Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Teachers’ Understandings of Representing and Early Writing of Children Living in Poverty

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: Understanding the Literacy Skills of Early Readers and Writers

Abstract

This study describes prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers’ understandings about the nature of representing, including early writing. Teachers met an average of six times to respond to an open-ended question about why children write and to discuss students’ writing samples. They were prompted to discuss the “whys” and “hows” of the samples that are unique for their students. The analyses indicate that teachers focused on writing to teach children to copy/form letters, learn grammar, learn sub-lexical features of the code, communicate/express themselves, write to learn, and learn the conceptual meaning of writing. Teachers use writing to assess children’s learning. Drawing and writing and their interrelationships were discussed. Implications for developing teachers’ understandings and the competence of their young learners are discussed.

Authors

• M. Susan Burns, George Mason University

• Julie K. Kidd, George Mason University