This article features questions and answers about "Kid Writing" (KW), the process of turning children who do not know the alphabet into fluent, proficient, and confident writers. According to the article, the questions were gathered during a live chat with the authors of "Kid Writing: A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals, and…

Offers some suggestions for articulating curricular objectives and activities based on the theoretical principles underlying emergent literacy. Suggests readings for extending and strengthening the knowledge and understanding needed to foster young children's language and literacy. (MG)

Discusses strategies and activities that a teacher can use to help a young writer become a fluent writer. Suggests that it is essential for teachers to provide an abundance of opportunities for children to write. (RS)

Considers what constitutes learning to write and how children develop the ability. Explores (1) learning from peers; (2) learning from the teacher; and (3) learning about the functions of text. (PA)

Asserts that the reading and writing relationship must be reinforced in classroom methodology, and offers seven guidelines for connecting reading and writing in children's literacy development. (MM)

Shares a conversation between a second-grade student and teacher during a prewriting conference. Emphasizes that, in order to become writers, students need to do their own writing. (MG)

Examines the need for a new perspective in research on young children's writing development, one which identifies writing as a language process in which children construct meaning. Presents an example of a linguistic analysis of a child's writing. Discusses the implications for early-childhood educators of a text-focused approach to studying…

There are descriptive similarities on a global level between the history of writing and the development of written language in the young child. Examination of the specific developmental patterns of data of these two phenomena reveals some common elements and some discrepancies between these two patterns. The history of orthography as well as…

This book addresses the crucial and controversial questions that face today's reading scholars, educators, and professionals. Contributors to the book offer their insights and expertise on such issues as the phonics/whole language debate, the state of reading comprehension instruction, the validity of and need for standards and assessment,…

Literacy development begins in the very early stages of childhood, even though the activities of young children may not seem related to reading and writing. In 1966, New Zealand researcher Marie Clay introduced the term "emergent literacy" to describe the behaviors seen in young children when they use books and writing materials to…

Argues that literacy teachers should take letter play seriously in conjunction with invented spelling to help their students learn how letters and sounds relate. (RS)

Follows the reading and writing development of a young boy from first through third grade. Shares how, through storytelling, he defined a sense of himself that retained a strong connection to his primary-years personality while reaching out confidently toward the world of upper elementary classrooms that he would now be facing. (MG)

In this paper a relationship is established between writing and early literacy in young children. The age at which early literacy begins to develop in young children varies with each child. For many children, literacy begins to appear in activities such as pretend play, drawing, conversations about storybook plots, and conversations about words or…

Based on a two-day presentation workshop on early reading and writing approaches, the 12 essays in this book discuss the development of literacy, natural approaches in developing literacy, and supporting literacy development. Essays in the book are: (1) "Theories of Natural Language" (Carolyn N. Hedley); (2) "Oral Language…

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…