A study examined topic selection and spelling development in kindergarten students' journal writing. Subjects, 19 kindergarten students enrolled in a middle-class school, were informally interviewed about their writing. The students' writing topics were categorized and their spelling analyzed. Results indicated that the children were able to…

Opportunities for and limits upon diary writing in one second/third-grade classroom are examined with the purpose of stimulating critical thinking about two issues: (1) the diary's potential within the school writing curriculum, and (2) the classroom as an environment for the teaching and learning of writing. Field notes, teacher journal entries,…

Using data from 14 weeks of participant observation, this study examines three kindergartners' behaviors during common beginning literacy activities (i.e., copying and free composition). Results focus on the children's understanding of how written symbols and orally read messages are related and have implications for the use of teaching…

Analyzes the creative writing of 94 second-grade children in a suburban elementary school, comparing boys' and girls' creative writings when the composition was elicited from realistic fiction, fantasy, and fantasy in conjunction with stuffed animals and wind-up toys. Also examines the combined creativity of boys' and girls' compositions and the…

The Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) First-Grade Composition Skills Exercises are designed to aid in the development of composition skills of first-grade children. The program consists of 64 two- or four-page exercises which were designed to correspond with the developing writing abilities of first-grade pupils. The tryout of the program…

Four grade-two boys received invented spelling guidance with creative writing periods and direct instruction with guided practice on spelling. Although direct instruction resulted in more targeted words spelled correctly, invented spelling resulted in more nontargeted words spelled correctly, higher preference ratings by children, and higher…

This document discusses a study of 36 level 3 exercises tried out in a single, middle-income, suburban, second-grade classroom. The following outcomes were generated for the exercises: capitalize the first letter of a sentence, correctly end sentences with periods or question marks, capitalize proper nouns, correctly use commas in dates and…

Describes an activity that involved eight-year-old children writing stories for three- to five-year-old children. (DF)

Pupils using a moving model of letter formation in the form of a flipbook demonstrate higher skill improvement than do students using a still model. (CJ)

To test the hypothesis that induced mental imagery would facilitate the contemplation and reflection that have been suggested as being important to the writing process, a study investigated the effects of instructions to induce mental imagery upon the written language of young children. Subjects, 28 third grade children, were randomly assigned to…

A study determined whether kindergarten teachers encouraged invented writing experiences among children to prepare them for reading and how teachers implemented invented spelling experiences in the kindergarten program. Subjects, 314 kindergarten teachers (out of 600 randomly selected kindergarten teachers in Iowa), responded to a survey of their…

A study examined and analyzed the functions of written language for one writer during her first-grade year. Data included 516 pieces of writing done by the subject, transcriptions of interviews with the subject, and field notes. Results indicated that: (1) sources of the subject's writing ranged from extremely structured situations to…

Focuses on young children's grappling with such themes as existence, good and evil, and knowing. Suggests that the development of language seems dependent on children's sensitivity to such abstract concepts. Suggests that children's intellectual and social lives are sustained by symbols. Offers examples of children's story-making discussions,…

Examined the collaborative literacy learning that occurred in a literacy-enriched sociodramatic play center. Literacy behaviors were coded from transcripts of 15 hours of free play. Found substantial cross-age literacy-based collaboration, with almost half the interactions involving older children helping younger children. This collaboration was…

Investigates teacher-student conferences' influence on first graders' revision activity and knowledge about revision. Finds the most positive effects occurred for students who began with the least amount of knowledge about revision, who previously were doing the least amount of revision, and who were writing pieces judged among the lowest in…