Evidence of alphabetic knowledge in writing: connections to letter and word identification skills in preschool and kindergarten

Abstract

The writing skills of 286 children (157 female and 129 male) were studied by comparing name writing and letter writing scores from preschool to kindergarten with letter and word reading scores over the same time period. Two rubrics for scoring writing were compared to determine if scores based on multiple components (i.e., letter formation, orientation on the vertical axis, left-right orientation, and correct letter sequencing) would better reflect differences in children's writing knowledge in preschool and kindergarten than rubrics composed of one component (i.e., letter formation only). While developmental changes in writing scores were found, little additional information was provided by multiple component scoring rubrics compared to the single component rubric. Letter writing scores were more strongly related to letter and word reading scores than name writing scores but neither writing score was predictive of growth. Implications of the findings for intentional/systematic writing instruction in preschool curricula are discussed.

The effect of fine and grapho-motor skill demands on preschoolers’ decoding skill

“…Children were first asked to copy three symbols (using a normal pencil) in an untimed task, and then 23 further letters were presented and children had a 1-min time limit to copy as many letters as possible. These letters were then scored using a qualitative judgment of form and vertical orientation, as has been used in the evaluation of handwriting (see Molfese et al, 2011). Up to 8 points were awarded for form and 3 points for vertical orientation, giving a maximum possible score of 11 points.…”

Reliability and validity of the Writing Resources and Interactions in Teaching Environments (WRITE) for preschool classrooms

“…Children's writing has been identified as one of six key predictors of later reading with consistent, moderate effects (National Early Literacy Panel [NELP], 2008). Although only a small body of work focuses on the study of writing development, this work has identified young children's writing ability to predict other literacy skills including decoding (Bloodgood, 1999;Molfese et al, 2011), phonological awareness (Blair & Savage, 2006), and letter knowledge suggesting that writing may be a vital process for developing these other essential early literacy skills. Because writing skills do not develop naturally and children vary greatly in their writing skills at kindergarten entry (Welsch, Sullivan, & Justice, 2003), the ways in which early childhood educators support writing in the classroom appear to be important for understanding how children develop writing skills.…”

Handwriting generates variable visual output to facilitate symbol learning.

“…Although teaching children to categorize letters (instances of an ‘A’ belong to the named category ‘A’) is usually through sight and sound (seeing the letter, hearing its name, and hearing the sound it makes), growing research supports the idea that handwriting practice facilitates early letter categorization ability in the short term (Longcamp, Zerbato-Poudou, & Velay, 2005; James, 2010; Molfese et al, 2011) and supports various academic achievements later (Cahill, 2009; Graham, Harris, & Fink, 2000; Grissmer, Grimm, Aiyer, Murrah, & Steele, 2010; Harvey & Henderson, 1997; Simner, 1982, 1983). Nonetheless, by some accounts, preschool children spend only one minute of their school day in handwriting practice (Pelatti, Piasta, Justice, & O’Connell, 2014).…”