Explored four- to six-year olds' approach to drawing and related writing tasks. Participants, unschooled in writing, were asked to depict common objects with a drawing and a written name. Analysis of videotape revealed systematic differences (random, continuous marks versus discrete, left-to-right marks). Results suggest that young children have…

Examines the connections between children's writing and their earlier developed form of graphic symbolism--drawing--and explores research on early writing development. Considers the range of contexts for drawing and writing presented in the classroom. (HTH)

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

Explores how children become oriented to literacy and how their perceptions of the purpose of print develop as they move toward becoming more fluent users of print. (DF)

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…

In response to the decline in thinking, reading, and writing skills, as indicated by the latest report of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, this paper offers elementary school teachers one framework for a classroom writing program to cultivate a reading-writing-thinking connection. Based on six categories of B. Bloom's taxonomy…

A study was undertaken to explore the problems beginning writers face and how they grapple with them. The subject, a six-year-old boy, was observed over 10 writing sessions and an analysis was made of his composing behavior and the illustrations and texts he produced. In addition, his composing aloud protocols were analyzed. Results suggest that a…

The articles in this collection are intended to present a detailed picture of the work of Donald Graves and his associates at the Writing Process Laboratory (WPL) of the University of New Hampshire. The introduction provides an overview of the work of Graves and examines his views of beginning writing, writing conferences, revision, audience, and…

Intended to help elementary school children integrate the skills of writing and reading at an early age, this booklet discusses research concerning the cognitive processes and acquisition of reading and writing skills, and presents teaching methods and resources to help young children make the connection. The first half of the booklet explores…

The materials in this report deal with the process of children's writing and rewriting. The first section of the report describes the original methodology of a study of children's rewriting and explains how and why that methodology was changed as the study progressed. The second section provides a review of related literature, while the third,…

With practical applications for parents and teachers, this book uses diary entries, tape recordings, and videotapes made by the child's mother from a researcher's perspective to chronicle a child's reading and writing development from birth to age three. The introduction provides an overview of how children learn to talk, read, and write;…

A study investigated the writing processes of four fourth grade students--two girls and two boys--as they participated in an 18-session writing workshop. The sessions were held three times a week for 6 weeks, each lasting 45-minutes. Data were collected through (1) observations of the children as they interacted and composed, revised, edited,…

Defining emergent as the process of becoming and literacy as the interrelatedness of reading and writing in young children's development, this paper reviews emergent literacy research and relates it to beginning reading and writing instruction. The first section of the paper describes the social and linguistic contexts for literacy, reviewing…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 27 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) syntax in the writing of learning disabled and normal children; (2) tropes, invention, and the composing process; (3) speaking and writing relationships in…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) reasoning strategies used by gifted and average fifth grade children in written discourse; (2) the effect of mode of discourse on the syntactic complexity of…