In this article, I adopt a practice theory consideration of student agency, that is, I consider students' power to act on their interests and intentions, on their own inclinations; this will-to-act-on-the-world is central to becoming an active, adaptive participant across the life span. As practice theorist Shery Ortner has explained, none of us…

In this paper, I draw on two childhood ethnographies to ask basic questions about the foundation of child writing. The first question is, "where does writing come from in young children's lives?" Answering this question will lead us to childhood play as the foundation of writing. The second question is, "how do educators negotiate…

Writing studies has been an intellectual playground dominated by the "big kids." If we are to understand how writing becomes "relevant" to children as children, then we must study them, not for who they are becoming, but for who they are in life spaces shared with other children. This essay on the methodology entailed in…

This article problematizes a hegemonic vision of children and writing, one undergirded by an individualistic ideology; this ideology informs a curricular emphasis both on mastering "basic" skills and on crafting for self expression. To this end, the article focuses on the slippery phenomenon of "copying." It begins with a consideration of two…

Welcome to the Pine Cone Wars, as enacted by Mrs. Kay's children in her urban first grade. The children brought these wars from the playground to the classroom, reformulating them within the possibilities and constraints of the daily writing time. The Pine Cone Wars thus illustrate the inevitable interplay between the official world we shape as…

Using the concept of the "constructed child" to reflect on "the child writer," this paper addresses the ways in which educators make sense of what the child does when he or she writes in school. The paper draws upon experiences with 5- to 10-year-old children in a recent study of child writers, especially 8-year-old Ayesha. It…

Focuses on the writing aspect of the language arts curriculum. Introduces six-year-old Jameel, who illustrates a critical appraisal of an enacted curriculum. Rethinks the appropriateness of tensions between "process,""skills," and "heritage." Discusses the open, reflective stance of Jameel's teacher, who illustrates…

The major developmental challenge for children is not simply to create a unified text world but to move among multiple worlds, carrying out multiple roles and coordinating multiple space/time structures. A study observed eight primary-grade students over a 2-year period and focused on the interrelationships between children's creation of written…

Examines the meanings young children express in talk, pictures, and written text, focusing on the integration of the three. Findings illustrate children's exploration of imagined worlds through drawing and talk and the potential problems children face in transferring those worlds to text. (SRT)

Reprints a 1988 article from this journal on the social world as a factor that influences the choices that young writers make in an urban primary classroom setting. Updates the article with an Afterword commenting on the earlier writing and discussing other more complex influences. (SR)

Reviews new visions of language and of development that acknowledge human sociocultural and ideological complexity. Argues that children's differentiation of ways of using language is linked to their differentiation of their own place--potential or actual--in the social world. Offers a concrete illustration of writing children as social and…

This article offers a theoretical account of school literacy development that foregrounds the symbolic and social resources of childhood cultures. Drawing upon ethnographic data collected in an urban school site, this article illustrates how the playful childhood practices of a small group of young school children shaped their entry into school…

In continuing and building upon past efforts, the National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy, in collaboration with researchers and practitioners around the world, is forging new theoretical and pedagogical directions in writing and literacy. The Center's research projects and activities aim to respond boldly and straightforwardly to…

Illustrates dimensions of variation in how young children orchestrate or manage the writing process, using data collected from a five-month study of primary grade writers. Finds children's composing behaviors consistent with their apparent intentions and with their styles as symbolizers and socializers in their classroom. (SKC)

Based on data gathered in a participant observation project that focused on young children's behaviors during school structured literacy tasks, a study examined the relationship between learning to write and learning to perform school writing tasks. (HOD)