Increasing postsecondary access depends in large part on enhancing underrepresented students' writing ability, or college writing readiness. However, what exactly constitutes college-level writing is not clear-cut, complicating efforts to improve secondary preparation. This article examines recent efforts to define postsecondary writing,…

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…

Argues that children want to write and enjoy writing and that teachers need to provide them with suitable opportunities for doing so. Discusses different kinds of writing that allow children's voices to come through. (FL)

Reports on a recent study of first grade writing efforts that confirms the importance of scribble in the writing process when it is an accepted language behavior in the classroom. (FL)

Reports on the work being done by Martha King with the writing of primary grade children. (FL)

Analyzes the composing processes of three children, aged two to four, as they composed with a responsible adult in a group setting. (HOD)

Intended for teachers of basic writing, this book contains a collection of new and updated essays addressing issues surrounding underprepared writers. It maps errors and expectations for basic writing and develops teaching approaches that will be effective in a social and political world. The book considers concepts such as the possibility of…

Reviews what researchers have found out about prewriting, and postulates how this information can help teachers promote growth in writing. (CRH)

Describes a longitudinal study of first-grade students' progress in learning punctuation. Examines the classroom as a writing environment, then presents a picture of the children's progress in learning to use apostrophes, quotation marks, and periods, drawing several implications for teaching. (HTH)

A study examined the developmental nature of early literacy in relation to variations in task demands, general cognitive development, and socioeconomic background. Subjects (N=32) were placed in two groups of 16 suburban Chicago kindergarten students that were designated either low income group (LIG) or high income group (HIG). The subjects,…

The relationships between the understandings children develop while learning the written form of their own names and those developed while learning other words were examined in a study. Twelve children, aged three, four, and five, were selected. The study involved three tasks which examined the subjects' expertise with letters, numbers, and the…

Recounts observations of a second grader's writing processes and concludes that students' enjoyment of writing should be cultivated. (DF)

Relates some of the observations made of a kindergarten classroom over a two-year period in which teachers simulated as many conditions as possible with respect to a natural "learning-how-to-write" situation. (HOD)

Describes a study in which nine-year-old children wrote persuasive letters to two individuals and then participated in an oral task designed to determine their competence in listener adapted communication. (FL)

Examines the writing of a four-year-old child in response to literature. Discusses the child's uses for writing and the concepts and principles of early writing. Demonstrates the child's engagement with children's books. (RS)