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Chapter 1
Getting the point: how children develop as writers
Mary Williams and Robert Fisher
Well, it’s ideas in my head that I show on paper. (Melanie)
Melanie, who was seven years old, offered this definition of what the writing process meant to her. Both aspects of her definition will be pursued in this chapter – ‘the getting of ideas’ (composition) and how best to show these ideas ‘on paper’ (transcription). The two can be brought together through thinking about what the writing process entails because it is through critical reflection about their own learning that writers can assess whether or not they are putting their message across effectively. To be able to do this, developing writers need knowledge, skills and understanding at text, sentence and word level, as set out in the National Literacy Strategy (1998) (see Chapter 2 of this book), and awareness of how each level interrelates if clarity of meaning is to be given. Much can be learned about how children develop understanding of the writing process from an examination of how they ‘emerge’ as writers. As they become older they need to be given access to an increasingly wide range of genres including fiction and non-fiction styles and form. They should know how one particular genre, or text type, varies from another according to the purpose it serves. In addition, they need to be aware that some writing requires crafting, and that it may need to pass through several stages, including drafting, editing and redrafting, before it is satisfactorily completed. Therefore, an understanding of how composition and transcription support one another is crucial, with metacognition – thinking about how you are learning – playing an important part in realising this objective.
Developing writing in the early years
Many children have opportunities to put their ideas down on paper from an early age. It is highly desirable that they are given these because it is through these that they begin to understand what writing is about1 and gain a sense of authorship. Research2 has shown that children develop a number of principles about the process and experiment with them as they come to terms with the symbolic nature of writing and begin to realise how this relates to the way in which:
letters recur in variable patterns to form new words;
text can be generated through knowledge of rules for combining letters and words;
letters and words are arranged on the page;
‘signs/symbols’ represent objects and ideas in print; and
print is permanent.
These principles received endorsement in the Early Years documentation issued by the DfEE. For example, in Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (DfEE 2000a),3 in one of the six areas of learning ‘Communication, Language and Literacy’ it is suggested that children should have the chance to see adults write and that they should be able to experiment with writing for themselves ‘through mark making, personal writing symbols and conventional script’. Also, it is recognised that play is valuable in providing opportunities for young children to use their imagination and to recreate experience. This is further built upon in the reception year of the National Literacy Strategy (DfEE 1998) where it is stated that pupils should ‘use writing to communicate in a variety of ways, incorporating it into play and everyday classroom life’,4 as, for example, when they pretend to be newspaper reporters (Figure 1.1). These principles are also endorsed in Developing Early Literacy (2001) and the National Literacy Strategy.
Figure 1.1 The Daily News
Most importantly these principles do not conflict with widely accepted practices in early years education which emphasise how:
learning can be achieved through discovery and play; and
assessment of progress should be based on what children can do, rather than what they cannot do.
Young children experiment with the writing process through play5 and it is through purposeful engagement in this that they make discoveries that increase their knowledge, skills and understanding. Through planning their play children learn to be systematic and this possibly has a direct bearing on how they approach writing (Chapter 11).6
Many young children engage in a range of writing activities in the home, including writing present lists, letters or stories. In the past the form of writing that dominated in the early years was that of story. The advantage of beginning with story-writing is that it mirrors more closely the habits of spoken speech, although it should be recognised that written stories are not the same as spoken, as in speech it is possible to convey subtlety of meaning through non-verbal prompts which are much more difficult to achieve in writing. Speech invites immediate feedback so the message can be altered or expanded upon until the meaning has been clearly understood. With writing a response may be offered some time later, if at all! With simultaneous feedback not being the norm, teachers have a key role to play in bridging the gap between reader and writer by challenging children to put their meaning across effectively. Story-writing, derived either from personal experience or from reading exciting books, provides a good starting point for narratives, as children do not have to struggle too much to find ideas to write about. As children’s writing ability progresses they need to have access to an increasing number of genres that should include non-fiction forms. These have been somewhat neglected in the past, but since the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy they have been given a much higher focus. The extension of range in writing should start in Key Stage 1 where pupils should be introduced to more than story forms in the context of lessons across the curriculum, or through cross-curricular themes. Whenever possible they should be encouraged to write:
signs and posters to publicise events;
labels and captions to drawings or models;
lists of what they need to do, or to collect, to undertake certain tasks;
instructions about how to play a game or how an object can be made to work;
accounts of events which have happened to them; and
reports of experiments, or conclusions reached as part of problem-solving activities.
Developing a range of writing as children become older
In Key Stage 2, the range should be developed further to include knowledge and understanding of how to write according to a range of specific genres (see below). Writing – either in a narrative or in non-narrative form – provides children with an intellectual and physical challenge. If the writing is handwritten they have to be able to manipulate the pen or pencil skilfully (Chapter 5), as well as use the appropriate style for their purpose that includes the correct use of grammatical forms, spellings and punctuation. To create clarity in terms of content children need to be able to use a range of cohesive devices so that ‘a thread’ of meaning runs throughout their writing. With non-fiction writing they have to develop these skills even further, as they need to be able to use precise technical vocabulary, as well as formal and impersonal registers. Non-fiction is organised in a variety of ways – according to the conventions of particular genres – and these have to be learned. The need to consider different aspects of the process, such as purpose, audience, style and form, is vital to an understanding of this.
Purpose
Three broad purposes for writing can be identified as:
personal – writing for yourself e.g. personal notes, diary, letters;
imaginative – writing for others e.g. stories, po...
