Literacy 

How writing develops 

 Writing in the Early Years

A child's writing development parallels the child's development as a reader.

Part of early print awareness is the realisation that writing can be created with everyday tools such as pens, pencils, crayons, and textas. Children begin to imitate the writing that they see around them. What often starts as scribbling ends up being important clues to a young child’s understanding that print carries meaning.

Young children move through a series of stages as they are learning to write. The stages reflect a child's growing knowledge of the conventions of literacy, including letters, sounds and spacing of words within sentences. Almost every interaction in a child's world is preparing them to become a reader and writer.

It's important to remember that every child is different and there are variations in the way children move through writing stages. 

Chris Catterall and Jemma McVeigh