Describes a language program for first-grade students incorporating the following strands: writing, poetry, reading, group cloze activities, the Scott Foresman Reading Scheme, recreational reading, handwriting, phonics, and language games. (MM)

The validity of recent research concerning invented spelling, the developmental stages in children's writing, and whether children will attempt writing before reading and continue writing while learning to read were examined. Five developmental stages in spelling have been identified: (1) the precommunicative stage, involving the use of random…

This article describes the experience of grade one through two students with language disorders as they put together the parts of literacy knowledge necessary for each to discover a writing process that produced readable work. Included are perspectives of how to help students make sense of the literacy code. (Author/SW)