For this assignment you will review literature (at least four articles) on evidence-based research on the process, instruction, and assessment of writing. The purpose is to acquaint you wi

1

The Writing Process Awareness

Nicholas Alexander Cobb

Grambling State University

ED-504: Reading for Children

Dr. Mary Ghongkedze

11/30/2023

2

Introduction

Improving a student's writing ability helps them to become a better communicator overall

and it also improves their reading, which is another essential job skill. And the ability to write a

well-crafted paper is imperative to academic success. In the study, two of my students were

selected to participate in this writing process research. The students were selected based on their

difference in abilities to write. Before I analyzed the student’s writing, I had to identify the

characteristics of a good writing student. My first characteristic was that the writer pays attention

to details. This attention to detail not only makes them fantastic editors who can spot the smallest

grammatical errors, but it adds a special touch to their writing, too. Good writers are also

extremely descriptive, as they understand the power of words. Good writers have a strong

vocabulary. Incorporating interesting and unusual words into their writing, this skill helps them

maintain a reader's interest and allows them to communicate more effectively by accessing the

perfect word for any situation.

After I selected the criteria of a good writer, I synthesized six writing samples from two

of my fourth grade students. Student one has a low learning curve and is considered to be behind

grade-level. He was identified as a non-proficient writer according to the ELA LEAP test results.

After analyzing this student’s work I was able to select his writing stage and develop a plan to

help him develop his writing stage. Student one (9 years of age) used scribble for the most part

of his writing, which was later identified as the Emergent Stage. He drew random letters on the

pages as well. Initially he was upset at the fact that he struggled with the writing prompts, but I

changed his spirit with positive thinking. I told him it was excellent that he could scribble

because he was already at the second stage of the writing process. Although this usually occurs

between the ages of 2 and 4, kids in this stage are taking the big step from scribble writing to the

3

use for writing symbols called letters. His writing did not match letters and sounds, but he’s

beginning to understand that letters play a special role in writing.

Student two is a 9 year old student that has a high learning curve, and is still not

considered to be proficient in writing, based on the ELA LEAP results. After analyzing this

student’s writing, her spelling was not accurate, but as we reviewed her writing, she showed

awareness that different spellings can have different meanings. It was evident that this student

was in the Transitional stage because of the emphasis she placed on writing letters in the correct

sound sequence. She wrote the word “vakashun” instead of “vacation”. She also correctly used

vowels and consonants.

Plan to Address Student One: Emergent Stage

Student one began with the basics that I found based on research and studies. In step one,

we begin by teaching him to write his name, which helps him understand that letters are used to

make words. The goal of this strategy was to also encourage the move from scribble writing to

using letters as symbols. Once we were able to master it, we progressed towards teaching him to

write words like "Mom," "Dad," and the names of other family members. This was an intentional

strategy that was founded upon the commonalities that he is familiar with at home. His English

teacher and I wanted to ensure that we had the opportunity to reinforce these strategies outside of

school.

While writing is imperative, according to research, the best writers are typically better

readers. Reading is extremely important at this stage. A great way that we encouraged student

one to read is to find time to read with his parents at least 20-30 minutes a day. In addition to

encouraging him to love reading, reading aloud inspires his inner storyteller, which we felt

4

would translate well to helping him develop his writing skills. Student one began to come up

with his own imagination. Reading was a strategy that helped us to reinforce the ideas that words

are made up of letters. Instead of giving him different readings everyday, we allowed him to read

the same books. When you read the same story over and over together, he began to recognize

some words. For many kids, this repetition isn't just a step toward reading but also toward

writing. Once he recognized it, he began to move on to writing those letters to tell his own story.

Plan to Address Student Two: Transitional Stage

Children in the transitional stage of writing display the ability to create meaningful

sentences to communicate a message. She showed that she has mastered basic mechanics,

starting a sentence with a capital letter, ending with the correct punctuation, and correct spelling.

She did show struggle in mixing the use of capital and lowercase letters. Therefore, our first

implementation was having her write on wide ruled lined paper as they gain control of the size of

letters. Her spacing of words on a page began improving.

We wanted to continue to develop the awareness that writing is purposeful. Therefore we

implemented a model and discussed how to choose a topic and the selection of details depending

on the purpose of writing. The most important strategy we implemented was demonstrating and

talking about the writing of the whole text from letter to word to sentence to paragraph. This was

accomplished by giving her several opportunities for personal choice writing such as diaries and

journals. We analyzed the features of her writing, including topics like ideas, feelings,

experiences.

Reflection

The most important lesson to understand about the writing process, is that it is constantly

recurring, meaning that there will be time where as a teacher, we may need to move back and

5

forth between some or all of the steps. There are many ways to approach this process. The initial

theory I developed about the writing process is that It is the process of discovery through

language. It is the process of exploration of what we know and what we feel about what we

know through language. The easiest way for me to look at this process is as a series of steps that

you can move from one to the other and back again.

The purpose of each stage was extremely important. Prewriting sets the tone because

planning such as research, brainstorming, and outlining. Progressing to the drafting stage is

important because the student had to write the material in the intended format. Revising served

as examining the content of the text and making needed adjustments. While the editing phase

was correcting errors in mechanics, spelling, and grammar. The books that I found useful to the

students growth in the writing process was:

1. Author: A True Story by Helen Lester

2. The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli, Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

3. My Book About Me by ME, Myself by Dr. Seuss

4. My Weird Writing Tips by Dan Gutman, illustrated by Jim Paillot

Based on my observation, I did notice that we have some teachers that are attempting to

help raise awareness and bridge the writing gaps in our students. The push and encouragement

has increased for students to read at home with their families. The school did a book drive and

was able to donate books to every student in the school. This was completed to promote reading

with the families. The principal developed a rewards system for students who take books home,

read with their families, and report back on the books they have read. We also did a monthly

field trip to the local library. Students love to read, but we realized that they are not aware of the

different resources available to them right in their own community. Therefore the field trip

6

allowed the students to register for the library card and have access to the community resources

seven days a week.

Now we are making progress to closing the gaps, but there are still some challenges that

are faced. These challenges include inadequate teaching and learning materials, high teacher –

pupil ratio and others. Reading difficulties is a problem which is widespread although it is not

receiving the necessary attention that it deserves. As I analyzed the challenges, I realized that we

as a teaching community are neglecting the most important phase of the writing process. The

brainstorming process is one of the most important – and often overlooked – steps in writing a

book. Brainstorming is essential to coming up with strong, original ideas for your book and can

help you flesh out your characters and plotlines. This is the time to give students the opportunity

to be creative and spark curiosity.

Recommendations:

Parents can play a vital role in the development of their children’s writing ability. Below,

I have listed the tips for parents to help their children become better authors:

1. Express Heartfelt Enthusiasm

a. Regardless of the type of assistance that parents provide, they can also

play one final supporting role: that of cheerleader.

2. Release Judgment

a. Parents should approach assistance with that mindset, reassuring their

children that they are collaborators, not teachers or evaluators.

3. Read Aloud

7

a. I encourage parents to ask their child to read the piece aloud, and practice

using it in the classroom with student partners. This helps students hear

the mistakes they may miss in the writing.

4. Talk to your child… A LOT

a. Children expand their vocabulary and understanding of sentence structures

not only through reading but also through conversations with others.

Parents' and guardians' understanding of literacy is critical in influencing their children's reading

and writing habits. Help your children become good readers by choosing books appropriate for

their age and interests. Set aside reading time as a priority and provide access to printed or digital

versions of books. After reading, have the students write and talk about what they read. These

are easily applicable methods that can make a drastic difference in the student’s ability to write.

8

References

“Efficient Ways to Improve Student Writing.” Www.uww.edu,

www.uww.edu/learn/restiptool/improve-student-writing.

“Healthy Parental Support of Student Writing.” Edutopia,

www.edutopia.org/article/healthy-parental-support-student-writing/.

“Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers | Reading Rockets.”

Www.readingrockets.org,

www.readingrockets.org/topics/writing/articles/teaching-elementary-school-students-be-e

ffective-writers#:~:text=Teachers%20can%20encourage%20students%20to.

“The Importance of a Parent/Guardian’s Role in Their Child’s Literacy: Resources and Tips.”

Reading Partners,

readingpartners.org/blog/the-importance-of-a-parent-guardians-role-in-their-childs-literac

y-resources-and-tips/#:~:text=Parents. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.