Examines the connections between children's writing and their earlier developed form of graphic symbolism--drawing--and explores research on early writing development. Considers the range of contexts for drawing and writing presented in the classroom. (HTH)

Nine first-grade, nine second-grade, and eight third-grade children of migrant farm workers provided the data for a descriptive study of writing development in a bilingual program. (FL)

To determine the designs, procedures, and findings of studies related to an investigation of the developmental aspects of the writing processes of children, a literature search was made of documents indexed in "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE) and "Resources in Education" (RIE). A search was also made of the literature in…

What first graders chose to put in their journals when given no direct suggestions for topics was studied during the 1985-86 school year in a suburban Birmingham, Alabama, classroom. Journal writing was scheduled for 30 minutes daily throughout the school year, but not all children chose to write every day. At the end of the year, all of the…

Writing apprehension needs to be understood and solutions found for it so that students' fears can be lessened and their success with writing increased. Carl Roger's client-centered, nondirective psychotherapy applies well to teaching composition. Composition teachers need to be real, empathic, and accepting, and should thus shed their…

Reports on a four-year study of the process of journal writing in an elementary school. Assesses student behavior as well as actual writing. (FL)

There is an explosion of new research describing writing stages and how young children learn about reading by learning to write first. Teachers can develop environments in which students can freely explore writing in no-fail situations. By being guided by childrens' spontaneous learning efforts many inapropriate teaching techniques can be avoided.…

Explores four drafts of a child's story about the disappearance of television, showing how the later draft suggests the writer's interest in questions about the nature of reality, and how the student grew as writer. (HTH)

Presents a study of the process and the product in the early writing attempts of two children. Examines some of the strategies they use during the intermediate or invented spelling stage. (HTH)

A research review examined approaches on how to tap into writing so that students will be motivated to want to express their thoughts on paper. In addition, interviews were conducted with a well known principal and teacher of an inner city school in Chicago, Illinois and with a professor of writing at Murray State University in Kentucky. A writing…

Examines the structure of 100 pieces of nonnarrative writing composed by students in grades 1, 2, and 3. Analyzes the coherence in each of the pieces and the hierarchical ordering of information. Suggests the inadequacy of the term "expressive writing" to describe the initial writing done by students in the sample. (AEW)

Examines kindergarten children's use of talk during writing to draw inferences regarding how children use speech to make sense of written language. (HOD)

To test the hypothesis that induced mental imagery would facilitate the contemplation and reflection that have been suggested as being important to the writing process, a study investigated the effects of instructions to induce mental imagery upon the written language of young children. Subjects, 28 third grade children, were randomly assigned to…

Writing development in preschool children has only recently begun to receive attention; however, Russian researchers dealt with the subject in the 1920s and 30s. Arguing that writing was a fundamental assist to cognitive growth as well as a tool for communication, Lev Vygotsky believed that the preschool child was ready to be taught writing.…

Disproves two assumptions about the development of written language by examining the spontaneous writing of a young child. Expounded primarily by James Britton and associates, the assumptions are (1) children's early writing is relatively undifferentiated in function, and (2) the primary starting point for young writers is writing stories. (HTH)