Understanding Emergent Writing

During the emergent writing stage, children experiment with various forms of mark-making. They begin by scribbling with different materials and gradually progress to drawing, creating letter-like symbols, forming more recognizable letters, and eventually writing strings of letters that resemble words (see Figure 1 below).

As children move through this stage, they develop an understanding that writing serves a purpose and that the letters and words they see in their environment convey meaning. For example, when a child recognizes that a red octagonal sign means “STOP” or that a large golden “M” represents McDonald’s, they are demonstrating awareness that symbols and print carry specific messages. This recognition provides educators with meaningful opportunities to build on children’s growing literacy knowledge.

Classroom Activity

A valuable way to encourage emergent writing is through a shared storybook activity. Provide children with familiar images from a well-known fairy tale or read-aloud story and invite them to add text that expresses the main idea of each picture. Depending on each child’s writing stage, they can dictate their sentences for you to record or attempt to write some of the words themselves alongside your writing. The completed book can then be taken home, giving children a sense of pride and ownership in their developing writing.

Figure 1. An example showing a child’s progression through the emergent writing stage.