Have you ever paused to think about how young children actually learn to write? We know there is a whole pre-writing development process where children develop gross and fine motor skills that will help them to sit up straight, use both hands (one to hold the paper and one to hold the pencil), develop eye-hand coordination and visual perception…I’m not covering that today! (Although you can find tons of info on that in Stacy Benge’s book The Whole Child Alphabet)
Today, I’m talking about really practical things you can begin doing in your classroom as children develop an awareness of letters and sounds and begin to notice that those squiggly lines and symbols have meaning – usually in the PreK years (ages 3+).
Modeled Writing – This is a very natural way to teach children that thoughts can be written down, that letters put together have meaning and turn into words, and that a group of words can turn into thought that someone else can read back to them! Think of it as “show and tell” for writing. Children watch the adult write, often aloud, as they express ideas. For example, a teacher might say, “I’m writing a list for our class party. First, I’ll write ‘plates.’ That starts with “p”. Then I’ll write ‘napkins’. That starts with “n”. This stage is about showing children that writing isn’t just about forming letters; it’s about thinking, sounding out words, and deciding how to communicate ideas. This modeling gives children a picture of what writing looks like, both in practice and as a tool for sharing thoughts.
Shared Writing – Just like it sounds, this stage is more interactive where the teacher actually shares the writing process with the students. The teacher might write “Zoo Animals” at the top of a piece of chart paper as she says the words. Then, as the class is brainstorming various zoo animals, the teacher writes the names of animals in a list as they are being dictated by the children – still modeling her thinking and sounding out the words. Sometimes, the teacher should “share the pen” with a student and allow them to practice writing a letter or two. For example, if the students say a “hippo” was at the zoo, the teacher could call up Hailey and say “Hailey, your name starts with the same letter sound as Hippo. Could you write the letter “h” for hippo?” This stage allows children to see their ideas turning to words. They get to practice making a few letters with extra support to build confidence in their ability to translate their thoughts into written form!
Independent Writing – In this stage, children are encouraged to put their thoughts on paper. This might look like drawing pictures, scribbling or making random marks on paper for “words” and eventually, writing legible letters with inventive spelling based on their development. This might look like a writing journal, a book-making station, or a letter-writing center. You’ll be shocked at how much writing happens when students are writing “letters” to each other or their loved ones!
These writing techniques are interwoven throughout preschool. We keep modeling our writing process, we keep writing down children’s ideas and encouraging them to participate in the activity of shared writing, and we allow plenty of opportunity for them to freely express themselves in their independent writing – even before there are any legible letters. The key is to make it FUN, playful, and meaningful. (Hint: Repetitively tracing or writing a single letter at a time is rarely fun, playful or meaningful.) Remember that writing is about so much more than letter formation or penmanship (especially since we’re using so many more keyboards, tablets and phones). Writing is about being able to communicate our thoughts and ideas into written words that can be read and referred to by others.
We’d love to hear how you’re teaching your students to write? What is their favorite fun way to practice getting their thoughts onto paper? Let us know!
Cheering you on this week!
-Your ECCN team
Listen to this podcast episode with host Monica Healer now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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