3-163 - The Development and Promotion of Early Writing Skills: Child, Parental, and Teacher Contributions

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Children’s writing development is a critical, yet understudied, contributor to their literacy development and related to later reading and academic achievement (Graham & Hebert, 2011; Hammill, 2004). Writing, particularly in early childhood, is a complex task requiring children to execute a variety of skills to be successful. Compared to reading development, however, little research exists on (a) how children develop early writing skills, particularly in orthographies other than English, (b) how reading and writing skills develop together or separately across early childhood, or (c) the role that parents and teachers play in the development of these skills (IRA & NICHD, 2012; National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). To address this research gap, the proposed symposia presents four papers examining children’s development of writing skills and how parents, teachers, and children themselves impact the development of these skills. Importantly, presentations represent interdisciplinary and diverse perspectives of children’s development of writing by considering (1) how these skills are manifested in different orthographies (Chinese, English, Hebrew), (2) how the development of writing skills relates to other component skills (e.g., fine motor skills, orthographic knowledge, children’s self-talk, and other cognitive factors), and (3) how interactions with classroom materials, parents, and teachers promotes writing proficiency. This symposium is significant in that it will greatly contribute to the small, but growing body of research addressing writing component skills which are vital for school success and how these skills can be promoted through creating high quality early writing interactions in the home and at school.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chairs

• Gary Bingham, Georgia State University

• Hope K Gerde, Michigan State University

Individual Presentations

• Developmental importance of handwriting and cognitive skills in Chinese word writing in beginning and advanced learners - Presenting Author: Silvia Siu-Yin Lam, Northwestern University; Catherine A McBride-Chang, Chinese Univ of Hong Kong

• The role of parental support and children's private speech during writing - Presenting Author: Dorit Aram, Tel Aviv University

• Children’s development of writing skills in early childhood: The impact of teacher scaffolding and environmental supports - Presenting Author: Gary Bingham, Georgia State University; Hope K Gerde, Michigan State University; Margaret Quinn, Georgia State University; Zehra Ozturk, Georgia State University

• Supporting emergent writing in Head Start: Outcomes for teachers and children. - Presenting Author: Barbara D DeBaryshe, Univ of Hawaii at Manoa