Hi Ross and Phil. I recently went to some training and it was recommended that we should only be modelling and asking children to write sentences that are at their current phonics level. 

I understand the place for this in phonics and spelling lessons but it would surely limit their development in writing lessons? What does the research say?

The myth

Children should only write words they can spell conventionally. If they cannot spell a word correctly, they should not attempt it. Writing should be restricted to their current phonics level. This is the best way to develop children’s early word writing.

Unfortunately, research would suggest that the opposite is true. The idea that children must only write what they can spell is an outdated pedagogy that prioritises neatness of books over children’s learning.

Where this myth comes from

Some early literacy programmes erroneously adopt a reading-first orientation. In this view, writing should only be used in the service of learning phonics. This orientation is not supported by research evidence [LINK].

Restricting children’s oral language development is a bad idea

Before discussing anything else, this narrow focus restricts children’s oral language development. Children use fewer words and aren’t obliged to talk at the ‘discourse level’. This is a problem. Studies have shown that discourse-level talk is possibly the single strongest predictor of later writing success [LINK].

Writing is more than transcription

When we limit children to words they can spell, we aren’t teaching them to write, we are teaching them to copy. As the DfE’s Writing Framework makes clear, transcription is not writing. Research on early writing development shows that transcription and composition should be developed together [LINK, LINK]. 

The youngest of children can already write

Children begin writing before they can spell words. First, we have their emergent writing which includes marks, scribbles and letter strings [LINK]. Then we have ‘kid writing’. This is a mixture of marks and conventional ‘adult writing’ [LINK]. Children use marks when they don’t know and ‘adult writing’ when they do know. 

Take this example.

This child’s writing shows their developing understanding of spelling. They are showing us that they do know:

• How to write initial and some final consonant sounds
• They can write phonetically plausible spellings like D-nosaw
• They are conscientious in identifying and copying the spellings of high-frequency words from the word wall.
• The child has the confidence to use the vocabulary they really want to use (dinosaur) rather than ‘playing it safe’ by using a simpler word (cat).

What they are showing us they don’t know yet:

• They struggle with vowels in more complex words, using their ‘kid writing’ for the missing sounds.

Here’s another example:

They are showing us that they do know:

• How to represent initial consonant blends (e.g. sn- sp-).
• How to hear and record some dominant consonant sounds within words (e.g. -gg).
• How to correctly spell some high-frequency words such as Tom, up, on, and his.
• That they will happily attempt any vocabulary that they really want to use. For example, snuggle and special. They do this rather than simplifying their ideas.

This child is demonstrating strong phonemic awareness. They are segmenting words and making deliberate decisions about what ‘adult writing’ they can confidently represent. The use of ‘kid writing’ for unknown sounds shows strategic problem-solving. They are not abandoning the word; they are marking the gap in their knowledge and moving on. This helps them maintain their compositional flow while letting their teacher know what they still need to work on.

Here’s what they are showing us they don’t know yet:

• How to represent vowels within more complex syllables.
• How to map less salient internal sounds in polysyllabic words.
• Conventional spellings for digraphs and suffixes within longer words.

Overall, these pieces reflect children who see themselves as writers. They hold composition and word choice in high regard and use temporary spelling strategies to ensure that their ideas are fully expressed.

If we’d simply asked these children to write down words we already knew they could spell, we would have learnt very little. This ‘kid writing’ is not a collection of random errors. It reflects a child’s ever growing phonological awareness and letter knowledge. This is how early word writing is developed [LINK].

Importantly for us as teachers, children’s ‘kid writing’ (also known as using ‘sound spellings’ or ‘informed spellings’) shows us what our pupils do know about phoneme-grapheme correspondence and what they don’t know yet. This can then inform our teaching. 

Encouraging children to use ‘informed spellings’ is actually best practice

Research shows that encouraging children to write ‘informed spellings’ strengthens their phonemic awareness and orthographic mapping and actually helps them learn conventional spelling faster than if they simply copied out a word they already know how to spell. Children who are encouraged to engage in writing ‘informed spellings’ make greater gains in reading and spelling than those who are denied the opportunity [LINK, LINK, LINK].

Spelling ‘errors’ don’t turn into bad habits

The misconception that ‘mistakes’ form bad habits also underpins this edu-myth. This fear is unsupported [LINK]. Spelling is developmental. Just as a child crawls before they walk, they use ‘informed spellings’ before learning conventional ones. As children continue to receive explicit phonics and spelling instruction, and participate in lots of meaningful reading and writing experiences, their spelling develops [LINK]. For example:

From ‘Supporting children’s early word writing’ [LINK]

Children’s use of sound spellings is an opportunity for responsive teaching

Sound spellings show children’s current understanding. When teachers validate a child’s attempt and then provide the conventional spelling through underwriting, this dual attention supports children’s transcription and compositional development in a healthy way.

Vocabulary use matters

Vocabulary use is an important part of children’s writing development [LINK]. When children are told they should only write words they can spell, their expressive language and ‘writing world’ shrinks. To cap a child’s intellectual expression is to restrict them to the level of a toddler. They will use fewer words. They tell fewer detailed stories. They are denied the opportunity to share exactly what they mean.

How should I model my own writing as a writer-teacher?

When you model writing, aim to write at your pupils’ current level or slightly beyond it. Your role is to model delight in composition while strengthening children’s spelling knowledge and encoding strategies.

If a word contains phoneme-grapheme correspondence the class has not been taught, you have three options. Choose based on your purpose at that moment.

1. Model how to use the ‘kid writing’ strategy Say something like: “When I was your age, I wouldn’t have known that bit of ‘adult writing’ yet so I would have used my ‘kid writing’. When this happens to you, you can use this strategy too.” This shows children that: writers attempt ambitious words, it is acceptable to use ‘kid writing’ for unknown sounds, and spelling knowledge grows over time.

2. Teach it Stop and teach it but keep it tight: (1) say the phoneme or morpheme, (2) show the grapheme and (3) link it to any prior learning. Then continue writing.

3. Use the spelling and move on Sometimes you simply write the conventional spelling and carry on without comment or fuss.

Each option protects compositional flow. Each option strengthens children’s understanding of encoding. Most importantly, none of them restrict or otherwise undermine children’s ability to write for themselves.

What effective practice looks like

Research supports:

• Phonics instruction to help develop children’s encoding skills
• Encouragement of emergent writing and then ‘kid writing’ from the earliest stages
• The explicit teaching and modelling of encoding strategies
• Using children’s informed sound spellings as evidence of their developing phonological awareness, orthographic mapping and overall spelling development
• Providing children with verbal feedback and undertaking underwriting alongside pupils
• Using a writing approach which supports developing children’s transcription, composition and oral language together
• Providing lots of meaningful writing experiences

Put simply, children become better spellers by trying to spell the words they want to write most.

References and further reading

1. The different perspectives you can take on teaching early writing [LINK]
2. Visualising the science of writing: The writing map explained [LINK]
3. The research on developing children’s transcription and compositional skills [LINK]
4. Supporting children’s early word writing [LINK]
5. Ouellette, G., and Sénéchal, M. (2008). Exploring the cognitive and linguistic underpinnings of invented spelling. Scientific Studies of Reading, 12, 195 to 219. [LINK]
6. Kim, Y. S. G., & Graham, S. (2022). Expanding the Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Writing (DIEW): Reading–writing relations, and dynamic relations as a function of measurement/dimensions of written composition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(2), 215. [LINK]
7. Feldgus, E. G., Cardonick, I., & Gentry, J. R. (2017). Kid writing in the 21st century: A systematic approach to phonics, spelling, and writing workshop. Hameray Publishing Group [LINK]
8. Teaching encoding [LINK]
9. Debunking edu myths: writing errors form bad habits [LINK]
10. The rise of elaborate dictation in English schools: unethical writing teaching [LINK]
11. Transcription and oral language are key to children’s early writing development [LINK]
12. Debunking edu-myths: “In Reception and Year One, composition is less relevant” [LINK]
13. Debunking edu-myths: ‘Emergent writing’ isn’t necessary before teaching children to write [LINK]

This article outlines how to support children with their early word writing.

Specific literacy skills for supporting early word writing

Successful word writing is a complex task requiring the integrated effort of several literacy skills (Feldgus et al. 2017; Treiman & Kessler 2014; Zhang et al. 2025). These include:

                    Specific literacy skills for supporting early word writing

Emergent writing

This is the most foundational stage and encompasses all of a child’s attempts at writing before they know about phoneme-grapheme correspondence.

It includes scribbling, drawing, making letter-like shapes and writing strings of letters that aren’t necessarily mapped to corresponding sounds (Byington & Kim 2017; Pinto, G., & Incognito 2022). 

Children lean on their emergent writing practices while they continue to learn more about conventional ‘adult’ writing (Feldgus et al. 2017; Young & Ferguson 2024a).

Correlation with word writing is strong because it indicates a child has already engaged in exploring the functional purpose of writing (Gerde et al. 2012).

Watching someone write often grabs young children’s attention. Children like to imitate the actions of adults. If a young child sees you writing, they will want to participate and copy you. If children regularly spend time in the company of others writing, they will ‘write’ alongside them. As a result, they can learn to engage with writing long before they can form letters. This gives them valuable early experiences with being a writer.

Print conventions

Understanding that in the English writing system writing typically moves left-to-right, top-to-bottom and spaces are used to separate words.

Essential for readability; should be modelled during reading and writing experiences (Cabell et al. 2007; Dunsmuir & Blatchford 2004).

Letter formation

Knowing how to correctly form individual letters (graphemes).

Crucial. Slow or poor formation consumes working memory and can negatively impact a child’s composing (Puranik & Al Otaiba 2012; Reutzel et al. 2019; Santangelo & Graham 2016).

Letter retrieval

The automaticity of selecting the correct letter shape(s) (grapheme) for a specific sound (phoneme). Also known as automaticity of phoneme-grapheme correspondence.

This is the primary skill for phonetic spelling. The automaticity of retrieving the correct letter pattern (grapheme) for a sound is the strongest immediate predictor of early writing success (Caravolas et al. 2001; Malpique et al. 2020; Puranik & Al Otaiba 2012).

Phonological awareness

The ability to isolate and hear the individual sounds (phonemes) within a spoken word. This is critical for children to translate the sounds they can hear into words on the page.

The ability to break spoken words into individual sounds dictates whether a child can attempt phonetic spelling (Cabell et al. 2022). Inviting children to write can develop their phonological awareness (Vernon & Ferreiro 1999; Zhang et al. 2017).

Encoding

The integrated act of segmenting a word, selecting the correct letter(s) for each sound, and sequencing them to write an informed or otherwise conventionally spelt word (Feldgus et al. 2017; Young & Ferguson 2024a).

This is the output measure itself. If children are successfully encoding words, the above required sub-skills are well integrated and working well (Feldgus et al. 2017; Puranik & Al Otaiba 2012; Treiman & Kessler 2014).

Morphology

The ability to understand and manipulate morphemes (the smallest units of meaning in a word, such as prefixes, suffixes, and root words).

Provides powerful knowledge for spelling longer and more complex words (e.g. un- help -ful), reducing reliance on encoding individual sounds. 

Accelerates spelling progress in later stages (Devonshire & Fluck 2010; McCutchen & Stull 2015; Nunes et al. 2003; Wolter et al. 2009).

Orthographic representation

The ability to store and retrieve specific letter sequences from memory (lexical knowledge). This involves recalling a word’s conventional spelling (especially important for irregular words).

Crucial for moving from phonetic spelling (kat for cat, sed for said) to full conventional spelling (Treiman & Kessler 2014).

Cognitive and perpetual skills for early word writing

These seven underlying cognitive and perpetual capacities are the fuel that drive children towards successful word writing.

Cognitive and perpetual skills for early word writing

Engagement with early word writing

As Donald Graves (1983, p.1) famously announced: Children want to write. They want to write from their very first day of school. Keeping that motivation alive is essential as children who are motivated to write are more likely to: put in increased effort, persist for longer, show more enthusiasm, give writing more of their attention and be more willing to seek help from others.

This engagement requires: (1) explicit modelling and instruction in the skills required to be successful and (2) regular meaningful, motivating and pleasurable writing experiences.

Word writing progression

Students’ abilities in word writing develop along a continuum, moving through distinct phases that are greatly facilitated by systematic instruction and meaningful writing experiences. For word writing, this progression is often conceptualised in five phases:

1. Emergent writing

The child hasn’t yet got an understanding of the systematic relationship between letters and sounds. To see the specific stages of emergent writing, click here.

2. First and final sound spelling

The child begins using their letter-sound knowledge but accuracy is usually limited to consonants and short vowels.

• cat → ct (child writes the consonants, may omit vowels)
• dog → dg
• sun → sn
• bat → bt

3. Phonetic spelling 

The child can spell most single-syllable words but struggles with irregular words and more complex patterns like silent long-vowels.

• make → mak or make (may omit the silent e)
• home → hom
• bike → bik
• read → red or reed (confusion with long-vowel spelling patterns)

4. Chunk spelling

Errors typically occur at syllable junctures or in unaccented syllables.

• hoping → hopeing (error at the syllable juncture where the silent “e” should be dropped)
• running → runing (omitting the doubled consonant at the syllable break)
• family → famly (dropping an unaccented syllable)
• different → diffrent (leaving out the unstressed middle syllable)

5. Expert spelling 

Errors are most common with low-frequency, multisyllabic words involving derivational morphemes.

• electricity → eletricity (dropping a syllable within a derived form)
• responsibility → responsiblity (omitting the derivational suffix syllable)
• biological → bioligical (confusing the placement of the derivational suffix -ical)
• nation → natian (misapplying the derivational -ion pattern)

It is important to note that these developmental phases are not rigid and children will move between these stages depending on the specific word they wish to write.

Approaches to early writing

The main approaches to early writing include: writing readiness, naturalistic, reading first and communicative (Young & Ferguson 2024b). Each approach profoundly shapes how you teach young writers. Teachers should adjust how much each approach influences their practice based on what they believe their class needs most.

1. Writing readiness stresses early transcription skills. It helps children who struggle with the foundational skills of writing. However, taken to its extreme, it can deny children meaningful writing experiences. Children can begin to see writing as nothing more than transcriptional drills which serve no purpose (Young & Ferguson 2025a). At its worst, it creates passive and disengaged writers.

2. Naturalistic stresses freedom, self direction and self-expression. It values emergent writing, individual pacing, and children’s own volition to write (Edelsky 1990). Taken to its extreme, it can avoid providing explicit instruction, leave some children without the experiences or support they need, and can be in conflict with modern-day curriculum requirements.

3. Reading first erroneously delays the teaching of writing in favour of teaching early reading. Research does not support such an approach. Writing instruction and experiences boost children’s reading development. Reading and writing are mutually beneficial (Graham & Hebert 2011; Kim 2022a, 2022b; Vernon & Ferreiro 1999).

4. Communicative stresses providing explicit instruction alongside writing for real purposes and audiences (Young & Ferguson 2025b). Daily opportunities to engage in meaningful writing is seen as essential. It balances explicit teacher modelling and instruction with opportunities for meaning making and meaning sharing. It looks to create a community of writers with the focus on successfully communicating with readers. 

We view a communicative approach as the best starting point for early writing. This is because it brings together (1) systematic synthetic phonics, (2) letter formation/handwriting instruction, (3) spelling instruction (4) explicit teacher modelling and writing instruction, and (5) daily opportunities to engage in meaningful writing experiences.

Research-supported recommendations

Six key recommendations emerge from research for effective word writing:

1. Teach phonological awareness

This involves systematic instruction in manipulating sounds (e.g. blending, segmenting). This comprehensive sequence reflects a consensus among structured synthetic phonics programs, all of which prioritise a systematic introduction to phoneme-grapheme relationships.

2. Teach letter formation

Explicitly model and teach letter formation (see here for more). Handwriting instruction should focus on: frequent exposure, making name-sound connections, teaching visually similar letters non-sequentially, and building automaticity in both letter recognition and letter writing. Here is a recommended order of teaching:

3. Model encoding strategies and encourage children to write their own informed ‘sound spellings’ 

Teachers should regularly model how to encode words to paper. An analytic approach should be used for irregular words. Teachers should focus children’s attention on the parts of a word that do follow predictable patterns (e.g. the sh and d in should) (McGeown et al. 2013). Informed ‘sound spellings’ let children represent the sounds they hear, even if the spelling is unconventional or incomplete. It is not an error but a sign of their developing phonological awareness and a crucial practice ground for encoding (Ouellette & Sénéchal 2008; Treiman 2017).

4. Model chunking

As students progress, they must learn to process chunks larger than individual graphemes. This includes modelling:

(1) common rime units or phonograms (e.g. -ock, -ight, -ean), 

(2) syllable types:

• Closed syllables (CVC): cat, hop, pen
• Open syllables (CV): he, go, me
• Vowel-consonant-e (VCe): make, bike, hope
• Unaccented final syllables: table, pencil, cabin

(3) morphemes (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, roots)

• Prefixes: un- (undo, unhappy), re- (redo, rewrite)
• Suffixes: -ful (hopeful, careful), -less (hopeless, fearless)
• Roots: struct (construct, destruct, structure), port (transport, portable, import)

Activities like word sorts and word building are highly effective for this type of learning.

5. Encourage children to use ‘kid writing’ for the phoneme- grapheme correspondence they don’t yet know and utilise ‘underwriting’

When children encounter a grapheme-phoneme correspondent they haven’t learnt yet, they should be encouraged to use a simple line or squiggle as a placeholder. This is sometimes called using your ‘kid writing’ (Feldgus et al. 2017). Kid writing is a powerful assessment tool as it quite literally shows you the gaps in children’s understanding of word writing.

Underwriting is the practice of transcribing a child’s kid writing or informed spelling into conventional adult spelling. This is typically done under or at the bottom of their original writing. When implemented correctly, it is a powerful teaching tool and feedback mechanism (Ouellette & Sénéchal 2008; Puranik & Lonigan 2014). 

Best practice involves ensuring it is done with the child’s consent and presence, celebrating what the child already knew about the word they wanted to write (e.g. underlining their correct sounds), and providing a conventional spelling model for their reference. It offers valuable opportunities for individualised responsive instruction and should be used selectively, never before the child has made their own attempt so as to avoid undermining their confidence and intrinsic motivation to write independently (Treiman & Kessler 2014). For more, see this article.

6. Provide meaningful writing experiences

Children should be regularly invited to use and apply their word writing skills in the context of meaningful writing experiences. Students should be encouraged to apply their ever developing encoding knowledge in daily book-making/writing time (see here for more), reinforcing the connection between skill acquisition and authentic communication.

References and further reading

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• Berninger V. W., Abbott R.D., Swanson H. L., Lovitt, D., Trivedi, P., Lin, S. J., Gould, L., Youngstrom, M., Shimada, S., Amtmann. D. (2010). Relationship of word-and sentence-level working memory to reading and writing in second, fourth, and sixth grade. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch, 41(2), 179-93.
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• Cabell, S. Q., Gerde, H. K., Hwang, H., Bowles, R., Skibbe, L., Piasta, S. B., & Justice, L. M. (2022). Rate of growth of preschool-age children’s oral language and decoding skills predicts beginning writing ability. Early Education and Development, 33(7), 1198-1221.
• Caravolas, M., Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. J. (2001). The foundations of spelling ability: Evidence from a 3-year longitudinal study. Journal of Memory and Language, 45(1), 740–754.
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• Zhang, C., Bingham, G. E., & Quinn, M. F. (2017). The associations among preschool children’s growth in early reading, executive function, and invented spelling skills. Reading and Writing, 30(8), 1705-1728.
• Zhang, C., & Bingham, G. E. (2019). Promoting high-leverage writing instruction through an early childhood classroom daily routine (WPI): A professional development model of early writing skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 49, 138-151.
• Zhang, X. Y., Bingham, G. E., Branum‐Martin, L., Gerde, H. K., & Bowles, R. P. (2025). Assessing Early Writing in Preschool: Attention to Early Writing Tasks and Component Skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 60(4), e70051.

Further recommended reading

The power of emergent writing

• How can you teach children to write before they know their letters? [LINK]
• Debunking edu-myths: ‘Emergent writing’ isn’t necessary before teaching children to write [LINK]
• Debunking the ‘bones aren’t ready’ and ‘motor skills first’ myths: What research says about young children’s handwriting [LINK]
• Promoting preschoolers’ emergent writing [LINK]

Living the writer’s life: A daily routine for writing in the EYFS

• How to teach writing in the EYFS [LINK]
• Developing motivated and successful writers in the EYFS [LINK]
• Research-based writing practices specific to the EYFS [LINK]
• What are children doing as they produce writing? [LINK]

“This when we ‘play’ writing…” The pleasure of book-making

• “This is when we play writing!”: Writing and play in the EYFS [LINK]
• Drawing first, writing after: A winning strategy for early writers [LINK]
• Teaching children how to plan their writing in the EYFS and KS1 [LINK]

“Miss, do you like my adult writing?” Teaching encoding strategies

• Encoding and ‘informed spellings’ [LINK]
• Teaching encoding [LINK]
• Underwriting: Should teachers do it? [LINK]
• Early alphabet instruction [LINK]
• Early spelling development [LINK]

Writing words, phrases and sentences

• Two for the price of one: Developing children’s word reading and word writing [LINK]
• Transcription and oral language are key to children’s early writing development [LINK]
• Developing children’s talk for writing [LINK]
• What is writing fluency? [LINK]
• How do we develop writing fluency? [LINK]
• Building up to extended writing projects [LINK]
• The Writing For Pleasure Centre’s sentence-building mini-projects [LINK]

Recommended publications

• Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten by Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover [LINK]
• Kid Writing: A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals, and Writing Workshop by Eileen Feldgus & Isabell Cardonick [LINK]
• How Children Learn To Write Words by Rebecca Treiman & Brett Kessler [LINK]
• Never Too Early To Write by Bea Johnson [LINK]
• A Teacher’s Guide to Getting Started with Beginning Writers by Katie Wood Ray & Lisa Cleaveland [LINK]
• What Changes In Writing Can I See? by Marie Clay [LINK]
• What Did I Write? by Marie Clay [LINK]
• Handbook On The Science of Early Literacy by Sonia Cabell, Susan Neuman, and Nicole Patton Terry [LINK]
• Children’s Reading And Spelling: Beyond The First Steps by Terezinha Nunes and Peter Bryant [LINK]
• Literacy Learning For Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers by Tanya Wright, Sonia Cabell, Nell Duke & Mariana Souto-Manning [LINK]
• Understanding and Supporting Young Writers from Birth to 8 by Noella Mackenzie & Janet Scull [LINK]
• Writing Begins At Home: Preparing Children For Writing Before They Go To School by Marie Clay [LINK]
• How Very Young Children Explore Writing by Marie Clay [LINK]
• Gnys At Wrk: A Child Learns to Write and Read by Glenda Bissex [LINK]
• Adam’s Righting Revolutions: One Child’s Literacy Development From Infancy Through Grade One by Judith Schickedanz [LINK]
• Family Literacy: Young Children Learning To Read & Write by Denny Taylor [LINK]
• Children’s Language: Connecting Reading, Writing & Talk by Judith Wells Lindfors [LINK]
• Before Writing by Gunther Kress [LINK]

This free handbook addresses some of the major aspects of teaching writing. The aim is to create an invaluable reference guide for all teachers. We hope to update this handbook every year to take account of the latest research and thinking. We would like this handbook to support teachers in developing sound subject knowledge and exceptional classroom practice. We have tried to make the research as accessible as possible. The handbook includes:

• Over 1000 research entries covering the major aspects of developing students as writers. 
• Short abstracts and keyword tags to help teachers find the research they are looking for.
• An analysis of the analysis and what it is the best performing writing teachers do that makes the difference.
• A chapter dedicated to each of the 14 principles of world-class writing teaching.
• Research on the early teaching of writing including compositional development, phonics, encoding, spelling, letter formation and handwriting.
• Extended entries on major topics such as speaking and listening, reading/writing connection, multilingualism, special educational needs and disabilities, and social and emotional disorders.
• Focused chapters on the affective needs of student writers, including: self-efficacy (confidence), self-regulation (competence and independence), agency, motivation and writer-identity.
• Essential literature and suggested reading offered at the end of each chapter.

This handbook is a useful resource for anyone interested in developing world-class writing teaching. Teachers should find what is shared within these pages utterly interesting, informed and helpful.

We have done our best with this fifth edition to cover many aspects of writing teaching in the best way we can. We have provided a variety of research, from different disciplines, and from a variety of perspectives. We’ve tried to provide a balance between the very latest emerging research and classic studies which contain profound insights and have stood the test of time. If you think some important research entries are missing, then please contact us. You can contact us through our website at: http://www.writing4pleasure.com/contact

New to this fifth edition:

• Our handbook now comes in two volumes.
  • Volume one covers affective factors in children’s writing development. It also summarises findings from meta-analyses, case studies, and organisational reports on world-class writing teaching.
  • Volume two presents the 14 principles of world-class writing teaching.

• This edition also includes the following updates.
  • Additional reading on theories of writing development.
  • Recommended reading on initial teacher education.
  • Significant additions to the motivation and writer identity chapters.
  • Expanded commentary on writing interventions, supporting children with special educational needs, and developing multilingual writers.
  • A new section on parental/home support for writing
  • A new section on writing and AI, including the use of large language models.
  • Major additions on the importance of a consistent approach to teaching writing in the early years.
  • Further additions on supporting secondary students.
  • Expanded reading on early word writing, letter formation, handwriting, encoding, and spelling.
  • Significant new reading in the personal writing projects chapter.
  • Major additions to the reading and writing connection chapter.

Genius takes time.

Many primary classrooms do not give children enough time to write. If we rush writing, we get rushed and disappointing outcomes. Our aim has to be to help children produce the best writing they can.

Amount of writing time

Renowned writing researcher Steve Graham recommends a minimum of one hour each school day for writing. For children in the early years, this should be at least 30 minutes a day (Graham et al. 2012; see also LINK). Around half of this time should be devoted to instruction and delivering feedback. The other half is for children to write.

Writing is thinking. Children can only think at a superficial level if writing time is short. Bereiter & Scardamalia call this ‘knowledge telling’. To transform ideas while writing, students need time to explore and shape their thinking (LINK). Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied deep concentration. He calls this flow (LINK). He found that people reach their best thinking when they are given enough time to be absorbed in a task. Short lessons prevent children from reaching this kind of deep focus. They have to stop writing before they’ve really been able to get to work.

Frequency of writing time

Writer-teacher Donald Graves said that children become writers by writing often. He pointed out that writing once or twice a week forces children to start again each time. They never build momentum or the writer’s discipline. He suggested that children should have a writing lesson at least four times a week (Graves 1983). Teresa Cremin’s work also shows that time and space help children feel like authors. She found that when teachers write with their class, they come to realise just how much time is needed to craft meaningful and successful texts (Cremin et al. 2017).

In our own study of some of the most effective writing teachers in England (LINK), we found that practitioners who taught writing every day and gave protected time to writing, saw strong outcomes. Their lessons followed a reassuringly consistent daily routine (LINK). This wider research all supports Graham’s main message: frequent and extended writing lessons improve the quality of children’s writing (Graham & Perin 2007).

Schools that teach writing daily and for an hour are more likely to give children what they need to write their best possible texts. They give them time to generate ideas, plan, think, write, improve, proof-read and publish (Graham, 2019 and LINK).

Quality writing requires time.

References

• Bereiter, C and Scardamalia, M (1987). The Psychology of Written Composition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Cremin, T, Myhill, D, Eyres, I, Nash, T, Wilson, A and Oliver, L (2017). Teachers as Writers. Arvon and Open University.
• Csikszentmihalyi, M (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row.
• Graham, S (2019). Changing how writing is taught. Review of Research in Education, 43, 277 to 303.
• Graham, S and Perin, D (2007). Writing Next. Alliance for Excellent Education.
• Graham, S, Harris, K and Santangelo, T (2012). Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers. Institute of Education Sciences.
• Graves, D (1983). Writing: Teachers and Children at Work. Heinemann.
• Kellogg, R (1996). A model of working memory in writing. In C Levy and S Ransdell (Eds), The Science of Writing, 57 to 71. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Young, R and Ferguson, F (2021). Writing for Pleasure: Theory, Research and Practice. Routledge.

Improving children’s reading AND writing: Connecting research and practice

Four online sessions focusing on children’s reading and writing will take place in November and December from 4pm – 5pm. These sessions are designed for UK primary school teachers, primary school leaders, literacy leads and education consultants. 

ThE sessions are designed to provide research insights to support children’s reading and writing acquisition and development. With a focus on supporting both reading and writing skill, all those attending will have greater access and insight into contemporary research to inform their classroom practice.

Participants will gain insight into implications for practice, a curated collection of key open access research articles and, if all four sessions are attended, a certificate of completion.

Sessions can be booked individually for £15 each or all four sessions can be booked at a discounted price of £50.

Sessions overview

Session 1: Learning to read – Thursday 20 November 2025, 16:00-17:00pm 

Delivered by Professor Sarah McGeown

This session highlights the core skills underpinning reading development, research-informed practice to support children’s word reading, and the importance of nurturing an early love and interest in books, words, and stories. 

Session 2: Reading motivation and engagement – Thursday 27 November 2025, 16:00-17:00pm 

This session provides insight into the importance of reading motivation and engagement throughout primary school, research-informed principles to support reading engagement, and the reading, language, social and emotional benefits accrued from reading.

Session 3: Learning to write – Thursday 4 December 2025, 16:00-17:00pm 

Delivered by Ross Young

This session explores key aspects of writing development, research-informed strategies to support children as apprentice writers, and the importance of nurturing a lifelong love of writing.

Session 4: Writing motivation and engagement – Thursday 11 December 2025, 16:00-17:00pm 

This session provides insight into the importance of writing motivation and engagement throughout primary school, research-informed principles to support children’s engagement with writing, and the social, emotional, and expressive benefits gained through the experience of being a young writer.

Biographies

Professor Sarah McGeown is Director of the University of Edinburgh’s Literacy Lab. She has published widely in academic and professional journals, with research focusing on early reading acquisition and development to motivation and engagement in reading. She is an advocate for research-practice partners and closing the gap between research and practice to improve children’s reading experiences and outcomes. 

Ross Young is a former primary school teacher and co-founder of The Writing for Pleasure Centre. His work focuses on translating writing research into effective classroom practice, and he regularly collaborates with teachers and children in schools. He has written several books on teaching writing and leads professional development through organisations such as the UKLA. Ross is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s Literacy Lab, studying children’s writing lives in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. 

• Date: 15 November 2025

• Time: 09:30 – 12:30

• Location: Online, via Zoom

The UKLA annual student and teacher online conference (2025) explores the notion of the teaching of writing for pleasure. Through the conference delegates will, through three expert-led sessions, develop their subject knowledge and gain practical strategies and lesson ideas to teach writing for pleasure confidently in the classroom. There will be a particular focus on writing for pleasure with SEND pupils.

Designed for both student teachers and teachers, this conference will prove to be invaluable professional development.

Through the day there will be interactive sessions from:

1. Ross Young – founder of the Writing for Pleasure Centre The 14 Principles which underpin Writing for Pleasure
2. Billy Allgood –  SENCO @ Gallions Primary School The benefits of writing for pleasure for SEND pupils
3. Felicity Ferguson – founder of the Writing for Pleasure Centre How to develop yourself as an excellent teacher of writing in whatever context you find yourself in. 

Booking open now:

• Students £5
• UKLA members £10
• Non-members £20

Tickets are available to purchase here: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/95913