Learning+To+Write

=Learning To Write = = =

In Marmaduke Monkey’s writing development, there is a big difference between his ability to tell a story and write a story. He is learning that the language he writes and language he speaks are two very different things and as teachers, we can see that he is at different stages with his speaking, reading and writing and we can’t teach a blanket approach according to his abilities in one area. Marmaduke Monkey, through his reading, knows that spoken sounds have written symbols and when he writes a story, he tries to use these symbols, however because he doesn’t yet know the correct ones, his writing looks something like this:  (Hill 2006, p.283)

To us this just looks like scribbles, but to Marmaduke Monkey, these symbols (letters) are telling a story. This is //beginning writing// where he is starting to copy the sort of writing style he sees when adults write in a flowing cursive line. When he starts to use letters from the alphabet he will move into the //early-emergent stage //. Letters or symbols will seen to be distinctly different from drawing and he may start to use one or two letters to represent one word such as, B and L for ball. Then comes //emergent writing //where his symbols become more letter like and spaces appear between letters. The principle of directionality (Clay, 1975, p23) will start to appear as Marmaduke Monkey begins to write his letters from left to right and may repeat them over and over again. When the features of his writing start to become more defined, such as using upper and lower case letters and spaces, Marmaduke Monkey will move into the //early writing// stage where he will start to copy texts more closely but may still invent spelling of unfamiliar words. At this point he will also be starting to recognise the difference between different text genres (Hill 2006, p.285) //Transitional writing // is when his writing or stories will become longer but sentences may still be repetitive, as mentioned in Hill (2006,p.285) “…quantity not quality becomes apparent”. Plots will start to develop as he learns more about the features of narratives and punctuations is improving which means he can move into the extending writing phase where his spelling and different text type writing is well developed. When he is going into the transitional phase or when he begins to see the differences between different text types, he will use a framework for his writing that can be used for all text types and in modelled, guided, shared or independent writing. It is as follows: (Hill 2006, p.293-295) Learning to write is a multi-stranded task that focuses on not just handwriting but also sentences, punctuation, grammatical features of language, spelling, directionality, constructing, planning, and different genres of writing, plus many more. For Marmaduke Monkey, learning to write is something that will take time and will be heavily influenced by other things such as his reading capabilities, showing that reading and writing aren’t always two separate things but are fluid and co-dependent and must be taught as such.
 * 1) **Selecting ideas**
 * 2) **Organising those ideas**
 * 3) **Drafting**
 * 4) **Revision and proofreading**
 * 5) **Publishing**
 * 6) **Response and evaluation**
 * 7) **Punctuation, grammar and handwriting**