Haifa Writers

Most people assume that young children, while avid listeners and lovers of a great book, are not capable of being writers.  Research on early writing concluded that children begin to develop an understanding of written language at a very early age. As  you can see, the Haifa children have already developed a strong understanding of literacy.  They dove right into a book making project, demonstrating elements of authoring.  This early authoring shows:

• Organization (following a process similar to adult authors)
• Intentionality (the children know that their markings have meaning)
• Generative thinking (attempting to make meaning and convey a message)
• Risk-taking
• An understanding that language has social function (it was for a purpose)
• Awareness that context matters in language (the situation is related to what you and write and how you use it, the pages of the book are related to each other)
• That one's scribbles and later words form a text or unit of meaning (the sum of the elements collectively mean something)