By: Kendall Hunt RPD with contributions from the editorial team

“Can you tell me about your picture?”

“Can you tell me what your story says?”

As a teacher, parent, or classmate, asking questions to an enthusiastic young artist or writer can ignite a burst of excitement. The child eagerly shares their drawing, pointing out features and explaining the story they’ve created. Even if their scribbles seem indecipherable to an adult, they hold deep significance and meaning for the child. This is the joy of Kidwriting—where even scribble, scrawl, or creative mark is a unique expression of their imagination.

Even when a child is first writing and creating a story, they develop their understanding of words and pictures based on their current knowledge. This process helps them build connections between their thoughts and the symbols they use to represent them. Kidwriting is a valuable precursor to conventional writing because it signifies that their child is beginning to make the connections between oral and written language. With invented spelling or scribbles, children can write independently, and when they can read something, they have written, they feel successful as writers. As they grow, their ability to articulate ideas through writing and drawing becomes more refined, laying the foundation for future literacy and artistic skills.

There are six basic levels to the Kidwriting process:

Level 1—children draw pictures

Level 2—children make scribble marks to stand for words

Level 3—children use random letters, perhaps the letters of their names, to stand for words

Level 4—children use invented spelling by matching a few letters to sounds

Level 5—children use about one letter per word, usually the first or most prominent sound

Level 6—children use about one letter per sound in a word

Outside of these six levels is another very important level in the Kidwriting process: Adult Underwriting. The teacher listens to the child read his or her story and observes the Kidwriting that the child has created. Then, the teacher validates the correct sounds in the child’s words and, underneath the Kidwriting, writes the story using conventional spelling. In this way, the child can more confidently match a sound that he or she hears with the conventional letters written by the teacher. This shows children the letters they didn’t hear independently.

Underwriting is not, however, the only way in which adults can promote Kidwriting. Early childhood educator and reading expert Amanda Boyarshinov shares five tips for encouraging Kidwriting, where she advocates for giving kids authentic writing experiences at their skill level. For example, she suggests that students write letters to friends and family, which the teacher or parent can mail. Physically mailing the letter gives children a sense of accomplishment and creates a perfect opportunity for teaching about the postal system (and perhaps a lesson in patience as they wait for a reply note).

Similarly, students engaging in dramatic play can write their own menus, grocery lists, or doctor’s prescriptions. Beginning Kidwriters can draw pictures of the items they wish to include, gradually scaffolding their work to perhaps write only the first letter of a word, then finally a full word.

The Kindergarten Stepping Stone program emphasizes Kidwriting through the Emergent Writing Tracking Card, which allows the teacher to record students’ writing progress. Specific writing skills, such as “writes known alphabet letters,” “stretches out sounds,” and “begins to write complete sentences,” are clearly ranked within the level (1–6) to which they correspond. Teachers can mark and date the skills that children present (P), are still developing (D), or can perform independently (I).

The Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts program emphasizes daily writing practice as a crucial part of literacy development. This comprehensive program integrates reading and language arts for grades 1-8, encouraging students to write each day to develop their skills. It provides structured opportunities for children to engage in writing activities that are meaningful and relevant to their lives, fostering a love for writing and reading.

Kidwriting, whether it’s simple scribbles or unconventional spelling, in a valid form of developed writing as a child progresses though the grades, is a valid form of writing and should be treated as such. Celebrating each student’s writing successes at the early stages nurtures a love of written work and starts students on the pathway to becoming lifelong readers and writers!

 

How do you encourage writing in your classroom?

What strategies are you using to make the most of developing writing skills for your students?

 

Sources:

https://theeducatorsspinonit.com/after-school-express-what-does/

Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts program 

Writing in Early Childhood Classrooms: 12 Best Practices