Contrasts, through portraits of five young writers, the writing strategies of children used at home and in a kindergarten writing center that stressed a formal language arts program. Argues that the teacher's approach to writing instruction and the child's writing strategies must be compatible to ensure independent writers. (HTH)

There has been an explosion of knowledge over the last few years about how children's earliest experiences set the stage for success in learning to read and write. Most experts agree that children who reach kindergarten with certain characteristics--an interest in books, a fondness for conversation, a curiosity about the world--are more likely to…

Offers a variety of practical writing ideas that can help first-grade teachers encourage writing across the curriculum. (FL)

Analyzes the written language learning of kindergarten children as a transaction among writers, teachers, and the writing process and concludes that children, when given the opportunity to take risks with written language, create with semantic intent. (DF)

Illustrates how school writing environments that encourage talk between peers can help children learn about writing and the writing process. Describes recurring patterns of language behavior at a kindergarten writing table and shows how children's natural conversations are often reminiscent of adult-child interaction in the home. (HTH)

Reviews a project in which first-grade children learned to write and became confident, fluent, and enthusiastic writers. Contains examples of their writing. (FL)

Outlines a method to help students through the beginning phases of writing that will also show them the vital relationship between observation and creation. (RL)

Discusses the characteristics of a nurturing and of a constraining classroom environment and the effects of each on children's learning to write. (HTH)

Discusses the importance of parents' helping children to read from birth and notes the most crucial and enjoyable way is reading aloud to children. Presents six basic skills that parents can help new readers to use: getting help from pictures; remembering; sounding out the letters; expecting what comes next; writing; and making sense of content.…

Examines the oral language and related literacy performances of four four-year olds to determine the role and functions of oral language in prekindergarten classroom exchanges, writing episodes, and print-awareness tasks. Children who are adept in oral use of Halliday's seven functions have a developed sense of their culture's literacy and perform…

Writing readiness theories and the evolution of writing styles are reviewed, noting the strengths and weaknesses related to the special needs of dyslexic or learning-disabled students. Also discussed are the Children's Handwriting Evaluation Scale and its counterpart for college students, which provide objective measures of rate and quality of…

Indicates that while middle-class preschool children may not have fully developed concepts of linguistic terms used in an instructional setting and may not be able to indicate word-by-word matching of spoken and written words, they do have a functional concept for the purpose of reading and writing. (FL)

This article focuses on competencies needed for children's transitions from preschool special education programs to the primary grades, with a focus on literacy-rich classroom environments. The competencies concern: readiness to maximize academic achievement, social skills, and appropriate responsiveness to various instructional styles and new…

Discusses emergent literacy development, which includes meaningful literacy-related activities involving oral language, reading, and writing. Offers suggestions for fostering children's development in each area, such as the use of picture books and puppets for vocabulary development; reading aloud and discussing children's literature; and…

Examined observed occurrences of written knowledge exchanges embedded in kindergartners' play interactions while at the computer. Found that computers, with and without speech-synthesized feedback, placed in an environment that fosters playful written language exploration, can contribute to learning about functions and features of print; however,…