
vowel
 Vowel omissions: lack of vowels in syllables
 Transitional spelling: words may look like
English words, but are spelled incorrectly
The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and Composition.
Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
The Stages of Writing
Development
 There are six common stages through which
children go for writing development
 Writing through drawing
 Writing through scribbling
 Writing through letter-like forms
 Writing through familiar units of letter strings
 Writing through estimated spelling
 Writing through conventional spelling
The Stages of Writing
Development
 Writing through drawing
 Children convey their thoughts and ideas
by drawing them (Shedd, 2008)
 They can often describe the story they
drew
 Like a wordless picture book
 The Stages of Writing
Development
 Writing through scribbling
 Squiggly lines appear to represent words
 The lines may even follow the structure of
a letter, list or story
 Grocery lists and squiggles to go with their
illustrations are popular at this stage

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 The Stages of Writing
Development
 Writing through letter-like forms
 Some letters, but mostly letter-like forms
begin to appear
 This may include strings of letters that a
child knows put together

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 The Stages of Writing
Development
 Writing through estimated spelling
 More letters are used and more are
conventionally formed
 They use their knowledge of sounds to
help in their writing
 Words begin to form

The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and

Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 The Stages of Writing
Development
 Writing through conventional spelling
 Through time, practice and exposure to
printed language, children begin to spell
more conventionally
 This typically develops around Kindergarten
through First Grade, but children continue
to hone their spelling skills grade after
grade
The information above is from Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and
Composition. Presentation for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
Issues for Second Language
Learners
 SLL’s may have a completely different
system of writing
 Chinese has symbols that represent words
and sometimes sentences
 Some languages are written from right to
left
Activities and Assessments
 Early on, children can practice writing
letters and words in lined work books

'
                             
http://www.enchantedlearni
ng.com/alphabet/finishsent
encecomic/
Activities and Assessments
 As they progress, they can begin to
write short stories (fiction or non-
fiction)

http://www.enchantedlearnin
g.com/drawandwrite/family.sh
tml
Activities and Assessments
 In later grades, children can practice
the structures of different types of
writing
http://www.enchantedlearni
ng.com/newspaper/writing/r
eporternotes2/

Newspaper article
References
 Shedd, Meagan (2008). Writing and Composition. Presentation
for TE 301, East Lansing, Michigan
 Enchanted learning (2002-2008).
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/essay/writing.shtml