MASTERCLASS. UNDERSTANDING AND

SUPPORTING EMERGENT WRITING.

How does our understanding impact children’s learning?

Presenter: Noella Mackenzie

Noella Mackenzie

Introductions

Why did you come to this masterclass?

What do you want to learn about?

Context • Increased  pressure  on  school  teachers  created  by  high  stakes  tes5ng  and  community  expecta5ons  –  measurable  outcomes  • Risks  associated  with  pushing  the  school  curriculum  down  into  kindergarten  and  prep  to  meet  these  expecta5ons  • Educators’  uncertainty  about  how  to  support/teach  wri5ng  • Loca5on  of  children  between  ages  of  4  ½  and  6  –  across  preschool  and  prep    

N.Mackenzie, CSU, 2014

When children start at your school . . . what do they know about writing?

Noella Mackenzie

"Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com"

What do you think they should know?

Noella Mackenzie

"Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com"

Early childhood literacy . . . “.  .  .  the  single  best  investment  for  enabling  children  to  develop  skills  that  will  likely  benefit  them  for  a  life5me.”  (Dickinson & Neuman, 2006, p. 1).

Noella Mackenzie

‘. . . prompts a re-imagining of what children bring to early childhood learning contexts and expectations of how and what they will learn.’ (Mackenzie & Petriwskyj, under review)

Noella Mackenzie

Contemporary theories . . . .  .  .  “view  literacies  as  mul5modal,  complex,  culturally  embedded  human  ac5vi5es  which  encompass  the  many  codes  and  symbolic  systems  humans  use  for  construc5ng  and  represen5ng  reality  and  communica5ng  with  others.”    (Kennedy, Ridgway, & Surman, 2006, p. 16).

Noella Mackenzie

Driving  theories    

Behaviorist  theories    

Developmental  theories  

Socio  constructivist  theories  

Critical  literacy  theories    

Multiliteracies    

Goals   Children  develop  increasing  pro2iciency  over  the  of  sub  skills  of  writing.    

Children  encouraged  to  be  active  constructive  learners’  engaged  in  discovery  learning  and  child  centered  teaching.  

Children  learn  with  others  as  texts  are  jointly  constructed.    Skills  and  strategies  learned  are  then  applied  independently.    

Children  are  encouraged  to  analyze  texts  and  use  writing  to  address  power  relationships  and  social  inequities.    

Children  develop  awareness  of  and  increasing  competence  in  using  a  range  of  representational  text  forms  to  create  meaning.    

Classroom  practices    

Teaching  handwriting,  spelling  and  punctuation  as  component  skills  of  text  composition.      

Language  experiences  approaches  and  process  writing    

Shared,  guided  and  independent  approaches  to  teaching  writing    

Genre  approaches  to  teaching  writing    

Use  of  digital  technologies  and  multiple  semiotics  to  produce  texts.    

Noella Mackenzie

Success in learning to write . . .

. . . is critical, to success with literacy proficiency generally (Cutler & Graham, 2008),

. . . reading achievement specifically (Gerde, Bingham &

Wasik, 2012), and . . . accomplishment in school overall (Clay, 2001; Fang

& Wang, 2011; Mackenzie, 2009).

Noella Mackenzie

. . . is a means of expressing or communicating in print, which involves the interaction of cognitive and physical factors (Bromley, 2007),

. . . promotes social, emotional and cognitive development (Love, Burns & Buell, 2007).

. . . requires making connections and constructing meaning (Bromley, 2007).

Noella Mackenzie

Writing is . . .

“. . . a message-sending, problem solving activity’”. . . involving the linking of “invisible patterns of oral language with visible symbols” (Clay, 2005, p, 1).

Noella Mackenzie

The writing process . . . .  .  .  is  complex  cogni5vely,  socio-­‐culturally,  and  linguis5cally;      .  .  .  “at  every  age  and  stage  it  is  an  ‘efforMul’  ac5vity”.  (Myhill and Fisher, 2010, p. 1).

Noella Mackenzie

Writing . . . . . .  entails  the  interac5on  of  cogni5ve  and  physical  factors  involving  the  hand,  eye,  and  both  sides  of  the  brain  (Bromley, 2007)

.  .  .  develops  at  many  levels  simultaneously (Tolchinsky, 2006).

.  .  .  is  not  a  natural  communica5ve  competence  like  speech  and  thus  normally  requires  inten5onal  teaching  (Olson 2009).

Noella Mackenzie

Write: Today  I  can  write  using  the  new  alphabet  with  my  other  hand  

a = α g = γ m = µ s = σ y = ψ

b = β h = η n = ν t = τ z = ζ

c = χ i = ι o = ο u = υ

d =δ j = ϕ p = π v = ϖ

e = ε k = κ q = θ w = ω

f = φ l = λ r=ρ x = ξ Noella Mackenzie

How did you go?

τοδαψ Ι χαν ωριτε υσινγ τηε νεω αλπηαβετ ωιτη µψ οτηερ ηανδ

Noella Mackenzie

Read: Ρεαδινγ ανδ ωριτινγ αρε ρεχιπροχαλ προχεσσεσ

a = α g = γ m = µ s = σ y = ψ

b = β h = η n = ν t = τ z = ζ

c = χ i = ι o = ο u = υ

d =δ j = ϕ p = π v = ϖ

e = ε k = κ q = θ w = ω

f = φ l = λ r=ρ x = ξ Noella Mackenzie

Reading and Writing are . . .

. . . reciprocal processes. “oral language is a further rich resource serving both” (Clay, 2005, p. 2).

Noella Mackenzie

Young children . . . .  .  .  begin  their  wri8ng  journey  crea8ng  meaning  by  combining  mul8modal  symbolic  system  or  modes  such  as  talking,  drawing,  singing  and  role-­‐playing,  long  before  they  engage  in  the  mature  wri>en  linguis8c  forms  of  their  culture  (Kress and Bezemer, 2008).

Noella Mackenzie

Early milestones 0-1 a child notices

others writing – this is well before they can tell you they have noticed something (0-1 years).

Noella Mackenzie

Early milestones cont.

1-2 children begin to engage with writing tools – pens, pencils, crayons, electronic devices and possibly mark making tools that are not necessarily designed as writing tools (e.g. Lipstick). (approx 1-2 years).

Noella Mackenzie

Early milestones cont.

1-3 children intentionally engage with writing tools in an exploratory way – this often resembles scribble (approx 1-3 years).

Noella Mackenzie

If children . . . .  .  .“see  an  advantage  in  being  able  to  write,  they  will  apply  the  same  focused  aOen5on  to  learning  how  to  write  that  they  applied  to  learning  to  be  oral  language  users.”  (Mackenzie, 2010, p. 30).

Noella Mackenzie

Noella Mackenzie

What are you thinking about now?

Jot down two points and then compare with neighbour

 How  does  school  transi5on  impact  learning  to  write?    How  can  we  make  it  easier?  

Noella Mackenzie

Help for parents

Noella Mackenzie

When children start school . . . .  .  .  usually  able  to  create  spoken  and  visual  texts  (drawings)  but  have  limited  skills  in  wriOen  text  crea5on  (wri5ng).  (Mackenzie & Veresov, 2013)

Noella Mackenzie

Children’s drawings . . .

. . . are an example of sign creation, while standard or non-standard uses of conventional print are examples of sign use.

(Vygotsky )

Noella Mackenzie

Children’s  drawings  are  important  to  early  wri5ng  –    however  drawing  is  not  always  seen  as  an  important  means  of  making  meaning.      Consequently  children’s  early  efforts  are  not  always  valued  and  they  are  not  encouraged  to  draw.      

Noella Mackenzie

If given the models, opportunity, tools and encouragement, children spontaneously start to add writing to their drawings.

Noella Mackenzie

Drawing allows for timely and appropriate intentional input from an adult to assist an already successful meaning maker to learn another way of self-expression.

Noella Mackenzie

Drawings act as an anchor for children’s emergent writing helping them remember ideas as they learn the rules of conventional writing.

Noella Mackenzie

Children who are encouraged to draw, talk, write and share become confident, flexible writers who create more complex texts than when they are restricted to just writing.

Noella Mackenzie

Children who are encouraged to draw, talk, write and share become confident, flexible writers who create more complex texts than when they are restricted to just writing.

Noella Mackenzie

Why?

If we encourage and value drawing and talking . . .

. . . we can build a bridge between children’s prior-to-school experiences, current systems of meaning making and the new system of writing.

Impacting the learner! N.Mackenzie, CSU, 2014

In this way . . .

. . . “writing becomes a parallel means of meaning making rather than a replacement for the drawing and talking they already do so well when they arrive at school” [or preschool]. (Mackenzie, 2011, p. 338)

Building on what they know and can do.

What do you want to take from this session? How could this impact learners at your school? Who do you need to work with to get change at your school? What should be your first step?

N.Mackenzie, CSU, 2014 39

Thank you!

 

Dr  Noella  Mackenzie    Tel:  +61  2  60519405  Email:  nmackenzie@csu.edu.au        Web  page:  hOp://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/educat/edu/staff/profiles/lecturers/noella-­‐mackenzie    click  here    

Further Reading Mackenzie, N.M. (2014). Transitions to school and emergent writers. In B. Perry, S. Dockett & A. Petriwskyj (Eds.), Transitions to school: International research, policy and practice (pp. 89-102). London: Springer. Mackenzie, N.M. (2011). From drawing to writing: What happens when you shift teaching priorities in the first six months of school? Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 34(3), 322-340. Mackenzie, N.M., & Veresov, N. (2013). How drawing can support writing acquisition: Text construction in early writing from a Vygotskian perspective, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 22-29. Mackenzie, N.M., & Hemmings, B. (2014). Learning to write: What predicts success with writing in the first year of school? Issues in Educational Research 24(12), 41- 54. Mackenzie, N.M., Hemmings, B., & Kay, R. (2011). How does teaching experience affect attitudes towards literacy learning and teaching in the early years? Issues in Educational Research 21(3), 281-293. Mackenzie, N.M (2009) Becoming a writer: Language use and ‘scaffolding’ writing in the first six months of formal schooling. Journal of Reading Writing & Literacy, 4(2), 46-63.

Noella Mackenzie

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