The influential interactions of pre-kindergarten writers

Abstract

This article examines six years of ethnographic research in Robyn Davis's pre-kindergarten classroom in the USA. Using a theoretical framework to embed writing within a social semiotic that is multimodal and has social intent (Street, 2003), the authors show how children used interactions during writing to create various written products. Three themes emerged from their findings: (1) interactions among children challenge their writing identities; (2) interactions among children introduce new possibilities in their writing; and (3) interactions among children with more knowledgeable peers help push writers forward with their writing acquisition. Through these findings, the authors conclude that peer interactions among four- and five-year-old children are influential in their writing processes and products.

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

“…Kissel (2009) argues that children influence their peers in writing through their writing behavior (i.e., what they chose to draw or write) and their way of talking about their writing. For example, in an ethnographic, qualitative study of one kindergarten classroom, Kissel, Hansen, Tower, and Lawrence (2011) demonstrate how children's conversations about writing (e.g., telling a friend why his picture is not a map or asking for a friends help with an illustration or story) influences (a) their motivations to engage or disengage from the writing process, (b) their idea generation, and (c) children's refinement of their ideas about what writing is (e.g., letters vs. scribbles). Given the limited research on children's contributions to their writing process and to those of their peers, additional research is clearly needed.…”

English language learners' writing behaviours during literacy-enriched block play

“…However, children do not need a mature understanding of print or alphabetic knowledge to begin experimenting with writing. Before fully acquiring these skills, children can use drawings to ‘compose and share ideas, integrate meaning, and develop knowledge’ (Kissel et al., 2011: 428). Using drawings as symbols to convey meaning is therefore an important early step toward writing, another form of symbolic communication (Yang and Noel, 2006).…”

Beyond the Pencil: Expanding the Occupational Therapists’ Role in Helping Young Children to Develop Writing Skills

“…Drawing is a typical part of young children's writing (Levin et al, 2005), thus the drawing or sculpture can become a stimulus for children's writing or further discussion with the OT or peers (Kissel, 2009). To extend a child's writing, (Kissel, Hansen, Tower, & Lawrence, 2011).…”