Who Writes What When: Examining Children's Early Composing

• In Event: Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: Early Childhood Language and Literacy

Abstract

Despite the importance of children’s writing skills to academic success, relatively little is known about preschool children’s composing skills. Studies examining children’s writing in preschool primarily focus on the development of transcription skills (e.g., handwriting and spelling). The current study used a scaffolded writing task to assess children’s early composing skills. Findings reveal that children primarily “compose” in four different ways. Although children were able to orally communicate a response that matched the task, few were able to write conventionally. Results also reveal that children’s presence in these groups was related to prereading, cognitive, and other writing measures that were administered to gain a deeper understanding of the skills that children might use when composing text. Instructional implications are discussed.

Authors

• Margaret F. Quinn, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

• Gary E. Bingham, Georgia State University

• Hope K. Gerde, Michigan State University