Children in the emergent writing stage write in pre-conventional or emergent forms (scribbling, drawing, non-phonetic letterings, and phonetic spelling) before they write conventionally. A special education teacher in a kindergarten inclusion setting in the Bronx, New York, noticing that her students did not particularly like to write, decided and…

Argues the importance of dictated stories, with the teacher or other adult as scribe, in children's development as writers. Examines one child's literary influences and her literacy development. (MG)

Reconsiders how child writers gain control of story forms, the functions of children's story worlds in their real worlds, and the connections between form and function in literacy development. Focuses on one students' writing development to show the gradual evolution of literary perspective. (MG)

Based on the authors' classroom work and observations since the 1930s, this book is intended to help teach children to write correctly and, at the same time, help them learn to enjoy writing so much that they will want to continue writing throughout their lives. The book offers classroom teachers, school library media specialists, curriculum…

Based on observations of three first grade classrooms in Milan, Italy, this paper provides information about beginning writing instruction in Italy and offers suggestions for adapting some of the more successful techniques found there into writing programs in the United States. The various sections of the paper contain the following: (1)…

A study investigated one way in which teachers can focus on more than children's products and writing processes by examining their social processes as well, specifically the health of the classroom communities and the individual children's comfort within those communities. Under the supervision of the same teacher, "journal time" in…