Kroll’s 4 stages of development
Barry Kroll (1981) identified 4 phases of children’s development and further work by other researchers such as Katherine Perera added the suggested age ranges.
Preparation – up to 6 yrs – basic motor skills are acquired alongside some principles of spelling.
Consolidation – 7/8 yrs – writing is similar to spoken language including more colloquial and informal register. Also a string of clauses joined together by the conjunction “and”.
Differentiation – 9/10 yrs – awareness of writing as separate from speech emerges. In addition a stronger understanding of writing for different audiences and purposes is evident and becomes more automatic.
Integration – mid-teens – this stages sees the use of the “personal voice” in writing. It is characterised by evidence of controlled writing, with appropriate linguistic choices being made consistently.
The Five Spelling Stages
Pre-phonemic: Imitate writing, mainly scribbling and using pretend writing; some letter shapes are decipherable.
Semi-phonetic: Link letter shapes and sounds, using this to write words.
Phonetic: Understand that all phonemes can be represented by graphemes; words become more complete.
Transitional: Combine phonic knowledge with visual memory; an awareness of combinations of letters and letter patterns, including the 'magic e' rule.
Conventional: Spell most words correctly
Good - also look at patterns of spelling error - are any of them virtuous?
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