There are 8 developmental stages of writing that children progress through: 1) scribbling, 2) letter-like symbols, 3) strings of letters, 4) beginning sounds emerge, 5) consonants represent words, 6) initial, medial and final sounds, 7) transitional phrases, and 8) standard spelling. Each stage builds on the previous as children's understanding of letters, sounds, and spelling conventions develop. They progress from random scribbles to writing most words correctly with standard spelling.

2. Developmental Stages of Writing A Brief Overview

3. The Stages There are 8 basic developmental stages of writing. Scribbling Letter-Like Symbols Strings of Letters Beginning Sounds Emerge Consonants Represent Words Initial, Medial and Final Sounds Transitional Phrases Standard Spelling

4. Stage 1: Scribbling Random marks on the page These marks resemble drawing. They contain large circular patterns. This is how a young writer shows his/her ideas

5. Stage 2: Letter-Like Symbols They attempt to make some letters These tend to be randomly placed throughout the page Letter-like and number-like symbols are scattered together throughout They are able to tell about their drawing at this stage.

6. Stage 3: Strings of Letters They begin to write some legible letters. They are beginning to understand the letter-sound relationship but are not accurately matching most sounds They tend to write using capital letters

7. Stage 4: Beginning Sounds Emerge They begin to understand the differences between letters and words but are not using spacing yet. The message matches the picture and makes sense

8. Stage 5: Consonants Represent Words They begin to use spaces They mix upper and lower case letters Begin to use punctuation Their sentences tell ideas

9. Stage 6: Initial, Medial and Final Sounds They can spell some sight words correctly They may be able to spell sibling’s name and environmental print correctly Other words are spelled how they sound Their writing becomes readable

10. Stage 7: Transitional Phrases Writing is readable Their spelling is becoming more conventional

11. Stage 8: Standard Spelling They can spell most words correctly They are beginning to understand root words, compound words and contractions. This understanding helps them to spell words that are similar

12. Resources http://www.learningtowrite.ecsd.net/stages%20of%20writing.htm http://www.isd300.k12.mn.us/ES/kinder/KINDERGARTEN%20INFORMATION/Stages%20of%20Writing.pdf media.doe.in.gov/exceptional/.../Developmental_Writing_Stages.doc