child writing A02

Question 1

what is emergent writing?

Answer 1

before children can write in coherent letters or words
- at this stage a child will be engaged in a complicated process of making signs on the page that they intend to represent a particular word or series of words

Question 2

what did barry kroll initially propose (1981)?

Answer 2

• he explored speaking-writing relationships
• proposed that a child goes through four stages in the writing process

Question 3

katherine perera is a grammarian

why did katherine perera add to these stages

her research focussd on childrens development of writing

Answer 3

the ages at each stage were not definitive

Question 4

what are the complete spelling
stages of writing

kroll + Perera

Answer 4

preparatory stage (up to age 6)
- children are deelopping fine motor skills e.g. practicing holding a pen
- start trying to get grips with basic spelling principles

consolidation stage (age 7-8)
- children are writing as they speak, usually in short declarative sentences using conjunctions
- they will tend to use the conjunctions ‘and’ or ‘but’
- sentences will often be incomplete

differentiation stage (age 9-10)
- children are begininning to differentiate between speech and writing
- different styles of writing are understood
- there are still a number of errors
- writing guides might be provided
- writing might reflect thoughts and feelings

integration stage (mid teens, secondary school)
- children are developping a personal style and can alter their writing according to audience and purpose

Question 5

what are the two contrasting approaches of how to teach and encourage the successful development of writing skills

Answer 5

• the creative approach
• the rule based model

Question 6

what are the arguments FOR the creative approach

Answer 6

• supports of TCA argue a child should be allowed to experiment creatively with language without strict correlation and, by trial and error, become increasingly more accomplished as a writer
• the child is also less likely to be afraid of making “mistakes” in their writing as the focus is not primarily on accuracy

Question 7

what are the arguments FOR the Rule based model?

Answer 7

there is strong argument to suggest that
- when a child understands the conventions of writing such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar rules, –> Progress will be more rapid and they will be more easily producing text that is understandable and appropiate for audience and purpose
- the current education consideres it important that children achieve particularly outcomes and standards
- throughout their school careers children will be assessed on their ability to write accurately and coherently

Question 8

what does John Abott (1999) say about educational approaches?

uses a metaphor

when children are learning to write, such a rule governed approach could be seen as stifling individual language patterns or idiolect
this places the educational focus on accuracy rather than creativity or learning through experiementation
this notion is supported by:

Answer 8

• when talking about education Abott uses the metaphor “battery hens or free range chickens” to describe different educational aproaches
• suggesting that the free- range chickens (the more independant and creative learners) might be the ones who thrive

Question 9

what was james brittons model (1975)

Answer 9

• a theory that categorises written language into three primary modes

expressive:
- what children develop first
- undifferentiated expression of self
- takes first person + enables child to explore their own identity and preferences through writing

poetic:
- considered “literacy”
- often encouraged in early writing –> because it allows children to be creative but also encourages them to think

transactional:
- “worldly”
- more academic style
- when the writer is able to seperate their own identity from writing
- writer becomes entirely detatched from content of the writing
- as a result takes an impersonal tone and is far improved from expressive writing

• supports the notion of ‘accuracy > creativity, because it allows us to focus on the purpose of writing and the necessary style required to fulfil that purpose
• if the function is requied to be function. rule governed appraoch is better
• if function is poetic, creative model is better
• perhaps different models should be introduced to learners during the different stages of writing