Children's writing samples

Nature book - Year 4 / age 7-8

The garden

The garden has got a pond with lilly pads and a fish.
Round it has got flowers and a tree.
there is a patio.
It has got lotf of grass


Page 9
In are yard ther is a big tree
I see bloutit in it my dad put a Bold box on the tree.
We have a swing the stains came the robns we put bred and seeds.

The star of Wathapd
One day i whet to intanmost
I sow a lagtayttit & a {unclear}
it was good i whet to the capays & I got some keyl mit cake.
Then i whet {unclear}
The end.

Wild animals - Year 5 / age 9-10

Jungle animals
The tiger has strips all over his coat.
The lepord has spots here and there.
The poor hippotamas has a probics.
Th gorilla is covered with hair.
The giraffe has, by heack a very long neck.
The elephant has a large trunk.
The lion is king of the jungle,
but they all run away from the skunk.

The African Jungle {extract}
One sunny morning leo the lion was thinking. He was thinking of the jungle to make it nicer. Hello leo! replied Hisser, 'what are you doing today?' Well I want to change the jungle, to make it nicer. I don't want you to "said Hisser. I like it as it is she said. I am the king said leo arngreyley. Nila, leos wife came back from the jungles in north Africa. The pack of monkeys up a tree from leo, were very happy to see Nila.

Children's writing

Children's spelling

• Doubling consonants – e.g. breezzy, dissappeared

• Spell phonetically – e.g. ment, brite

• Stressed and unstressed letters – knife = nife, stomach = tomach

• Vowel combinations – i.e. ‘I comes before e’ e.g. coulourful

• Suffixing and prefixing – e.g. living = liveing

• Initial letter – e.g. England = Ingland

• Insertion - adding extra letters 

• Omission - leaving out letters

• Substitution - substituting one letter for another

• Transposition - reversing the order of letters in words

• Phonetic spelling - spelling words according to the standard phonemes that graphemes make

• Over/undergeneralising of spelling rules - applying or not applying rules in inappropriate contexts or one specific context

• Salient (key) sounds - only including the key sounds

Cohesive features

• Connectives

• Punctuation – full stop, colon

• Order of the text

• Tenses used

• Paragraphs

• Headings, sub headings

• Consistency of audience

• Anaphoric references – referring to the past - last week

• Cataphoric references – referring to future – later on

• Continuity of style

• Conventions followed

• Structure

• Illustrations

• Layout

• Consistency of sentence lengths

Stages in the development of writing - DOCTOR CATHY BARCLAY 1996

Stage 1: SCRIBBLING STAGE

• Random marks on a page

• Writing and scribbles are accompanied by speaking

Stage 2: MOCK HANDWRITING STAGE

• Writing + drawings

• Produce wavy lines which is their understanding of lineation

• Cursive writing

Stage 3: MOCK LETTERS

• Letters are separate things.

Stage 4: CONVENTIONAL LETTERS

• Usually involves writing the name as the first word.

• Child usually puts letters on a page but is able to read it as words.

Stage 5: INVENTED SPELLING STAGE

• Child spells in the way they understand the word should be spelt- own way.

Stage 6: APPROPRIATE/ PHONETIC SPELLING STAGE

• Attach spelling with sounds.

Stage 7: CORRECT SPELLING STAGE

• Are able to spell most words.

Stages in the development of writing - B.M. KROLL 1981

Stage 1 - Preparatory Stage

• The child learns the basic principles of spelling.

• Learns the basic motor skills needed to write.

Stage 2 - Consolidation Stage

• The child writes in the way they would speak.

• Uses mainly short declarative sentences including mainly 'and' conjunctions.
• 
  
• Incomplete sentences as they don’t know how to finish the sentence off.

Stage 3: DIFFERENTIATION STAGE (age up to 9)

• Child becomes aware of the difference between speaking and writing.

• Recognises the different writing styles available e.g. letter, essay.

• Lots of mistakes.

• Use writing guides and frameworks to structure work.

• Write to reflect thoughts and feelings.

Stage 4: INTEGRATION STAGE (12+)

• Child develops a personal style.

• Child understands that you can change your style according to audience and purpose.