Learning to Write and Writing to Learn

Abstract

When children come to school at the age of five they are full of enthusiasm. They look forward to learning to read and write. They spend much of their time experimenting with pencils, crayons, paper and notebooks. They quickly learn how to write their name, numbers and some letters. This is referred to as "emergent writing" and precedes reading. Why, then, after this initial motivation to learn to write do children later dislike writing and find it difficult? As Frank Smith says, "children do not come to school ignorant, but they often leave school ignorant."