2+-+Development+of+Writing+and+Spelling

** Development of Writing, Spelling **

Children learn that there is a difference between spoken and written language, i.e. in spoken language there is emphasis placed on certain words which also involves gestures, facial expression and conjunctions. However written language tends to be more formal with more complexity in sentences and meanings generally are made more explicit.

Children learn directionality of writing as left to right, top to bottom. For some children this is hard to grasp along with having to form letters, words and sentences, and thus becomes a little too overwhelming. Many children struggle to space letters and words, and as such some children seem to write stories that look like mumble jumble as they quite often have no spacing. Children learn that ‘negative’ space is something you leave out, and that is why how we show that we have written a new word in the sentence.

**Stages:** //Beginning// Children generally scribble and draw pictures to convey a message and then read out the message. Children usually imitate adults in the way they write i.e. cursive with big swirls and circles, and may be left to write.

//Early-Emergent// Children explore the use of symbols with letters and numbers in their drawings, and these represent words. In the following example the child drew an echidna and wrote E and K. If you look at the letters they almost sound like how a child might pronounce the word i.e. ekbpa. The child has placed the word underneath the picture and from left to right.

//Emergent// Children at this stage begin to use sequences of letters, and usually from their own name. They also start to problem solve spelling such as ppl for people. Directionality is usually understood and the child may put spacing between words and letters.

//Early// Children tend to create spelling and invent new words. They learn to problem solve spelling through syllables and phonetics. They begin to understand the difference between capital letters and lower case. Children develop the concepts of written language, sentence structure and punctuation when the first begin to copy words and sentences. Some children grasp that there are genres like informative and narrative texts.

//Transitional// Children at this stage tend to think that the more they write, then the better they are and as such the quality of sentences diminishes, however, structure does not diminish. By this stage punctuation is well developed and spelling becomes easier for the child as they learn to use a range of strategies to problem solve new words.

//Extending// The writing generally resembles that of an adult with accurate spelling, appropriate use of text types and the ability to use speech to tell a story. Point of view is also understood and how to argue to persuade using evidence.

As which is seen in the caterpillar example in Multiliteracies, children who write about topics that are interesting and relevant to their lives, then more developed their writing communication will be. Children who write about topics that interest them are able to build on vocabulary, i.e. if a child was interested in Egypt they may learn new words like pharaoh or pyramids. This may also help with building on spelling knowledge and problem solving skills. Assessment in early writers tends toward discovering what the child knows about letters, words and sentences; i.e. spacing, directionality and high frequency words. Children are also assessed by their ideas and if they are commented on, for example if a child points to words they have written and drawn to convey a message, then the child is developing ideas between print and meaning.

An example of an assessment sheet for emergent and early writers is in the link below (larger picture):

 

In the process of modelling writing teachers need to show how to select and organise ideas, i.e. chronologically in narrative, draft first and then revise or proofread. Lastly students need to know that the publishing stage for writers means that they are taking a piece of work that is to be shared with others, the perfection is not the key issue here rather that the purpose is to write for an audience. The key element to the development of writing skills is evaluating and giving positive feedback so that children don’t become reluctant writers, comments on punctuation, handwriting and grammar need to show the children how to correct their mistakes through problem solving, e.g. ‘That looks like a really long sentence, are there more than two ideas? Can you make the sentence smaller?” asking the child rather than doing it for the child helps them to understand their mistake.

    **Spelling**

Spelling is an important factor in developing writing. Children need to understand correct spelling allows other children to read their work. To begin with, young children use temporary spelling, and this is the beginning of problem solving. E.g. Once – yuts Elephant – elefat Truck – chruk

Prephonic spelling occurs when children use written letters to represent language and words. For children semi-phonetic spelling occurs when children begin to understand sounds and symbols have a co-existing relationship, they begin to use initial and final sounds to make up words.

Phonetic spelling is a key element in problem solving spelling as it enables children to convert what they know about the sounds of letters into words. Children use phonemes in order to decide what letters to use however sometimes this problem solving tactic becomes overwhelming. In later development, children use visual, common letter patterns, and rote recall to write, which later translates through to independent spelling. Teaching high frequency words is important as it will further aid in problem solving due to the fact that children can think of a word that sounds similar to the one they are trying to spell and work out if there is a similar pattern. High frequency words allow children to be able to write sentences more readily and with fluency without having to stop and sound out the majority of words. Building vocabulary, word families and high frequency words are the key strategies in problem solving. An activity/strategy that aims to install vocabulary into memory is Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check as it builds on visual memory, which helps children determine if words “look” right, and create the transition from early writers to transitional writers.  <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif">

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif"> <span style="COLOR: rgb(92,127,36)">Below is the link to a Look Say Cover Write Check game for students : [|http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/waystolearn/lookcover/game.shtml</span] >