Welcome
This site is designed specifically for you to give clarity on writing development and the writing process.
Developmental Stages of Writing:
Pre-literate
This is also known as the scribble/symbol stage. In this stage, most students will start out drawing or scribbling anywhere on a sheet of paper. At first, the writing will appear as scribbles and random strokes but eventually, it evolves into the student scribbling or drawing from a linear left in the right direction. There may not be any spaces but the student is trying to communicate something through their work. By the time they reach the end of this stage, they may be drawing or writing what to them appears to be letters or an expression of an idea.
Emergent
This stage starts with stringing letters together, typically letters from a student's name and in all capital letters. They then advance to grouping these letters together while adding spaces. This is done in an attempt to closely mimic words and sentences. From there the student will match sounds to the first letter of a word to draw a picture to represent it. This is a huge step as they have identified the B (beginning) in BME (beginning, middle, and end). As students start to be more aware of letters and words all around them they then progress to copying letters and words from familiar items in their everyday environment, oftentimes with reversals and some spelling mistakes.
Transitional
Now the student is at the stage where they can make letters and sound representations. They may use the first letter of each word to represent a sentence (e.g. I A T can mean "I am tired"). They may write certain letters backward, can even write the same letter forward and backward in the same word, but are now using the B and E of BME. They may use pictures as an additive to their letters to convey a word. Finally, they attempt to put all of the BME together by using medial vowels. Spacing between words is more frequent, but they may only use one letter to represent a syllable. Overall, the writing is more legible and understandable.
Fluent
The student combines all the skills from the previous stages and attempts to convey their message through phrases that are typically accompanied by supporting illustrations. From there the student begins to construct readable and understandable sentences, or in some cases multiple sentences. There may be some punctuation but common words are typically correctly spelled and there is detailed BME utilized. In this stage also are six traits of writing. They are:
- Voice
- Word Choice
- Conventions
- Sentence Fluency
- Organization
- Ideas
How on Earth am I supposed to do all this?
You have plenty of resources around you to help. In fact, you have an invaluable one in-house.
Reading/Literacy Specialist:
We have a wonderful Reading Specialist here at JCE. His name is Dr. Dirk Diggler. Dr. Digler has been a Reading Specialist since 1999. He has won various local, state, and national awards and we are very lucky to have him. He specializes in the developmental stages of writing. Please reach out to him and set up an appointment. He can do things such as class observation and lesson planning, co-teaching, small group instruction, and pull-outs if needed. He is very much involved with the students and teachers to ensure we are providing the best education we can.
Other Resources to use:
Here at JCE, we have a shared drive of teacher resources and lessons they have used in the past. All teachers are encouraged to meet as an ELA team to discuss best practices at least twice per month.
Some ideas to teach the first two stages of developmental writing:
- At first, only use thick crayons or markers, as well as unlined paper.
- Use sight words and flashcards. Have students identify the picture first and gradually bring them to the point where they write the answer
- Utilize the parents. A great way to do this is by having a student practice writing their name.
- One teacher last year had her students all sign a card for the principal. She had worked it out in advance. The principal would show up the next day with trees and would comment on the students writing. Of course, treats are not permitted in these COVID-19 times but an alternative may work.
- Have students draw a picture of their family and label each person. This will tell you if they are writing linearly from left to right.
- Practice, practice, practice!!!
- Eventually, the students will get to the point where they will put spaces between words. This is a very big moment because it signifies the student has identified specific words as part of a sentence.
References
https://www.whps.org/uploaded/Offices/Curriculum_Instruction_and_Assessment/Families_-_Academics/Stages_of_Writing_Development.pdf
“Developmental Stages of Writing,” located on the West Hartford Public Schools website.
“Teaching Writing: Literacy Coordinators’ Views,” by Lacina and Griffith, from New England Reading Association Journal (2017).
Looking at Writing from https://www.readingrockets.org/looking-at-writing