Provides a chart delineating some of the benchmarks in the writing development of elementary school children. Offers a variety of suitable program strategies with which teachers can modify their writing programs to suit the developmental stages of their students. (HTH)

A practical guide to establish an early writing program begins in kindergarten with children dictating a story that a teacher or parent volunteer records on paper. In first grade, 30 minutes are set aside for writing. Additional ways are suggested to infuse writing activities into every subject in a child's schooling. (MLF)

Proposes a variant of the language experience approach in which teachers provide simple models of repetitive sentences about an interesting object. (FL)

Recounts an incident illustrating a child's development of communication skills and offers suggestions for parents to help facilitate that development. (HTH)

Responds to Karl Koenke's article on handwriting in the November 1986 issue of "The Reading Teacher" and offers an alternative opinion on handwriting instruction based on instruction methods in the United Kingdom. (JC)

Compares and describes written language environments of kindergarten children in Scandinavia, Great Britain, and the United States. Finds a lack of written language in Scandinavian kindergartens, writing in the context of interactive play in Great Britain, and either academic writing instruction or developmentally appropriate print-rich…

Describes a creative writing program in which second and fourth grade students wrote and read their poetry. (FL)

Concludes that in classes where their writings are turned into books, even seven year olds gain a sense of audience and begin to write with their readers in mind. (FL)

Argues that teachers of young children need to recognize and take advantage of suitable opportunities to model their writing skills. Offers examples of possible activities. (FL)

Examines the reading personna of the writer and its functions. Discusses how a writing instructor, by means of listening in a conference setting, can bring this other personna into existence. (HTH)

Notes that names are the first words most children write and that learning to write their name can be highly motivating for preschoolers. Addresses: why preschool children should be encouraged to write their names; organizing and facilitating the sign-in process at school; how children develop their ability to write their names; and the benefits…

A study examined the value of two different sets of variables as predictors of first-grade writing achievement. A set consisting of six variables measuring cognitive development was found not to predict writing achievement, while another set consisting of seven subtests of the Canadian Readiness Test was found to be a significant predictor.…

Traces the development of a project that consisted of first graders developing a book. (DF)

Raises some questions about the way children write stories and the part teachers play in their writing. (HOD)

Discusses two approaches to teaching poetry writing to children: a method approach that molds children's creativity into acceptable forms, and an experimental approach that allows children to try out personal feelings and different forms, which is more conducive to their perceptions, creativity, and developing sense of self. (HTH)