Portraits of Writers
Preconventional (ages 3-5)
At the Preconventional stage, children rely on their pictures to show meaning. They often pretend to write by using scribble writing. Children sometimes make random letters and numbers to represent words. Some children add “words” to their pictures to share meaning. They often tell stories about their pictures.Emerging (ages 4-6)
These children begin to see themselves as writers. Some students begin to label their pictures with a few letters. They may write their name and some familiar words in a way that others can read. Students may write just the beginning or the beginning and ending sounds they hear. At the Emerging stage, children often write everything in upper case letters. They may pretend to read their own writing, often elaborating to embellish their stories.
Developing (ages 5-7)
Students at the Developing stage write names and familiar words. They begin to write one or two short sentences, such as “MI DG PLS” (“My dog plays”). Developing writers use beginning, middle and ending sounds to make words. For example, learn might be written “LRn.” This developmental reliance on the sounds of the letters is called “invented spelling,” “phonetic spelling,” or “temporary spelling.” At this stage, students spell some high frequency words correctly. Students often interchange upper and lower case letters and experiment with capital letters and simple punctuation. Their writing goes from left to right and begins to include spacing. Students are able to read their own compositions aloud immediately after writing, but later may not remember what they wrote.
Beginning (ages 6-8)
At the Beginning stage, children write recognizable short sentences with some descriptive words. They can write several sentences about their lives and experiences or simple facts about a topic. Students sometimes use capitals and periods correctly. Many letters are formed legibly and adults can usually read what the child has written. Students spell some words phonetically and others are spelled correctly. They usually spell simple words and some high frequency words correctly as they become more aware of spelling patterns. Beginning writers often start a story with “Once upon a time” and finish with “The End.” Children may revise by adding details with the teacher’s help. They enjoy sharing their writing with others. Students may stay at this stage longer than the previous ones as they build fluency.
Expanding (ages 7-9)
Students at this stage can write poems and stories about their experiences and interests, as well as short nonfiction pieces. They use complete sentences and their writing contains a logical flow of ideas. Their stories sometimes contain a beginning, middle and end.
Bridging (ages 8-10)
Bridging writers begin to develop and organize their ideas into paragraphs. Students at this stage are able to write about their feelings and opinions, as well as fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. However, this is a time of practice and their writing is often uneven. Writers may focus on one aspect of a piece and pay less attention to the others. For example, a student may focus on strong verbs and descriptive language, while conventions and organization move to the back burner. Students still require a great deal of adult modeling and guidance at this stage. Bridging writers are learning that meaning can be made more precise by using description, details, and interesting language. Students experiment with dialogue in their writing. They are able to edit for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. They also experiment with different types of writing as they compose longer pieces in various genres. Bridging writers use the writing process to revise, edit and publish their work with adult support.
Fluent (ages 9-11)
This is a stage of increasing complexity. Students begin to write organized fiction and nonfiction pieces for different purposes and audiences. They write poetry, using carefully chosen language. Students write stories with problems and solutions, as well as multiple characters, with adult support. They experiment with leads, endings, and complex sentence structure. For example, they may start a sentence with an adverb (“Nervously, the boy sat at his desk, waiting for his turn to speak.”). Students begin to revise for specific writing traits, such as ideas or word choice. Fluent writers are able to catch most spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors independently as they edit their drafts. They begin to talk about the qualities of good writing in different genres.
Proficient (ages 10-13) These are strong writers who can write persuasively about their ideas, feelings, and opinions. Their fiction and nonfiction writing is organized, and they can weave in information from several sources with some adult guidance. They use complex sentences, sophisticated language, and imagery independently and their writing is descriptive. Proficient writers are learning how to create fiction with detailed settings and well developed plots and characters. Students revise, edit and publish some of their work independently. They are beginning to set their own goals and identify ways in which to improve as writers.
Connecting (ages 11-14)
At the Connecting stage, students write in a variety of genres and forms for different purposes and audiences. Students use a variety of prewriting strategies to organize and strengthen their writing. They compose cohesive paragraphs, using reasons and examples for support. Connecting writers can integrate information from a variety of sources and can create graphs and charts to convey information. They write organized, fluent and detailed nonfiction with bibliographies using correct format. In their fiction, students can create plots with a climax and believable characters. At this stage, writers use descriptive language, details, and imagery independently, and may use dialogue to enhance character development. Connecting writers can revise for specific writing traits (such as organization or sentence fluency) independently. As they revise, students work through several drafts independently and may rewrite or delete sections. They ask for feedback and incorporate other people’s suggestions into their writing.
Independent
Writers at the Independent stage create cohesive, in-depth fiction with carefully chosen language and strong characters, setting, plot, and mood. They use dialogue and literary devices (such as metaphors and imagery) effectively. They can also write accurate and fluent nonfiction on a variety of topics. Writing has become natural, and they have internalized the writing process. Independent writers seek feedback from others and work on multiple drafts. They begin to develop a personal voice and style of writing. In final drafts, there are very few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Students at this stage can analyze their own writing and set goals independently. They write with confidence and competence and persevere through complex writing projects.
