A longitudinal study examined the developmental spelling level of primary-age children. Eight subjects completed 10 separate cloze sentences in their kindergarten, first, and second grade. Subjects were read each of the sentences and then given time to write the word in the corresponding box. The test was introduced as a detective game to…

An informal field study to design a system of beginning writing for the prefirst-grade child is presented in this paper, following a review of the literature. A series of questions are then raised regarding what letter form should be taught first, how letters should be grouped for instruction, and what verbal references should be used for…

A study was conducted to identify characteristics of young children's written compositions that might be used to indicate growth patterns. Written compositions of 482 children of all ability levels, grades 1-3, were examined by two teams of teacher-researchers and placed on a continuum of sophistication. Four growth strands were identified: (1)…

Three interrelated strategies of print instruction can be used to connect kindergarten students to writing and literature: (1) connecting the child to previous experiences; (2) connecting verbal and written language; and (3) connecting children to literature, print, and writing. Children can link their past experiences to print by labeling…

A mainstreaming project was carried out in Toronto, Canada, in which four deaf students, ages 5 through 8, were integrated into a classroom of hearing students in grades 1 and 2, for 1 hour, 5 days a week, to participate in a writing program adapting the Graves-Giacobbe process writing model outlined in Donald Graves'"Writing Teachers and…

A study examines teacher's and children's interactions with the use of the writing journal in a pre-k classroom (ages 3 to 4). Eight pre-school children and three teachers in a university lab school were observed twice a week for 1-hour sessions over a 6-month period. The use of the writing journal was a part of the total learning environment…

A study was designed to identify and codify behavioral trends in the composing process of early writers' narrative attempts in literate environment instructional settings. The study also examined regressive patterns within behavioral responses to determine how development in one area of the writing task influenced the development in other areas.…

Although teachers are often told to use literature as models for students' writing, they are rarely provided with specific suggestions on how, when, and why to use literature, or trade books, in their curriculum. Yet there are many situations in which the use of literature can be helpful to the novice writer. With pre-kindergarten or kindergarten…

Classroom language and literacy practices need to be reconceptualized to account for the valuable role talk and interaction play in the process of learning to write. Teachers should construct learning environments within which interaction between students and teachers is the primary focus. The participation framework of kindergarten journal…

The study examined 41 students (24 male, 17 female) in a beginning writing course for adults. Data were collected by (1) taping four workshop sessions in which all students participated in small groups, (2) interviewing all the students, and (3) observing four students writing in the classroom. The adult writers composed in two models: the…

In America, a dichotomy of teaching philosophies which acknowledge the individual needs of children have produced approaches that are used in public school classrooms. The methods exemplify the dichotomous poles and combinations of both. These dichotomous teaching approaches are often referred to as the traditional methods or parts-specific…

Investigating the extent to which reading to children and book type affect kindergartners' ability to recall, write about, and read the text that their teacher has just read to them, a study examined the effects that the story reading techniques of six kindergarten teachers had on 52 of their students during three book reading sessions. On three…

Two important topics in early literacy development in Slovakia are discussed in this paper: the conceptual framework for its stimulation by efficient preschool curriculum, and the continuity of formal elementary school education with respect to children's preceding developmental achievements. The paper discusses the ongoing research project…

Public policy in France concerning the articulation of preschool education and primary education, particularly in the area of writing readiness and writing instruction, is discussed. A 1989 law expected to define, for the first time, the expected competencies at each educational level, was met with disappointment by early elementary school…

A study was conducted in which word processing and voice synthesis were used to teach beginning writing skills to kindergarten and first grade students. Subjects, 46 children from two elementary schools enrolled in an early education summer school class in writing, were randomly divided into three groups. One group was taught writing using a…