Observation Task 4: Development of Early Writing Skills

Table 4: Development of Early Writing Skills

Developmental Writing Stage Supporting Links to the Comments
Activities ADEC
Curriculum

Link sound with Include

Using play
hands on and more
dough to
develop fine motor creativity in
form the
skills. this activity.
letters and
some simple
words.

Link sound with

iPad games in Include
Using iPad
helping to write more useful
to write the
the right format. programs
letters or
and games
even some
that assess
simple
the children
words.
and help to
develop his
learning.

Link sounds to
letters, naming and The teacher
Using small
sounding the should draw
whiteboards
letters of the a line in the
and
alphabet. white board
whiteboard
so the child
markers to
Use a pencil can follow
practice
(whiteboard and know
letter
marker) and hold it the right
formation
effectively to form direction of
recognizable the writing.
letters, most of
which are
correctly formed.
Suggestions for the further development of early writing skills
  Say the letters in their name aloud as you point to them.
 Get them to ‘read’ their early writing to you.
 Write the story they tell you under their drawing.
 Write a letter together to someone you love.
 Let them see you writing – talk about what you are writing about (a grocery list or writing a
check).
 Look together for writing everywhere – street names, shop names, writing on cars and trucks.

Reflection:
All of the children have different path of developing process in learning, just as it is with writing
stages. As each child moves towards these stages they need some positive encouragements that
will lead him to be more confidence therefore to develop on their learning. As it’s known the first
step is scribbling that looks like random assortment of marks on a child's paper that shows that
the child is learning some writing concepts that can be developed in many several ways.
Sometimes the marks are large, circular, and random, and resemble drawing. Although the marks
do not resemble print, they are significant because the young writer uses them to show ideas.
Letter-like Symbols or Letter-like forms start to emerge, sometimes randomly placed, and are
interspersed with numbers. The children can tell about their own drawings or writings. In this
stage, spacing is rarely present. Strings of Letters and in the strings-of-letters phase, students
write some legible letters that tell us they know more about writing. Students are developing
awareness of the sound-to-symbol relationship, although they are not matching most sounds.
Students usually write in capital letters and have not yet begun spacing. Beginning Sounds
Emerge at this stage, students begin to see the differences between a letter and a word, but they
may not use spacing between words. Their message makes sense and matches the picture,
especially when they choose the topic. Consonants Represent Words
Students begin to leave spaces between their words and may often mix upper- and lowercase
letters in their writing. They begin using punctuation and usually write sentences that tell ideas.
Initial, Middle, and Final Sounds Students in this phase may spell correctly some sight words,
siblings' names, and environmental print, but other words are spelled the way they sound.
Children easily hear sounds in words, and their writing is very readable. Transitional Phases.
This writing is readable and approaches conventional spelling. The students' writing is
interspersed with words that are in standard form and have standard letter patterns. Standard
Spelling Students in this phase can spell most words correctly and are developing an
understanding of root words, compound words, and contractions. This understanding helps
students spell similar words. Help students stay on the right track by providing opportunities for
frequent self-checks and plenty of other formative assessments to that they can monitor their own
progress. Make it easy for students to be aware of how well they are doing, and you will make it
easy for them to stay engaged in a learning activity.
Create activities and assignments that are challenging but attainable. Students should have to
work and think to succeed, but the potential for success should always be clearly evident.