Ch 10: Writing Development
About This Chapter
Writing Development - Chapter Summary and Learning Objectives
Writing is a core function of communication and a major factor in a person's ability to succeed in society. It is especially important that children develop and strengthen their writing skills at an early age. As an instructor, your job is to positively impact the process so that children at all developmental levels, as well as bilingual children and non-native English speakers, have the opportunity to develop as writers under the best circumstances possible.
In this chapter, we will focus on various aspects of writing development from an instructional standpoint, exploring the best practices for teaching this skill. We explore under which circumstances children best learn to write and what steps you can take as an instructor to make the development process flow smoothly. You can take the lesson quizzes to test your understanding of the materials and ask an instructor if you have any questions. After completing this chapter, you should be able to identify:
- Varying patterns of writing development for all children
- How reading, spelling and grammar impact writing development
- Ways to ensure your classroom space assists in the writing development process
- Activities to boost writing performance
- How social interactions impact writing development
Video | Objective |
---|---|
Patterns of Writing Development for Children | Explore writing development patterns for children at varying developmental stages, as well bilingual and non-native speakers of English. |
Connections Between Reading & Writing for Children | Understand how all groups of children make connections between reading and writing. |
The Social Nature of Writing for the Classroom: Voice, Audience, Response & Activities | Take a closer look at voice, audience and response in social settings. |
The Writing Process: Stages & Activities | Study how to utilize the five stages of the writing process. |
Using Classroom Space for Writing Development | Discover how to use your classroom space to enhance writing development. |
Activities for Developing Writing Skills | Learn how participation in activities can help develop writing skills. |
Stages of Spelling Development | See how spelling development patterns can impact all groups of children. |
Patterns of Punctuation & Grammar Development | Analyze the patterns found in the development of punctuation and grammar in all groups of children. |
Developing Handwriting & Typing Skills | Explore how children develop handwriting and typing skills. |

1. Patterns of Writing Development for Children
How do children go from scribbling randomly on a page to writing words and sentences and paragraphs? In this lesson, we'll answer that question as we explore the seven major steps in writing development.

2. Connections Between Reading & Writing for Children
Reading and writing are intimately connected to each other. While this may seem intuitive to many adults, this isn't always clear to children. In this lesson, we'll look at what teachers can do in the classroom to help students with both.

3. The Social Nature of Writing for the Classroom: Voice, Audience, Response & Activities
In spite of the image of writers as lone wolves who write in isolation, writing is a social activity. In this lesson, we'll look at how to teach the social aspects of writing, including voice and audience, as well as some classroom activities for these social aspects.

4. The Writing Process: Stages & Activities
Writers don't just sit down and write; they go through a process to perfect their writing. In this lesson, we'll look at the writing process and how teachers can use it in their classrooms, including specific activities for each stage.

5. Using Classroom Space for Writing Development
How can the environment help students develop their writing? And how can teachers design a classroom that encourages writing development? View this lesson for ideas about how to use classroom space to encourage writing.

6. Activities for Developing Writing Skills
How can educators teach children to be good writers? In this lesson, we'll look at some of the tools and materials designed to do that, including the writer's workshop, guided writing, writing notebooks, and word walls.

7. Stages of Spelling Development
Children don't start out knowing how to spell words. Instead, spelling (like many other skills) develops over time and with practice. Watch this lesson to find out more about the stages of spelling development that children go through.

8. Patterns of Punctuation & Grammar Development
How do children learn correct grammar and punctuation? View this lesson to find out more about the stages of spoken and written grammar development, as well as how they tie in to the stages of punctuation development.

9. Developing Handwriting & Typing Skills
Learning both handwriting skills and typing skills offers benefits to children. In this lesson, we'll look at the benefits of each and common developmental patterns when children are learning to print, write cursive, and type.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Education 102: Literacy Instruction in the Elementary School course
- Learning Processes & Theories
- Instructional Approaches
- Language Acquisition in the Classroom
- Beyond Oral Language Acquisition
- How Language & Culture Interact in the Classroom
- Strategies for Teaching Reading
- Identifying & Understanding Words
- Constructing Meaning
- Vocabulary Development
- Approaches to Literacy Instruction
- Classroom Management for Literacy Instruction
- Selecting Resources for Literacy Instruction
- Responding to Student Needs
- Collaborations Outside of School
- Evaluation & Assessments in Education