Notes that because reading and writing are separate but complementary aspects of a single language system, the way teachers plan activities determines the way in which children's writing helps them develop insights into their reading. (FL)

Sets forth educational inferences drawn from a classroom incident involving a first-grade child and her first story writing experience. (FL)

There is an explosion of new research describing writing stages and how young children learn about reading by learning to write first. Teachers can develop environments in which students can freely explore writing in no-fail situations. By being guided by childrens' spontaneous learning efforts many inapropriate teaching techniques can be avoided.…

Children begin school with some very basic ideas about written language and reading. The first is that of sign and message. That a graphic representation, a "sign," conveys meaning is an early and easy concept for children that stems from their visually attending to print in their environment. The realization that spoken language can be…

Describes some of the components of the West German approach to beginning reading and writing instruction. (FL)

Suggests that reading and writing are not only language competencies displayed in literacy or literature but that they are the sites for analysis in emergent literacies. (DF)

Offers a variety of practical writing ideas that can help first-grade teachers encourage writing across the curriculum. (FL)

Four elements are essential for efficient, effective, and rewarding teaching of beginning reading. The first is the use of children's key vocabulary. Children are asked, in a prescribed fashion, what their very best word is of the moment. The teacher prints it in a prescribed fashion and uses it to help children acquire one-to-one correspondence…

Summarizes and updates original study done on reading and writing development of a preschool child. (SRT)

Stressing the importance of understanding child development, this paper first describes the writing of several children in a kindergarten class who represent various levels of emerging literacy. Based on the descriptions of classroom activities, the paper argues that with a developmental perspective the teacher can build instruction on what the…