Writing Develops in Stages  Children go through stages of development before they can write and spell entire words  Although they need to be able to recognise letters and words before they can write, they seem to learn to write alongside learning to read  When young children draw they’re actually starting to learn to motor skills they’ll need for writing  As their motor skills develop, children are able to learn to conventions of written language e.g. spelling, punctuation, layout  How quickly a child learns to write depends on how much practice they have, the child’s intelligence and how much they’ve been exposed to role models who write

Barclay outlined 7 Stages of Writing Development  Stage 1 (Scribbling) – Kids make random marks on the page which aren’t related to letters or words. They’re learning the skill of keeping hold of a pen/crayon which prepares them for writing. They often talk about what they’re scribbling.  Stage 2 (Mock Handwriting) – Children practice drawing shapes on paper and letter-like forms (pseudo-letters) begin to appear in or with drawings as the first sign of emergent writing  Stage 3 (Mock Letters) – children produce random letters, but there’s still no awareness of spacing or of matching sounds with symbols

Cont.  Stage 4 (Conventional Letters) – Children start matching sounds with symbols – writing down letters that match the sounds being heard or spoken. Words are likely to be spaced out. Children start using initial consonants to represent words e.g. h for horse. The initial letter might be read out as the full word is there on the page  Stage 5 (Invented Spelling) – Most words are spelt phonetically though some simple and familiar words are spelled correctly  Stage 6 (Appropriate Spelling) – Sentences become more complex as the child becomes more aware of standard spelling patterns and writing becomes more legible  Stage 7 (Correct Spelling) – Most words are spelled correctly

Kroll (1981) outlined 4 Stages of Writing Development 1. The Preparatory Stage (from 18 months)  Children develop the motor skills for writing  They begin to learn the basics of the spelling system 2. The Consolidation Stage (6-8 years)  Children write in the same way as they speak  They use lots of colloquialisms  They use short declarative statements and familiar conjunctions like and  They wont yet be sure how to finish of a sentence  They begin to express ideas in the form of sentences, though without punctuation

Cont. 3. The Differentiation Stage (age 8 to mid teens)  Children become aware of the difference between the conventions of spoken and written language  They begin to understand that there are different genres  They begin to structure their work using writing guides and frameworks  They use more complex grammar and sentence structures  Punctuation becomes more accurate and consistent 4. The Integration Stage (mid teens upwards)  Writing becomes more accurate, with a wider vocabulary and more accurate spelling  Children understand that style can change according to audience and purpose  Narrative and descriptive skills improve – they write expanded stories with characters, a plot and setting  They develop a personal writing style