The Developmental Stages of Writing

  To create an effective writing workshop within a rich literacy program, as teachers it is vital  to know the needs of our students. I was interested in learning more about the developmental stages of writing.  The book "Marvelous Minilesson for Teaching Begining Writing , K-3"  by Lori Jamison Rog opened up my eyes to a whole new perspective of how to implement a writing workshop. Through this new information, I was able to understand how young children develop and how as a primary teacher I can meet their literacy needs.

Yay for this amazing book! 

So here is the secret ingredient to a rich writing workshop: 

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF WRITING

By using this developmental chart, you can see at what stage your students are and how you can plan accordingly to meet their needs. Lets take a look at the stages:

1. Emergent Writers

•  know that symbols on a page conveys a message
• have no grasped of the relationship between alphabet letters and sounds
• most children draw a picture and symbols and label it as "writing"

This chart shows the characteristics and areas of instructional focus. This is important as we want to know what we need to reinforce with these students.

2. Early Writers 

• put letters together to form words that they are able to read
• like to use picture to stimulate the writing
• begun to make connection between letters and sounds 

This chart demonstrates the areas teachers should focus on with these students.

3. Developing Writers

• compose extended text
• pay close attention to spelling and grammar
• plan before writing 

This chart demonstrates the characteristics and areas of focus for developing writers. 

4. Fluent Writers 

• extends from about second grade through adulthood
• organized and well-crafted writing
• fluency refers to the flow and rhythm of writing

This chart demonstrates the next steps for fluent writers.

By using these stages we can analyze our students and understand  how we can help them improve. Now that you know about these stages, you are probably wondering how you can create a writing workshop that would benefit all of your students, DO NOT PANIC! Next I am going to show you how you can create lesson plans that will meet the needs of all your students.