Children's writing

Terms. theorists and approaches

what is the rule based model?

using spelling, punctuation, grammar rules so that progress will be made more quicker

what are the advantages of the rule based model?

* learning rules earlier on will help children later on in life

what are disadvantages of the rule based model?

* it can be demotivating

what is the creative model?

argues that children should be able to experiment creatively with language through trial and error rather than strict correction

what are the advantages of the creative model?

* encourages independence
* children can link their own experiences to their writing
* gives confidence
* develops imagination
* they gain knowledge about genre and pragmatics

what are the disadvantages of the creative model?

* children need to know rules for successful communication and stigma
* experiences may not occur to all children - Bordieu

what is the phoneme-grapheme correspondence?

the connection between sounds and the written symbols which correspond to them

what is a phoneme?

the sound of a letter or a blend of letters within a word

what is the phonic approach?

encourages children to break down words into individual graphemes and sound them out in order to read the whole word correctly

what is the synthetic approach?

bottom up approach

* theif = th
* teaches children individual phonemes from reading

what is directionality?

the process of writing from left to right

what is the analytic phonics?

top down approach

* thief = th-ie-f
* encourages the breaking down of words into key sections

what is emergent writing?

a process of children making signs on paper that they intend to represent particular word

what are fine motor skills?

encourages children to use a tripod grip when writing

james britton (1975)

* suggests that there are 3 types of writing

1. **expressive:** children talk about themselves
2. **poetic:** allows children to be creative; rhyme and alliteration
3. **transactional:** children are able to separate their identity away from their writing

jeanne chall (1983)

* suggested a number of staged children go through learning to read

1. **pre - reading** (up to 6): before children can actually read
2. **initial reading/decoding** (6-7): breaking words down to read them
3. **confirmation/fluency** (7-8): they can talk about the whole text and read faster

jean rothery (1980)

* identified 4 categories that appear in early writing

1. **observation/comment:** a child observes something and makes a comment on it
2. **recount:** a child can recall a chronological order of an event
3. **report:** a factual description of an event
4. **narrative:** story genre

what is the look and say approach?

encourages children to identify familiar words as a whole and then read them accurately

what did Bourdieu discover? 1986

cultural capital

what is cultural capital?

the social and cultural experiences which exposures children to new experiences

what are the skills that need to be in place before writing can occur?

* **fine motor skills**: being able to hold a pen
* **directionality**: reading left to right
* **cognitive awareness:** phoneme-grapheme connection

Kroll’s writing stages (1981)

* **preparatory stage**: (up to 6) motor skills, basic spelling
* **consolidation stage:** (7-8) short declarative sentences, conjunctions, incomplete sentences
* **differentiation stage:** (9-10) difference between speech and writing, different styles, errors still occurring, writing guides, thoughts and feeling are presented
* **integration stage:** (mid teens) personal style, can adapt writing to suit audiences and purposes

john abbot (1999)

* talks about rule based vs creativity

***‘Battery hens or free range chickens’***

the creative approach allows children to thrive because it allows them to experiment which boosts confidence and motivation as they are less likely to be afraid of making mistakes

Granger, Goouch, Lambirth (2005)

Schools are following a rule-based approach

what are the different types of handwriting?

* **cursive script:** joined up to encourage speed
* **print handwriting:** separate letters
* **casual cursive script:** in between, having to pause

Richard Gentry (1987)

* spelling stages

* **pre-communicative:** random letters and symbols, no connection
* **semi-phonetic stage:** letters can represent whole words, left to right and letter-to-sound connection
* **phonetic stage:** spelling is based on sound
* **transitional stage**: start to acknowledge silent letters
* **conventional stage:** spellings are correct and homophones are learnt

what are the different types of spelling?

* **undergeneralisation:** a rule hasn’t been applied when it should have been
* **overgeneralisation:** a rule has been applied when it shouldn’t have been
* **omission:** letters missing
* **substitution:** wrong letter
* **transposition:** letters in the wrong order
* **digraph:** two letters that make a sound: ch, ta
* **insertion:** adding extra letters

what is an example of undergeneralisation?

poppeys to poppies

* the standard rule is a word ending in ‘y’ will become ‘-ies’ this hasn’t been applied where it should of

what is an example of overgeneralisation?

donkies to donkeys

* the word donkey is irregular so the plural is spelt donkeys, overgeneralisation would write ‘donkies’

what is an example of omission?

hapend = happened

* is an example as the extra p and e have been omitted

what is an example of substitution?

abowt = about

* when a letter is replaced with a different letter
* ‘w’ has replaced the ‘u’

what is an example of transposition?

olny = only

* letters are switched around
* ‘l’ and ‘n’ have swapped

what is an example of digraph?

oo (/u/) appear in book, took, foot and wood

what are homonyms?

words that are spelt the same but are pronounced differently

* eg: the actor took a **bow,** his friend fixed his **bow** for him

what are homophones?

words that are pronounced the same but have different spellings and meanings

* eg: look at that pretty **flower**, i am baking with **flour**