Even the youngest readers benefit
from opportunities to express themselves in writing.
Children’s writing develops over time and their
writing changes as they become more proficient.
At any stage, it is important to let your student
do the writing—allowing them the opportunity
to be heard. Looking at the stages will give you
some idea of how students develop as writers. These
stages are not purely linear, and students may display
characteristics from more than one stage. Learning
to write is a long and complex process and as a
literacy tutor, you can be part of the first exciting
steps.
Allow your
student to create the sentence or passage.
If the student
is a weak speller or a beginning writer, don’t
demand that she write something for every word.
Choose several words that she can partially
write, or ask her to contribute the first and
last letter, which are easiest for beginners.
Use any contribution
to the writing that your student makes, if possible.
If only one letter is right, put it in the correct
place and fill in the rest yourself.
Children become
fluent writers by working through several stages
at their own rate. Learning to write takes time!
