Development of Writing in Primary Education

Posted on Sep 26, 2024 in Teaching & Education

Unit 19: Development of Writing in Primary Education

Learning Methods and Strategies. Composition of Different Written Texts. Utilizing ICT. Educational Intervention Strategies.

1. Introduction

Reading and writing are fundamental skills learned in school. However, a significant number of children struggle with these instrumental learning processes.

Yetta M. Goodman explains that even very young children constantly interact with written texts, including product labels, toys, street signs, and signs in restaurants and shops. In this print-rich environment, children begin to understand the roles reading and writing play in their social group. The school’s role is to develop these skills from the moment a child enters pre-primary education.

Therefore, the Regional Decree of Minimum Requirements (RRDD) outlines the role of Primary Education (EP) in extending linguistic and communicative competence, enabling students to interact effectively in various social settings.

Based on this approach, we aim to clarify the development of writing in EP, determine appropriate educational interventions, and introduce techniques for review and evaluation.

2. Developing Writing in EP

2.1. Writing

The act of writing is referred to by various names, such as writing, written expression (as in the theme statement), or written composition, which is the term used in the RRDD.

Ajuariaguerra (1980) recognizes that “writing is not only a way to indelibly record our ideas and memories, but also a form of transmission and communication in our society.”

While orality, amplified by media, is considered the pinnacle of human communication, writing remains a defining characteristic of our civilization, present in most human activities. Far from disappearing, writing has diversified to meet modern needs. Its acquisition remains essential for full access to culture (e.g., SMS, email, social networks).

Schools dedicate significant time to writing, but the time spent doesn’t always correlate with the quality of results. Teachers observe that many students don’t achieve acceptable writing proficiency by the end of primary education. This is because writing is a complex process involving numerous linguistic, cultural, and textual skills.

2.2. Development of Written Expression in Primary Education (PD)

Understanding the evolution of writing at this stage allows teachers to evaluate children’s achievements and plan interventions tailored to each student’s needs.

To understand the writing process in PD, we’ll overview the phases (or hypotheses), based on Teberosky and Ferreiro, that children go through. These serve as a reference for evaluating written work.

  1. Distinguishing between drawing and writing: Recognizing the difference between the symbolic system of conventional writing and drawing.
  2. Producing undifferentiated graphic symbols: Using continuous graphic marks regardless of the intended meaning.
  3. Seeking distinct graphic marks: Attempting to use different graphic marks for different communicative intentions.
  4. Syllabic stage: Realizing that letters in words are not arbitrary. Selecting letters based on the number of syllables in the word.
  5. Syllabic-alphabetic phase: Identifying some letters within a syllable, usually the vowel, and writing a (conventional) letter for each syllable.
  6. Alphabetic phase: Identifying and writing all letters in a word, though still making spelling errors.
  7. Improving written productions: Refining both the formal dimension (spelling, syntax, vocabulary) and the expressive and communicative aspects.

During the first two cycles, children use basic spelling rules. By the end of PD, they should have automated these rules and use appropriate resources (dictionaries, notes) to resolve common spelling issues.

Acquiring conventional punctuation is a later development due to the multiple functions of punctuation marks. It begins in the first cycle with capitalization, periods, and commas in lists, as well as exclamation and question marks.

During the second and third cycles, students learn other punctuation functions, such as marking parts of a longer statement, indicating opposition or coordination, and using semicolons, quotation marks, and parentheses.

Throughout the stage, students develop mastery of syntactic structures and expand their vocabulary.

2.3. Writing within the PE Curriculum

Writing is a complex process acquired over time.

Recognizing that children need to learn both the code and the various genres of written language, there are two main teaching approaches:

  1. Code first: This traditional approach focuses on teaching the code before moving on to narrative, descriptive, and other forms of writing.
  2. Parallel development: This approach recognizes that knowledge of written language and the code develop separately.

The LOE’s language teaching model aligns with the latter approach, as reflected in the RRDD’s emphasis on communicative competence. The curriculum focuses on learning discourse skills.

Teaching writing involves considering the written text as a unit of meaning within a specific context. The curriculum is organized around different text typologies, which will be addressed in section four.

The use of writing, reading, and composition progressively increases in complexity of planning, structuring, and contextual diversification.

Therefore, regarding writing, students should be able to:

  • First Cycle: Write and rewrite various texts related to childhood experiences, following clear models, using planning and revision, and applying simpler spelling and grammar rules.
  • Second Cycle: Write, rewrite, and summarize various texts relevant to everyday and school situations, using orderly planning and revision, applying spelling and grammar rules, and utilizing both paper and digital media.
  • Third Cycle: Narrate, explain, describe, summarize, and present opinions and information in texts related to everyday and school situations, connecting statements appropriately, using planning and revision procedures, applying grammar and spelling rules, and utilizing both paper and digital media.

3. Methods and Learning Strategies

3.1. Cognitive Processes Involved in Writing

To establish the strategies children use in writing, we must understand the cognitive activities involved.

Flower and Hayes’ (1981) model identifies three cognitive processes:

  1. Planning: Addressing questions like: What do I say? How do I say it? When is it appropriate to introduce what I want to say?
  2. Translating: Transforming information from memory into language, requiring mastery of written conventions (letter formation, sentence construction).
  3. Reviewing: Proofreading and editing to improve text quality. Rereading and evaluating the content produced.

These processes are not linear or independent. Children may plan, translate, and review at any point during writing. The process requires not only these operations but also strategies to determine the overall goal.

3.2. Learning Strategies

Besides teaching strategies, teachers must consider individual cognitive styles and adapt their educational responses accordingly.

  • Development Strategies: Connecting new information to familiar concepts. Paraphrasing, summarizing, and describing how new information relates to existing knowledge.
  • Organizational Strategies: Structuring content, dividing it into parts, and identifying relationships and hierarchies. This includes selection strategies for identifying the most important information.
  • Control Strategies of Understanding (Metacognitive Strategies): Maintaining awareness of goals, tracking strategies, and adapting behavior accordingly. These include:
    • Planning Strategies: Breaking down tasks, setting timelines, and selecting strategies.
    • Control, Direction, and Supervision Strategies: Following the plan, monitoring effectiveness, and seeking alternative strategies.
    • Evaluation Strategies: Reviewing steps, assessing progress, and deciding when to complete the process.
  • Emotional Support Strategies: Enhancing the writing process by maintaining motivation, focus, and managing anxiety.

4. Composition of Different Written Texts in EP

The goal of teaching writing is not just mastering the writing system, but using it to create various compositions with clear communicative intent.

Writing activities should be functional, contextualized, and relevant to children’s needs and interests. We should motivate children through meaningful activities, considering their prior knowledge and learning strategies.

Based on this premise and the content outlined for each cycle, we propose the following text types:

4.2.a. Texts for Everyday Social Situations
  • Correspondence (Letters and Postcards): Letters have specific features, including sender, purpose, and delivery method. We’ll focus on family or friendly letters, which have a structure consisting of place and date, greeting, text (colloquial, precise, spontaneous), closing, and signature. Start with simple letters related to children’s interests (e.g., a letter to the Magi) and gradually increase complexity.
  • Notes and Notices: Students are familiar with notes from teachers to parents and vice versa. These have a simple structure: heading, information, closing, and signature. Begin with restructuring activities, where children write notes as if they were teachers or parents, using models and gradually moving towards independent composition.
4.2.b. Informative and Opinion Texts for Social Media
  • News: Derived from narrative, news follows the “inverted pyramid” structure, with the most important information first. Journalistic writing uses specific vocabulary and short, active sentences. Activities can involve imitating professional news writing.
  • Letters to the Editor: This allows students to participate in public discourse, expressing their opinions or concerns as active subjects.
4.2.c. Texts for School: Collecting, Organizing, and Communicating Information
  • Definitions/Descriptions: These texts define or describe concepts using precise terminology and simple sentence structure. Definitions require a clear textual structure with cohesive blocks and connectors. Introduce definitions through a class dictionary.
  • Explanations: These texts explain facts, investigate evidence, and use descriptive and explanatory features, connectors (e.g., for, since, however), and relative clauses. Lexicon is crucial. Activities involve information gathering, selection, and organization, with varying levels of teacher guidance.
  • Summaries: Synthesizing the essential ideas of a subject. Activities include reading, underlining, and composing meaningful sentences based on the underlined information.

5. Use of ICT

5.1. ICT

The transformative impact of ICT requires changes in instructional methods to leverage its possibilities:

  • Increased interest and motivation
  • Interaction and active learning
  • Development of initiative and autonomy
  • Learning from mistakes through immediate feedback
  • Enhanced communication
  • Cooperative learning
  • Interdisciplinarity
  • Audiovisual and digital literacy
  • Information selection and evaluation skills
  • Improved expression and creativity
5.2. Use of ICTs in Writing
  • Information Selection and Processing: Students will learn to search, select, record, and process information using various techniques and strategies.
  • Word Processor: Word processing programs offer numerous advantages for writing, including editing and revising. Students need to learn how to use this software effectively.

6. Educational Intervention Strategies

Planning effective interventions involves considering the cycle, student needs and interests, and available resources. Strategies include:

  • Offering varied writing situations and topics
  • Providing real communication situations
  • Using authentic texts
  • Using model compositions
  • Fostering collaboration
  • Providing support and motivation
  • Focusing evaluation on text properties and the composition process
  • Teaching self-correction and providing feedback
  • Comparing current and past writing assignments
  • Evaluating both product and process

7. Conclusion

Writing requires educational interventions aligned with the demands of this complex activity. Writing is more than producing written messages; it’s using functional communication in different situations. Effective instruction focuses on student activity, teacher guidance, and the use of appropriate learning strategies.

8. Bibliography

  • Cassany, Luna y Sanz (1994) Teaching language. Barcelona. Graó.
  • Batkin (1986)
  • Ajuariaguerra (1980)
  • Yetta M. Goodman
  • Flower and Hayes (1981)