Early differentiation between drawing and writing in Chinese children

Preschool Children's Understanding of the Graphic Features of Writing

“…According to Tolchinsky-Landsmann and Karmiloff-Smith (1992), two types of understanding are acquired for each notational system: (1) understanding of the notational system as a communicative tool (e.g., a child writes a letter to a friend) and (2) understanding of the notational system as a domain of knowledge (e.g., unique marks, action plans, rules). Understanding writing as a domain of knowledge has been documented in children as young as 2 (Treiman & Yin, 2011;Yamagata, 2007). Children understand each notational system as its own domain long before they are able to produce conventional examples of drawing and writing.…”

“…For example, when asked to write, young children will use linear and directional marks, while discussing the length of words and letters; however, when asked to draw, children will create boundaries, filled in areas, and choose to use colored markers, all while discussing the physical characteristics of the object (Brenneman et al, 1996). Yamagata (2007) and Treiman and Yin (2011) observed children as young as 2 producing marks recognizable to adults as writing (as compared to their drawing). Tolchinsky-Landsmann and Karmiloff-Smith (1992) devised a series of sorting tasks to determine which graphic constraints children impose on writing.…”

“…Over time, children begin to incorporate their understanding of the graphic features in to their own writing productions. Children as young as 2 produce marks that are recognizable to adults as writing (Treiman & Yin, 2011;Yamagata, 2007). Children generally show consistent use of graphic features by age 4 (TolchinskyLandsmann & Levin, 1985), to the point that adults can consistently recognize the productions as writing (Levin & Bus, 2003).…”

“…Graphic features can be considered as "features of form which distinguish a written display from a drawing of the same referent" (Tolchinsky-Landsmann & Levin, 1985, p. 320). The graphic features children use in writing have been the subject of a large body of research (Brenneman, Massey, Machado, & Gelman, 1996;Clay, 1975;Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1982;Gibson & Levin, 1975;Gombert & Fayol, 1992;Hildreth, 1936;Harste et al, 1984;Levin & Bus, 2003;Sulzby, Barnhart, & Heishima, 1989;TolchinskyLandsmann & Levin, 1985;Treiman & Yin, 2011). Researchers also have examined what children know about the graphic differences between writing and drawing through sorting and classification tasks (Akita, Padakannaya, Prathibha, Panah, & Rao, 2007;Gombert & Fayol, 1992;Lavine, 1977;Levin & Bus, 2003;Tolchinsky-Landsmann & Karmiloff-Smith, 1992;Tolchinsky-Landsmann & Levin, 1985).…”

A study on preschool childrens name writing and writing readiness skills

“…It is thought that development of writing and drawing is indispensable (Yang and Noel, 2006). Most children, usually before they are 3,5 -4 years old, use similar marks to write and draw pictures and cannot distinguish the difference between them (Treiman and Yin, 2011). Mark making and scribbling are observed staring from infancy and toddlerhood (Dunst and Gorman, 2009).…”