London District Catholic School Board

It is important that children see their parents writing in many different ways-personal notes, letters, E-mails, grocery lists and other writing that is a part of daily life. All these forms of writing provide good models for children. Children need to be engage in similar writing opportunities.

Children progress through various stages on the route to becoming independent communicators.

Select each stage below to learn more.

Pre-Emergent Writing

	plays at writing with wavy lines, scribbles, etc.
	understands that print carries and preserves a message
	"reads" her/his pretend writing (may change or forget original intended meaning)
	uses drawing and writing together to convey a message (beginning by adding print to a drawing, later using drawings to illustrate writing)
	begins to use letter-like symbols or a few known letters (e.g. the first letter of his/her name) in writing
	attempts to write his/her own name
	may copy words from the classroom/home environment or books

Emergent Writing

	attempts writing in known forms (e.g., letters, lists, stories, etc.)
	will retain original meaning when re-reading his/her "writing"
	uses right-to-left and top-to-bottom print orientation more successfully
	often places spaces between words (groups of letters)
	more frequently shows a one-to-one correspondence between written and spoken words
	writes labels or captions for drawings
	writes her/his own name
	begins to attempt writing sentences (often without punctuation)
	mixes upper and lower case letters in words
	copies letters with fair degree of success information
	uses single letter names to guide phonetic spelling attempts (e.g., "M" for "am")
	begins to use initial (and some final) consonants to attempt spelling of other words
	uses a few known sight words
	may use some words from environmental print, Word Wall, personal word lists, etc. in writing

Developing Writing

	writes legibly
	leaves spaces between words
	uses upper and lower case letters more conventionally
	uses increasing number of sight words
	attempts phonetic spellings of unfamiliar words (represents nearly all syllables, more frequently including vowel sounds)
	uses some simple punctuation (may overuse at first - e.g., period at the end of every line)
	writes in simple sentences
	begins to make use of the writing process (e.g., pre-writing discussion of ideas, some simple editing with teacher assistance)
	uses writing to relate experiences and emotions
	begins to write about events in sequence
	begins to use "book language" in writing (e.g., Once upon a time...)

Proficient Writing

	writes with a more flowing form to the letters
	begins to understand the conventions of writing such as paragraphs and direct speech
	uses simple punctuation accurately and regularly
	writes coherently with a beginning, middle, end format
	begins to experiment with different genres such as poetry, drama and reports
	produces pieces of writing independently
	begins to proof his/her writing using a dictionary when necessary
	generally spells everyday words accurately and makes good guesses at new words
	uses imagination to create stories
	writes for a number of different audiences and is beginning to explore the writer's voice
	appears to enjoy writing and feels confident as a writer

Writing and The Young Child

Pre-Emergent Writing

plays at writing with wavy lines, scribbles, etc.

understands that print carries and preserves a message

"reads" her/his pretend writing (may change or forget original intended meaning)

uses drawing and writing together to convey a message (beginning by adding print to a drawing, later using drawings to illustrate writing)

begins to use letter-like symbols or a few known letters (e.g. the first letter of his/her name) in writing

attempts to write his/her own name

may copy words from the classroom/home environment or books

Emergent Writing

attempts writing in known forms (e.g., letters, lists, stories, etc.)

will retain original meaning when re-reading his/her "writing"

uses right-to-left and top-to-bottom print orientation more successfully

often places spaces between words (groups of letters)

more frequently shows a one-to-one correspondence between written and spoken words

writes labels or captions for drawings

writes her/his own name

begins to attempt writing sentences (often without punctuation)

mixes upper and lower case letters in words

copies letters with fair degree of success information

uses single letter names to guide phonetic spelling attempts (e.g., "M" for "am")

begins to use initial (and some final) consonants to attempt spelling of other words

uses a few known sight words

may use some words from environmental print, Word Wall, personal word lists, etc. in writing

Developing Writing

writes legibly

leaves spaces between words

uses upper and lower case letters more conventionally

uses increasing number of sight words

attempts phonetic spellings of unfamiliar words (represents nearly all syllables, more frequently including vowel sounds)

uses some simple punctuation (may overuse at first - e.g., period at the end of every line)

writes in simple sentences

begins to make use of the writing process (e.g., pre-writing discussion of ideas, some simple editing with teacher assistance)

uses writing to relate experiences and emotions

begins to write about events in sequence

begins to use "book language" in writing (e.g., Once upon a time...)

Proficient Writing

writes with a more flowing form to the letters

begins to understand the conventions of writing such as paragraphs and direct speech

uses simple punctuation accurately and regularly

writes coherently with a beginning, middle, end format

begins to experiment with different genres such as poetry, drama and reports

produces pieces of writing independently

begins to proof his/her writing using a dictionary when necessary

generally spells everyday words accurately and makes good guesses at new words

uses imagination to create stories

writes for a number of different audiences and is beginning to explore the writer's voice

appears to enjoy writing and feels confident as a writer

Writing
and
The Young Child

uses drawing and writing together to convey a message
(beginning by adding print to a drawing, later using drawings to illustrate writing)