Learning To Write and Spell Flashcards
What are the 5 functions of writing
- Practicality
- Job related
- Stimulating (thought provoking)
- Social (thank you notes etc)
- Therapeutic (express feelings)
What are some features of the English Writing system?
- Holding and controlling the pen
- Left to right, top to bottom
- word spacing
- Letter direction
- Upper and lower case
What did Barry Kroll do?
Recognised 4 stages of writing development
What is the first stage of Barry Kroll’s development theory?
Preparatory Stage (4-7)
Basic motor skills develop +principles of the spelling system acquired
What is the second stage of development (Barry Kroll)
Consolidation stage (7-9)
Use writing to express what they can say. Reflecting spoken language with colloquialisms etc
What is the third developmental stage (Barry Kroll)
Differentiation stage (9-10)
Writing becomes different to speech and follows its own patterns.
Errors are common due to new standards.
Children encounter different genres and audiences.
Guidance is needed about structure and functions of writing.
What is the fourth developmental stage (Barry Kroll)
Integration stage (11+)
Children have a good knowledge of language and can vary the style to suit genre purpose and audience.
What is Kathy Barclays first stage of children’s writing?
Scribbling
Random marks on a page.
What is Kathy Barclays second stage of children’s writing?
Mock handwriting
Wavy scribbles resembling cursive writing
What is Kathy Barclays third stage of children’s writing?
Mock letters
Letter like shaped resembling alphabet letters
What is Kathy Barclays fourth stage of children’s writing?
Conventional letters
A string of letters across a page that a child reads as a sentence.
Often first a child’s name
What is Kathy Barclays fifth stage of children’s writing?
Invented spelling
Clusters of letters to make words, not always in a correct order or readable however readable to a child
What is Kathy Barclays sixth stage of children’s writing?
Phonetic spelling stage
Association between sounds and letters
What is Kathy Barclays seventh (and last) stage of children’s writing?
Conventional spelling
When a child’s spelling becomes more accurate
Describe drawing and sign writing
When children experiment with sign writing, different to drawing
When they begin to understand we use marked on paper to pass ideas from writer to reader
Sign writing displays characteristics of writing (eg writing left to write)
Analyse drawing and sign writing
Children recognise there is a difference between drawing and writing (shapes and signs)
They understand writing consists of straight lines and goes from right to left and that spaces are important.
Describe Letter-like forms
When signs written begin to show letter like features
Analyse letter like forms and copied letters
Children recognise shapes from the alphabet and copy them.
They learn to associate these shapes with sounds or names.
Difficulty arises due to letter changing shape for upper and lower case and sound changing based on context.
Describe copied letters
Children can overwrite, underwrite or copy letters well enough to be recognisable.
Describe Child’s name and string of letters
Children can independently write strings of letter and usually their own name
Analyse ‘Child’s name and strings of letters’
Children begin to recognise that groups of letters occur together.
Usually occurs in connection with their name, first learn it as a sight word and can’t break down into letters.
Begin to recognise that other frequent words have the same string of letters at the beginning and the end.
Describe ‘words’ in relation to learning to write
Children learn that the sounds associated with spoken words they know.
They understand that we can represent the spoken words with letter.
Describe ‘sentences’ in relation to the stages of learning to write
Children learn to write confidently.
Can express ideas in writing that link to concepts and use clause or sentences to do this
Remove capital letters and full stops with purpose (use other punctuation)
Analyse the ‘sentence’ stage of learning to write
Children learn the conventions we use to show how groups of words are linked into sentences.
Systematic use of punctuations begins to occur
Describe ‘text’ in relation to the stages of learning to write
Writing texts involves combining clauses or sentences to express related ideas
Analyse the ‘text’ stage of learning to write
Children learn to combine clauses and sentences into longer texts.
Texts are coherent and cohesive.
Sentences are connected
What are the 7 general stages of learning to write
- Drawing and sign writing
- Letter like forms
- Copied letters
- Child’s name and strings of letters
- Words
- Sentences
- Text
What are the 4 general stages of learning to spell
- Exploration
- Semi-phonetic
- Phonetic
- Transitional
What are the conventions of stage 1. Exploration (learning to spell)
- Pre-letter writing
- Random writing on a page
- Repetition or familiar letters
- Left to write direction
- Random sight words
What are the conventions of stage 2. Semi-Phonetic (learning to spell)
•Random spaces in writing
•Use of few known words in correct places
•Letter-sound correspondence
-uses initial consonants
-uses partial mapping of wordsWhat are the conventions of stage 2. Phonetic (learning to spell)
- Total mapping of letter-sound correspondence
- Vowels are omitted when not heard
- Writes quickly
- Spaces words correctly
- Letters are assigned strictly on the basis of sound
What are the conventions of stage 4. Transitional (learning to spell)
- Vowels appears in every syllable
- Silent ‘e’ becomes fixes
- Inflectional endings (“s” and “ing”) are used
- Common letter sequences are used
- Child moves towards visual spelling
- May include all letters of a word
- Some letters may be flipped (form instead of from)
What did J.R. Gentry suggest
That there are 5 stages in learning to spell, depending on individuals and teaching techniques
What was J.R Gentry’s 5 stages in learning to spell
- Pre-communicative stage
- Semi-phonetic stage
- Phonetic stage
- Transitional stage
- Correct stage
What is the Pre-Communicative stage? (J.R Gentry)
When a child realises symbols can be used to create a message and have a meaning.
Symbols may be invented
What is the Semi-phonetic stage? (J.R Gentry)
Child begins realising letters have sounds.
May abbreviate words in writing and use pictures for words they don’t know.
What is the Phonetic stage? (J.R Gentry)
Child spells through sound-symbol correspondence.
May not be aware some strings of letters don’t exist in English.
What is the Transitional stage? (J.R Gentry)
Child uses the basic conventions of the English language system:
Become aware of the patterns in spelling beyond phonetic spelling.
What is the Correct stage? (J.R Gentry)
Child now understands basic spelling patterns and knows about word structures.
Use visual strategies to spell.
Have a large automatic spelling vocabulary and can distinguish between homonyms and homophones.
Have control over loaded language (language that evokes emotion) and Latinate lexis.
What can go wrong with spelling?
Placeholding (using consonants to represent words)
Children with weak visual memory forget what words look like and get confused when writing
Children with weak auditory memory forget what syllables represent what sound and can’t hear individual sounds in words. Often poor spellers.
