Writing Flashcards
Extra Reading:
Vygotsky Sociocultural theory (1934)
Functional model
P: Language development occurs through social interaction, and storytelling or creative writing helps children internalise linguistic structures
R: Creative writing provides a “Zone of proximal development” (ZPD), where children advance their linguistic skills with guidance from teachers, peers, or literary models
S: Thought and Language (1934)
Extra reading
Piaget constructivist Theory (1950)
Functional model
Children construct knowledge through active engagement, including storytelling and imaginative play
R: Writing fiction requires abstract thinking and symbolic representation, aligning with Piaget stages of cognitive development
Source: The Psychology of intelligence
Extra reading
Burners Narrative thinking theory (1986)
Functional model
Children learn through narratives, which help them make sense of the world and structure their thinking
R: Creative writing allows children to develop “narrative thinking”, which supports both linguistic and cognitive growth
S: Actual minds, Possible worlds (1986)
Extra reading
Dual Coding Theory - Palvio (1986)
Functional model
Learning is enhanced when verbal and visual imagery are combined
R: Creative writing often involves mental imagery, metaphorical thinking, and multisensory descriptions, which aid language development & memory
S: Mental representations: A Dual coding approach (1986)
Extra reading
Narrative intelligence Theory - Herman 2003
Functional model
Humans understand the world through narrative structures
R: Writing and reading stories enhance cognitive and linguistic abilities by reinforcing how we structure experiences in language
S: Narrative theory and Cognitive sciences (2003)
Extra Reading
Literacy as a Social practice - Brian Street (1984)
Functional model
Literacy is not just about learning formal writing structures but is embedded in social and cultural practice
R: Creative writing allows children to experiment with language in a socially meaningful way, strengthening both linguistic skills and identity formation
Extra reading
The role of narrative in cognitive development (Nicolopoulou 2014)
Functional model
Narrative skills are crucial for cognitive and social development
R: Writing and storytelling help children develop complex thinking, sequencing skill and linguistic competence
S: The development of Narrative practices in childhood (2014)
What are 11 features of the English writing system
- Holding and controlling pen/paper
- Direction of writing - left to right
- Alignment of writing - writing goes along a straight line
- Using upper and lower case
- Spacing words appropriately on the line/page
- Understanding and applying principles of sentence construction
- Understanding and applying conventions of punctuation
- Letter direction - many letters face in a particular direction
- Learning to produce cursive script
- Learning to use forms and conventions for genres of writing
- Using the skills of reassessing/proof reading
What is PSUEDO writing
Writing before all features of the English writing system are fully grasped
Clay 1970
Clay - stages of pre-writing/psudo writing
- Recurring principle - only knows a few letters and repeats them
- Directional principle - left to right and return to left
- Generating principle - recognises there are a limited number of different shapes that make up letters and they can be used in lots of different combinations
- Inventory principle - can list the letters they know or even words they know
What makes learning to write English particularly hard
The English language has names for each of the things in our alphabet - but its not always the sound they make (makes things are harder)
The traditional approach to learning how to write is refereed to as ‘The __________ _________ ‘
The Linear model
Kroll (1981)
The Linear model
- Prepatory stage (up to 6 years old): masters the physical skills required to write; learns basic principles of spelling system
- Consolidation stage (ages 6-8): Children tends to write as they speak - dont fully grasp that writing is a very different form: use short, declarative sentences, grammatically incomplete sentences or longer sentences linked by simple conjunctions such as ‘and’ ‘then’ and ‘so’
- Differentiation stage (ages 8 - mid teens): more ware of speech-writing differences; more confidence handling conventions and grammatical structures; more complex sentences, using subordinate classes and sophisticates connectives; more variety of styles for different audiences and purposes
- Integration stage (mod-teens onwards): develops a persona; ‘voice’ and adapts confidently to requirements of different situations
Why might the linear model begin to be viewed as old fashioned
(6)
- Writing Development is Non-Linear – Children do not necessarily learn writing in a strict, step-by-step order. They often experiment with letters, words, and meaning simultaneously, rather than mastering one aspect before moving to the next.
- Ignores the Role of Meaning and Context – A linear approach tends to focus on mechanics (handwriting, spelling, punctuation) before encouraging children to express meaning. Modern approaches encourage emergent writing, where children explore ideas and communication even before they have full control over spelling and grammar.
- Fails to Reflect Natural Language Development – Children learn spoken language in an interactive, holistic way, and research suggests writing develops similarly. A rigid sequence does not align with how children naturally acquire literacy skills.
- Does Not Support Engagement and Creativity – If children are restricted to forming letters and copying words before they can express their own ideas, they may become disengaged. Contemporary approaches encourage creative storytelling and personal expression early on.
- Overlooks the Importance of Play and Interaction – Modern literacy education emphasizes learning through play, storytelling, and social interaction, rather than just rote practice of writing mechanics.
- Does Not Accommodate Individual Differences – Children develop writing skills at different paces. Some may grasp sentence structure before perfecting handwriting, while others may show creative fluency before mastering spelling. A linear model does not account for these variations.
Why might the linear model be seen as vital for children to learn how to write
- Speech is much more informal in acquisition - even if the parents have a poor vocabulary they child still learns to speak - writing really must be taught well . Therefore, Writing - can’t really be taken up organically
- The environment plays a greater role in the acquisition of written language than spoken language - writing is normally taught to the child by an adult rather than picked up from spontaneous interaction
- Children are not taught about phonemes or intonation patterns as they learn to speak but are taught about letters and spelling when they learn to write
- Missed time at school/getting behind etc in early years has a significant impact - Evidence that structured learning is necessary
- Master the foundation THEN let it flourish
- You are simply pushing back learning the rules of the English writing - you will have to learn them eventually
National writing project (1989)
Reveals the importance of child based rather than adult imposed writing opportunities - they were better, more creative when allowed to write freely
If you are combining both the functional and linear - at what stage (according to Krolls stages) could you bring in free writing
Consolidation stage: you need to master the basics first
McClure (1989)
Said that the teacher-child interaction often led to only a simple sentence or perhaps two simple sentences in older children bur not subordinate (secondary) clauses. This led to a lack of experimenting with language and creativity in the children
WHat is the Linear model
A cognitive-linguistic theory
Focuses on the skills required to write
What is the functional theory
Grounded in socio-cultural theories
Says children learn how to develop in social contexts, where their development is dependent on oppurtunities to interact with parents, teachers, friends and others (Functional)
What are the benefits of the using the functional model
Student-led learning
- In order to achieve independence, experimentation is encouraged; hypothesis making and risk taking are encouraged, as is creativity
- Classrooms that utilise copying and rote learning are not popular in terms of encouraging emergent writing
- Achievement is recognised rather than errors being spotted
Why are both important
They should work in tandem.
Learning may not be engaging at the time - but it engages you with a whole new world of exploration.
Therefore, learn the basic first and then you will be able to engage your creativity into your writing on a much more expansive scale than if you hadn’t gone through the initial stage.
- When you go fully functional you may miss key aspects e.g. subordinate clauses
- Fully linear may prohibit the child’s writing acquisition from fully developing
Kenneth Goodman (1994)
functional/developmental model of reading/ writing
- Like learning to speak, babies should be immersed in books/writing/drawing and purposeful functional uses of print all around them so that they feel compelled tot join in
- Learn through Emersion and exposure
- Meaning comes from: Visual decoding and letter-word recognition, but also perception, semantics
Hamilton
- We should see writing as bigger than just skills - it’s about social practice.
Heath (1993)
- Published a study of 3 communities in the US, documenting the different cultural ways in which very small children initiated into literacy; these early experiences of literacy enabled them to fit more or less easily into formal schooling. Class/socio-economic impact on effectiveness and types of writing exposed to pre-school
- The key idea of a literacy even was first coined by her. She identifies a literacy even as being any occasion in which a written text involved in a social interaction (more common
What does Heaths study draw attention to
Class differences
- Access to resources
- Exposure to the world
Theories about learning
Piaget
- Supports functional approach
- Learning through doing. Teacher as facilitator, pupil as expert.
- Explanatory learning
Theories about. Learning
Bruner
- Supported the linear model
- The more you practice the better you will get at it. E.g. copying lots of letters until we can do so competently
Enactive representation - learning through doing. You learn to do many things, e.g. drive, by actually doing it. Commonly performed actions become automatic
Enactive representation
learning through doing. You learn to do many things, e.g. drive, by actually doing it. Commonly performed actions become automatic
Vygotsky
Parents/teachers offer the scaffolding necessary to help the child, who are active participants in their own writing
Learning is a social process whereby we learn via interaction either from a teacher or adult. The teacher targets the zone of proximal development or move the student from their baseline ability to their full potential at the outer reach of their zone.
Example: Teacher models something; student put it into practice and then can do it alone (in an exam?) The whole learning process is therefore an internalisation of what is learnt via social interaction
Vygotsky & Bruner
Both see the need for scaffolding which means that the education provides oppurtunities for the student to employ what has been learnt. Examples of this may be frameworks for writing, sentence starters etc
How do/can adults and teachers ‘support the learning of writing’?
- Trace letters
- WAGOLL (modelling)
- Writing frames/sentence starters
- Gap fill
- ‘Real’ writing
Spelling
Spelling stages: Richard Gentry
- Pre-communicative: Imitating writing
- Semi-phonetic: Link letters and sounds & word boundaries
- Phonetic (Reception & year 1) : Sight vocabulary & all phonemes represented by graphemes
- Transitional: Phonic knowledge combined with visual memory
- Conventional: Knowledge of spelling system and riles; mostly sight vocabulary. Know about word structures (morphemes)
Spelling
Support of Richard Gentry
Support: Not an outdated concept despite time since published. We haven’t changed the way we teach spelling so its still applicable
Common aspects of misspelling
- Insertion: Doubling or extra letters
- Omission: Leaving out letters
- Substitution: substitute one letter for another either because of similar shape or similar sound
- Transposition: Correct letters but in wrong order
- Phonetic spelling: Sound awareness to guess letters
- Over or under generalisation of rules
- Salient sounds: only writing key sound components of the word and missing out other letters
Spelling
Visual memory importance
- When spelling words we rely on visual memory to help
- It might mean we remember the shape of the word
- it might mean we remember words with similar patterns and then apply the same principle; puddle, cuddle
