Writing in the Early Grades, K–2

What We Know About Writing, Grades K–2
Research on literacy learning during the last several decades has revealed much about how young children learn language, knowledge that, in turn, can support educators in making sound curricular decisions.  Much of this research is characterized by observation of children in the actual processes of writing and reading, giving educators a fuller picture of these language processes and the supportive roles that we, and our students’ families, play in their development.

Early Literacy
From the earliest ages, children are interacting with the world, and that includes the world of print. In the world at large, written language is always “in context” and includes the additional symbol systems of numbers, colors, movement and shape, as well as cultural markers. Young children expect the print in the world to make sense and their earliest efforts to read and write, while not yet conventional, reflect the meaning they bring to their efforts.  Knowing this about young students means that school-based teaching need not begin with a “blank slate.” Rather, supportive teaching begins as educators tap into the diverse and rich experiences all language users have been building over their first five or six years of life.

Another major finding documents how children learn written language. An earlier conception of linear, discrete stages of learning prior to the beginning of conventional literacy is flawed. Rather, children are actively building a “repertoire of understanding” rich in print and cultural knowledge. This repertoire supports their writing development from early “scribbles,” strings of letters, and drawings that place-hold meaning, through invented spelling based on a blossoming knowledge of phonics, to more conventional written language. Their ideas and intentions take multiple forms, including notes, lists, letters, journal writing, stories, and surveys.  Writing within the social setting school provides further supports their efforts as children talk, dramatize and draw their way into written language.

Factors in Writing Development
The development of children’s writing from early forms to conventional forms is best achieved through substantial time devoted to writing, multiple opportunities to write across the school day and focused instruction that builds from the writers’ efforts.  Writing development is also inextricably tied to reading development; writers grow in their ability to craft a particular genre, say poetry, through being immersed in opportunities to read, write, and to look closely at the poetry of others.  Over time, and with these kinds of experiences, writing develops a voice and quality that can earn the writer membership in a particular discourse community, or as one language educator has noted, “If you want a student to sound like a lawyer, have her hang out with lawyers.” Likewise, taking on the challenges of a new topic or type of writing entails learning new or different vocabulary, syntactical patterns, patterns of errors, and organizing structures. An accomplished writer of one form may seem to regress in his or her abilities when taking on a new form.

Some educators argue that “writing to think” is an under-utilized role of writing. Writers very rarely transfer their thoughts directly from their minds to the paper.  Rather, in the very act of writing, writers can form and develop ideas, make a different sense of their experiences, change their ideas, and find suitable ways to present their new understanding. Finding ways for learners to write informally and throughout their learning experiences, writing that is not formally developed or graded, can help learners understand and value the important role writing can play in support of learning.

Assessment
The best assessment of a writer’s use of and control over the strategic processes of writing is the quality of the writing produced. Unfortunately, the most reliable measures of student writing—based on multiple-choice measures—also measure the most partial of skills. Developing a common standard among evaluative readers is extensive work, with limited replicability. Although there has been a general move to test writing through writing tests initiated by prompts, few tests also offer writers choice of topic or opportunities to return to their initial drafts, factors that influence the quality of the writing. Yet even with these limitations, the findings of the NAEP 1998 Writing Report Card were clear: students experienced with writing more than one draft of a paper, and students whose writing was saved in folders or portfolios, achieved higher average scores than their peers who did not write multiple drafts or save their writing. An increasing number of the teachers of these students acknowledged involving students in the “writing process,” or the strategic processes of drafting, prewriting, revising, and editing.

Writing as Cultural Practice
Finally, more recent research into writing and language use clearly shows that students’ knowledge reflects the communities in which they participate.  The differences in children’s ways of using language are directly related to the differentiation of their place in the social world. They are both positioned by their use of language, as well as able to use language in response. For all language users, the mastering of multiple social discourses allows for increased power and access to opportunity—one of the major intents of literacy education.

Writing Concepts

1. Young children possess knowledge about written language and a variety of forms of writing—stories, lists, signs—from an early age; quality instruction in the primary grades reflects children’s experience and knowledge.
2. All families engage with literacy and literacy-related experiences. Creating ways to bridge family and school writing experiences insures greater participation and success with school tasks.
3. Writing develops in non-linear ways and takes multiple forms as it becomes more conventional.  The sophistication of children’s ideas and their understanding of language are not always reflected in their early written forms.
4. The “language arts” develop in concert. Drawing supports writing, writing supports reading; opportunity to use multiple expressions of language increases language learning and ability.
5. Writing is a social activity; writing instruction should be embedded in social contexts.
6. Language learning proceeds best when children use language for meaningful purposes.
7. Experience with a particular kind of writing is the best indicator of performance; extensive reading and writing within a particular genre or domain increases successful performance.
8. Writing is effectively used as a tool for thinking and learning throughout the curriculum.
9. Students’ writing and language use reflects the communities in which they participate.  The differences in children’s ways of using language are directly related to the differentiation of their place in the social world.
10. Control of a written and spoken discourse supports personal/political power. Language is a form of cultural capital; some forms of language are considered to have more power in society than other forms.
11. The intent of education is to increase and broaden our use of multiple social discourses, as well as to understand the implications of their use. Language is used and can be used to maintain or challenge existing forms of power.

Writing Initiative Brochure—What We Know About Writing, Early Literacy    (PDF)

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT WRITING/concepts illustrated

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1.  Young children possess knowledge about written language and a variety of forms of writing—stories, lists, signs—from an early age; quality instruction in the primary grades reflects children’s experience and knowledge.

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Language educator Barbara Comber examines three children's early experiences of school literacy lessons to consider what makes a difference in their relative success and failure during the first months of school. She argues that how, whether, and to what extent children take up what teachers make available to them is inextricably connected with the repertoires of practices and knowledges the children already possess.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/articles/108002.htm

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This lesson helps young readers become more aware of their reading abilities through the use of environmental print. The lesson involves (1) bringing environmental print from the students’ surrounding community into the classroom through artifacts and photographs; (2) making a visual display and class books that can be accessed and used by the students; and (3) giving the students plenty of opportunities to use their reading skills and view themselves as competent readers and users of print.

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=27

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2.  All families engage with literacy or literacy-related experiences. Creating ways to bridge family and school writing experiences insures greater participation and success with school tasks.

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This Language Arts article describes a research study in which three primary-grade teachers and two researcher colleagues visited, interviewed, and planned with the families of their students over three years in order to better support children's literacy development by creating instruction that built on what the students already knew. The educators discuss what they learned about families as resources, and about reciprocal relationships.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/articles/108113.htm

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Family Message Journals can be tools for learning, thinking, and self-expression. When writing messages about school activities children think about, and articulate what they have learned, connect new information to known information, and express thoughts and feelings about their learning. By writing messages with varied purposes, students begin to experience that journal writing can serve many purposes and is a powerful tool for thinking and communicating ideas.

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=82

Some students come to school needing additional support and Njima is one such second grader. Through attendance at an after school literacy program and the involvement of her mother, she gained confidence and a repertoire of learning strategies that she could develop in everyday experiences at home—strategies that any teacher might adapt. Focusing on her strengths over one short month initiated a cycle of success that is evident in the highlighted writing samples.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/tp/articles/108734.htm

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3.  Writing develops in non-linear ways and takes multiple forms before becoming conventional. The sophistication of children’s ideas and their understanding of language are not always reflected in their written forms.

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Researcher Elizabeth Sulzby describes the results of 15 years of study of young writers, illustrating the move from descriptions of children’s proficiencies to collaborations among educators aimed at increasing writing opportunities for children.

http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Programs/Writing_Initiative/LA9269Transitions.pdf    (PDF)

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Invites primary students to share their letter/sound knowledge in a small group and gives teachers an opportunity to assess knowledge in a meaningful context. Working with name cards, students share observations about their names and the names of their classmates. Extensions are appropriate for a range of primary-aged students.

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=3

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4.  The “language arts” develop in concert. Drawing supports writing, writing supports reading; opportunity to use multiple expressions of language increases language ability.

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Teacher Kay Cowan shares the work of three kindergarten students to illustrate the integral relationship between the creation of visual art and the development of written and oral language, clearly showing how children use art as a tool for composition.  She reflects on stages of literacy development and the arts and the acquisition of skills and the arts.

http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Programs/Writing_Initiative/PV0094Arts.pdf    (PDF)

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Drawing is an important part of the literacy process. Children read pictures to understand, make pictures to tell what they mean, and write the pictures into words. Continuing to use drawing past those early years not only helps students to make personal connections with their writing, but also results in more natural writing and a greater range of writing genre. It helps prompt ideas for writing and teaches the skills of observation.

http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Programs/Writing_Initiative/PV0102Drawing.pdf    (PDF)

Drawing can create a bridge between paper and a child’s ideas. In this lesson, students use factual information gathered from the Internet as the basis for creating a nonfiction story. Story elements are then used as a structure for organizing students' ideas.

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=111

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5.  Writing is a social activity; writing instruction should be embedded in social contexts.

Through face-to-face interactions, children come to understand that writing serves many functions, that relationships exist between speaking and writing, and that writing is aimed at, and therefore must be sensitive to, an audience.

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A group of colleagues explore the functional and aesthetic use of print as a means to consider how best to support the literacy learning of young students. The group's growing understanding of literacy as a social practice and reading and writing as cognitive processes precludes the prescriptive use of literacy curriculum materials.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/st/contents/106705.htm

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6.  Language learning proceeds best when children use language for meaningful purposes.

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Researchers Fu and Townsend compare the learning and writing experiences of a child during his kindergarten year (with frequent immersion in reading and writing activities in their writing workshop) to his first-grade year (with worksheets and decontextualized exercises), critically examining so-called "serious" literacy learning that lacks a real audience and purpose for students.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/articles/108092.htm

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7.  Experience with a particular kind of writing is the best indicator of performance; extensive reading and writing within a particular genre or domain increases performance.

Performance on most of the components of writing achievement varies with topic and type of writing: vocabulary, syntactical patterns, fluency, patterns of errors, organizing structures and even writing processes will all vary from one topic or type of writing to another. These variations mean that control of a particular kind of writing is best supported by ample experience with its use.

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Isoke Nia describes a year-long study of writing genre. She addresses: getting started by mapping out the units for the year, the function of mini-lessons, drafting, embellishment and voice. She notes that even reluctant writers became involved in writing and that she followed her own advice and began writing a memoir about her grandmother. A rubric for evaluating memoirs is included.

http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Programs/Writing_Initiative/PV0081Units.PDF    (PDF)

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Three teachers across the elementary grades have found strategies to incorporate writing throughout the curriculum and to value its use as a meaning-making tool. Each shares writing engagements you can use tomorrow.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/st/contents/106696.htm

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9.  Students’ writing reflects the communities in which they participate. The differences in children’s ways of using language are directly related to the differentiation of their place in the social world.

The effective participant in a community will be the person who can use writing to add his or her own contribution to the conversation, who can write with authority in ways that others will find interesting and convincing.

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Wera, a recent immigrant from Poland, uses memoir as a tool to reflect on her life while shaping her identity between home and school.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/articles/108188.htm

A group of linguistically diverse teachers come to identify themselves as writers by drawing neighborhood maps and writing personal narratives about childhood memories.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/articles/108189.htm

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10.  Effective teachers are responsive to each learner’s efforts and are able to craft relevant instructional experiences in response. Effective assessment plays a parallel role.

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In “Testing the way children learn: Principles for valid literacy assessment,” researcher Beverly Falk outlines principles for assessments that are supportive of teaching and learning, and discusses qualities that such assessments must have in order to be useful for reporting information to the public. She introduces a language-arts assessment—the Elementary Literacy Profile—designed to embody these principles and qualities and to be instructionally supportive, as well as useful for accountability.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/la/articles/107952.htm

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Planned responses to the writers in your classroom can prove to be invaluable and enable students to stretch their ability as writers. In “Conferring in the writing workshop,” four experienced teachers of writing—Ralph Fletcher, Carl Anderson, Joanne Hindley Salch and Marianne Marino—in addition to Yvonne, offer their best advice.

http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/st/contents/106699.htm

by Kathy Egawa, Associate Executive Director