HOW DO I WRITE ... ? Scaffolding Preschoolers' Early Writing Skills

Providing preschoolers with rich writing experiences can help to lay a foundation for their later reading and writing success. Early writing experiences can be greatly enhanced by how preschool teachers answer young children's questions about writing and engage them in productive writing instruction. With appropriate scaffolding, early writing provides support for children's overall literacy development. Taking an individualized approach to writing instruction allows teachers to capitalize on children's literacy skills at each level of development. This article provides a framework for teachers to evaluate and understand the writing that young children produce and research-based guidance on how to shape instruction in response to each child's strengths. Scenarios are presented to illustrate the varied child-centered responses teachers can use to support and develop foundational literacy skills through writing across typical preschool classroom contexts (i.e., centers, journals, morning message).