The Literacy Brain

Moving From Oral to Written Language

The process of changing oral language into written words begins very simplistic. Children observe/learn through their environment prior to attending a formal school. In the early primary school years students are usually writing about their experiences. This is narrative writing. Students often label their pictures and then use the labels to develop written sentences. At this stage students are not thinking deeply about their topic or how to express the information. They are simply transferring spoken language to written language. Often you can hear them saying these self-dictated sentences, as you read their writings. Students are writing exactly what they are thinking and saying. Some student may use different words than their spoken word or sentence, as they do not yet have the resources to write the exact word(s) that they would use orally.

Moving words from oral to written should be the priority. Students should be learning how to encode words during their primary school years. This skill requires prior knowledge or “prerequisites.” The first prerequisite is phonological awareness or the ability to orally manipulate letter sounds to communicate. Phonological awareness is a component of phonology that discusses the process and manipulation of letter sounds, rhyming words, and segmentation of words. Student oral language is the foundation of their learning how to write. Educators use this foundational skill as a stepping- stone or a bridge to teach students the skills necessary to learn how to read and write.

Students begin learning phonological awareness at birth through their environment. They listen to the sound(s) around them and watch how others react to the sound(s) and begin building their knowledge. They learn to how the sounds of language change to communicate their needs. Their lexicon grows, as they soak up the meanings of sound(s). For instance, many students learn the meaning of affixes (morphology) before they can read by listening and using their meaning(s) through oral language. People around them discuss how many apples they may have picked from an orchard. They soak up the conversation and catalog the information within their brain to access at a different time. The comprehension and usage of the heard information may take some time. They are synergizing (processing) the information with their known information. During ages 0-6, students are usually processing information orally, as they haven’t the brain development to think internally about the matter.

The second prerequisite is knowing what symbols or graphemes can represent each phoneme, like the letter “Aa” represents the phonemes /ă/ and /ā/ or the letter “Bb” represents /b/. The English language uses letter symbols that remain consistent. An “Aa” is an A always. The phonemes that a letter represents are initially consistent, like in the CVC word “sat” (/s/ /a/ /t/) the letter represents the same sounds each time. The letter-sound correspondence may change in more complex words, depending on where the letters are placed in a word. For instance, if the letter “r” is placed next to a vowel, the “r” usually changes the vowel sound or in the word seat. The /a/ yields its voice, giving the power to /e/. Without knowing grapheme-phoneme correspondences students struggle to decode and encode words. This foundational skill assists with encoding words.

The third prerequisite that students need to know is how to form individual letters. This skill should initially be taught through direct explicit instruction. Formal instruction of letter formations usually begins in preschool or Kindergarten. Some students will pick up this skill naturally through their environment. Educators often use different sayings/songs to help students remember how to correctly write a letter. Students use the sayings as a scaffold to complete the task on their own.

A fourth prerequisite to take into consideration is how the student’s brain processes written language. Students who struggle with writing a sentence, often struggle at speaking an oral sentence.

The process of moving from oral to written language is very complex, with many working parts. These prerequisites are usually acquired at the same time. Usually, all students will need assistance to legible and coherently write words on a page.

Developing a Written Story – Fiction or Nonfiction

Beginning with the end in mind may ease the writer’s ability to write coherent words on paper. When individuals get on a plane or in a car, they usually have a destination in mind. The destination might take detours along the way to accommodate new ideas, wishes, or unexpected emergencies. Each piece of writing is similar in its journey. Determining the initial direction or ending goal of the writing task usually eliminates unnecessary stresses along the way.

Individuals write for many different reasons. Many of the reasons require a different format of writing. Asking questions before you begin usually helps to create a clearer path of how to get to your destination. Many writers answer these questions automatically before they begin without much thought. Most writers, novice to professional, usually answer and map out their writing before they begin. Some use graphs, some index cards, some use whatever is available to write notes of ideas about what they are writing. Writers ask the following questions to establish a writing “map” that will navigate them to their destination.

The first question is “what is the purpose of the writing? Will I be writing:

- - for myself – journal, list, brainstorm.
  - to inform individuals about how flowers grow or what types of rock formations you may find in a certain demographic area.
  - to convince individuals that my point of view has merit.
  - to express my gratitude or complaint.
  - to have a written conversation with a friend.
  - to tell about an experience.
  - to write a book.

The second question is “what is the topic of the writing?” Often, the purpose of the writing will dictate the topic, like an assignment about how butterflies migrate or about elephants. The depth and detail will still be for the writer to determine. The direction of the writing may change as the scribe gets get deeper into the writing project. The direction of the topic may also be influenced by the audience. The audience might be a group of individuals who have completed organized studies on the topic. Or individuals that have never heard about the topic.

The third question is “who is the audience?” Are you writing this piece to inform them about things in your life? Then you can leave out shared information or information that the two of you already know. The background information. If you are writing about the same topic to a larger audience that may not be aware of your past experiences. You will have to consider how much background information they will need to know before they can fully comprehend what you are writing.

The last question I usually asked myself is “what types of information do I need to include about the topic?” This question usually reverts to who your audience is and how much background information the already known about the topic. This might take some research on the writer’s part. Another consideration is how the information that you are planning to include should be included. In a writing about a topic, the writer might include more pictures, graphs, and sections of information than they would if they were writing a letter to a friend or writing a fictional piece.

Once a writing map has been developed the writer has a direction. Now the smaller detailed plan can be developed. There are different ways of developing a more intimate map that includes the bigger and smaller details to include within the manuscript. Some writers brainstorm – a) write a list of topics, b) gather things to include, like pictures or letters c) build a timeline, and/or d) draw pictures of scenes. Writers often use prewriting charts and diagraphs to gather and brainstorm information. A writer might brainstorm throughout the writing project, as the writer may need to adjust a storyline or include other details to better explain a point to an argument. This helps the scribe stay the course, to reach the intended goal of the writing manuscript.

Dyslexia, Reading, and Brain Processing

In the late 1800s James Hinshelwood, an eye surgeon, began seeing more patients arrive at his clinic needing assistance with the inability to learn how to read written words. These individuals were usually sent first to an eye specialist to assess their eye sight capabilities. He began to compare his notes with other physicians who had similar cases. The cases revealed patterns for the inability to read. These individuals had normal eye sight and oral language skills. Some individuals had learned how to read, but lost the ability due to an illness or injury. These cases gave knowledge about the parts of the brain necessary to read written words and what part of the brain may be impinging an individual’s ability to learn how to read. Some cases gave knowledge of the parts of the brain that may be affecting an individual’s ability to learn how to read. The second category that the cases revealed was students who were struggling to learn how to read for the first time. These students had no prior history of brain injuries and had normal eye sight and oral language skills. Hinshelwood theorized that some individuals have visual memory deficits, while others have auditory deficits. He also theorized that individuals with a visual memory deficit and no prior history of brain injury gained their inability to learn how to read through genetics. He called this congenital word-blindness (Hinshelwood, 1912). Current research has confirmed and expanded his theory that the visual memory or occipital lobe does not initial develop to support individuals who are learning how to read.

Researchers have identified three regions of the brain necessary to read written words effectively (Pugh et al. 2000; Shaywitz, 2003; Eden, 2004; Dehaene, 2009; Hoeft 2013; Gaab 2020). The first region is the anterior-interior gyrus or auditory component. The second region is the temporoparietal or processing component. The third region is the occipitotemporal or visual component. I discussed these regions of the brain in greater detail during my August 2018 blog, titled “Understanding How the Brain Processes Words.”

The prior components or working mechanisms of the brain must develop individually before developing coordinating connections between the necessary regions of the brain to read effectively. It normally takes the first five years of life to develop each component of the reading brain separately before the connections begin to develop for reading words (Gotlieb, Rhinehart, & Wolf, 2022). In my last blog, I discussed how students with dyslexia are initially wired and how the right side of the brain compensates until new highways and byways develop to connect the essential components in the left side of the brain. Hinshelwood (1912) discovered that individuals with word-blindness suffered from a deficit in visual memory and usually had good auditory processing/memory abilities. Individuals with word-blindness or dyslexia are developing the initial visual memory component, while simultaneously building the connections to different locations in the brain to read effectively.

Through working with patients of different ages who were learning how to read and by reviewing other cases with similar issues, Hinshelwood (1912) learned that individuals who were struggling to learn how to read needed a different formula of instruction than the current widely used formula of teaching students how to read. At the time students were being taught how to read using the “look and say” or whole word method of learning how to read.

“In the “say and look” method the child is taught to recognize printed words as a whole, not to recognize the words by spelling them out letter by letter, and hence it is claimed that the child learns to read more rapidly, as the process of reading by visual recognition alone dispenses with necessity of the child learning to spell before learning to read, as in the old method” (Hinshelwood, pg. 1034-35).

He learned that these individuals need to be taught by learning how to spell or encoding words, which entails first learning the names of letters or phonics instruction (Hinshelwood, 1912).

He also learned that exhaustion was often present with these students when they were learning how to read. In one case “She could not study at first for more than ten minutes at a time, as exhaustion soon came on and she had to stop” (Hinshelwood, 1912, pg. 1033). In another case “It took so much out of him, as he expressed it, and required such intense mental effort, and he was making such little progress that he felt constrained to abandon any further attempts towards learning to read” (pg. 1033). We know today that much of the exhaustion is from rewiring or growing new connections in their brain to accommodate the lack of initial or genetically developed structure to learn how to read. The exhaustion is often seen as frustration, laziness, or lack of wanting to learn how to read. The brain is trying to catch-up by building the initial foundations, while learning new information that the brain does not have the proper foundation for. The exhaustion usually diminishes over time, as individuals become better readers.

Hinshelwood in the early 1900s presented the theory that the earlier individuals begin to receive intervention in learning how to read the more quickly they will be able participate socially and academically with their peers. There is now research to support the type of assessment and instruction for students that show signs of dyslexia before they arrive in kindergarten.

Children born of families with a history of dyslexia are 50% more likely to struggle in learning how to read. The severity of dyslexia usually varies.

References

Dehaene, S. (2009). Reading in the Brain. Penguin Group.

Eden GF, Jones KM, Cappell K, Gareau L, Wood FB, Zeffiro TA, Dietz NA, Agnew JA, Flowers DL. Neural changes following remediation in adult developmental dyslexia. Neuron. 2004 Oct 28;44(3):411-22. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.10.019. PMID: 15504323.

Pugh KR, Mencl WE, Shaywitz BA, Shaywitz SE, Fulbright RK, Constable RT, Skudlarski P, Marchione KE, Jenner AR, Fletcher JM, Liberman AM, Shankweiler DP, Katz L, Lacadie C, Gore JC. The angular gyrus in developmental dyslexia: task-specific differences in functional connectivity within posterior cortex. Psychol Sci. 2000 Jan;11(1):51-6. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.00214. PMID: 11228843.

Eden, G., Hoeft, F., Moats, L., & Pugh, K. (2013 & 2014). International Dyslexia Association Conference.

Gaab, N. (2020). Moving from reactive to a proactive model in education framework of Reading development can inform educational practice and policy. International Dyslexia Association Conference.

Gotlieb, R., Rhinehart, L., & Wolf, M. (2022). The “reading brain” is taught, not born: evidence from the evolving neuroscience of reading for teachers and society. The Reading League Journal, 11-16. https://www.thereadingleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-Reading-Brain.pdf

Healy, J. (2010). Different Learners. New York: Simon & Schuster

Hinshelwood, J. (1911). Two cases of hereditary congenital word-blindness. The British Medical Journal, 608.

Hinshelwood, J. (1912). The treatment of word-blindness, acquired and congenital. The British Medical Journal, 1033.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia. Alfred A. Knoft.

Turesky, T., Escalante, E., Loh, M., & Gaab, N. (2025). Longitudinal trajectories of brain development from infancy to school age and their relationship with literacy development. PNAS, 122(24), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2414598122

New Brain Research Supports Early Intervention

“Our findings suggest that some of these kids walk into their first day of kindergarten with their little backpacks and a less-optimal brain for learning to read, and that these differences in brain development start showing up in toddlerhood” (Mineo, 2026). Brain development begins at conception according to its genetic code, which is influenced by its environment. Each set of genetic coding is unique, except for identical births. Some individuals have the genetic coding to develop brain pathways that are different than most individuals, like dyslexia. This makes learning how to effectively process symbols/letters, words, and their meanings more challenging. Environmental factors will influence the severity of dyslexia and learning how to read.

“The brain bases for reading-related skills are being built in infancy, long before children learn to read” (Mineo, 2025). Researchers have identified three regions in the brain that work together to process written symbols. The first region is the anterior. This region located in the front left side of the brain and is responsible for processing phonological information. The second region of the brain that helps to effectively process printed information is the temporoparietal region. This region is in the mid-left side of the brain and processes orthographical information into patterns of speech and meaning. The third region that helps to effectively process written information into sound and meaning is the occipitotemporal region, located in the back, lower left-side of the brain. This region stores a picture of each word along with its sound and meaning. These regions work as a team to read written words. https://www.zaner-bloser.com/research/building-the-reading-brain

Students with developmental dyslexia do not develop the infrastructure within their brain to initial process written letters or symbols. Their brain processes written information through different routes than most individuals. They use the anterior region in the left side of the brain and parts of the right brain to process written words. The connections between the temporoparietal region and the occipitotemporal region are not yet developed. Students with dyslexia compensate by using parts of their right brain, until the necessary connections of the left-hand side of the brain are developed. Their brain works twice as hard to process the information. This is why many students with dyslexia do not show outwards signs of a disability until they start trying to make sense of or use written words. These students usually become tired, frustrated, and check-out. This often leads to the “lazy” look. These individuals usually need direct, explicit instruction to help develop the necessary connections in the left side of the brain.

There are also many environmental factors that may have an influence on the developing brain. One factor is the community of people in the developing brain’s immediate environment and what their habits may entail-nurturing, chemicals. Another factor is technology, the amount of use or interaction with different types of technology will affect the developing brain, such as a pencil or mechanical or electronic devices. The amount of television and programs viewed will affect the developing brain. Another factor is the amount and types of conversations the developing brain hears. Another factor is the amount of print the developing brain is exposed to. Another factor is the amount of interaction the developing brain is given through different senses-sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. The environmental factors that the developing brain is exposed to helps to develop the layers of information or knowledge that individual’s use when learning to read and reading information in print. If the process is slowed, stopped, or altered by environmental factors, the results will be altered. Often when students struggle in learning how to read, we do not know all the factors involved that have developed the student disability.

Many of the initial layers of knowledge necessary to read written words are not seen or heard while growing, like the first initial growth of a plant. A plant seed uses its “genetic” coding to begin growing. Like a human seed, the plant seed needs the right environment to begin growth. A plant first grows roots. Then a stem begins to grow. Then leaves begin growing. This growth all takes place usually unseen, underground. The plant has been developing the connections necessary to survive out of the soil. Once the plant has poked out of the soil it will continue to grow according to its genetic design, affected by environmental factors. Like the unseen plant growth, the human brain develops in layers. Many layers are unseen, like before individuals begin to talk. The brain or person observes and listens for quite some time (about a year) before spoken utterances begin. The fruit of their observation is realized gradually overtime. The number of spoken words grows overtime, along with the complexity of verbal sentence structure.

Current research suggests that the brain begins categorizing and storing new information at conception. The foundational layers necessary for future affluent reading becomes more prevalent around age 18 months. The complexity of the brain is developed enough to determine who will struggle with phonological processing. At this stage of development researchers were able to determine “individual differences in early brain structure associated with phonological processing and mediate decoding and word reading ability in early school” (Mineo, 2025). The lack of phonological processing skills is a major indication of dyslexia or deficiency in learning how to read written language.

These new findings support prior researchers’ conclusions. Fowler (1983) theorized that a person’s environment has influence on their genetic code and that individuals develop in a layered manner. Piaget (1966) theorized that as a child’s body maturates, the more complex their brain can process information. Vygotsky (1934) theorized individuals first process information orally, until the age of 7 when they begin processing (thinking) information both internally and externally. He also theorized that individuals layer their knowledge through the help of their community environment. Meaning students usually cannot complete an activity before the foundation for that activity is developed without the assistance of another individual who has the prior knowledge or foundational skills of task. Binet and Simon (1906) theorized that children will be able to complete certain tasks at a particular age, but usually not before. For instance, Binet and Simon (1916) discovered that a picture could determine a children’s intellectual age at three, seven, and twelve. Three-year-old children give simple explanations of the people within a picture, but not the background or happenings of the people within the picture. Children at the intellectual age of seven can examine a picture and describe the relationship of the people and objects within the picture. At the intellectual age of twelve, children can give an interpretation of the picture. The interpretation is expressed in written form about their feelings in relation to a description of the picture.

Intervention usually assists in the development of connections (by-ways and high-ways) within the brain. This usually leads to effective reading skills when practiced and practiced and practiced. These students will need extra time to grow and practice each newly acquire skill with in the complex system of affluent reading.

References

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1915). A method of measuring the development of the intelligence of your children. Chicago Medical Books.

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. Williams & Wilkins Co.

Fowler, W. (1962). Cognitive learning in infancy and early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 59(2). 116-152.

Fowler, W. (1983) Potentials of childhood, Vol 1. Heath & Co.

Healy, J. (2010). Different Learners. New York: Simon & Schuster

International Dyslexia Association Conference (2013-2014) Eden, G., Hoeft, F., Moats, L., & Pugh, K.

Mineo, L. (2025). Reading skills—and struggles—manifest earlier than thought. New finding underscores need to intervene before kids start school, say researchers. The Harvard

Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/06/reading-skills-and-struggles-manifest-earlier-than-thought/

Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (2000). The psychology of the child. Basic Books.

Vygotsky, L. (1934). Thought and language. MIT Press.

Zaner-Bloser. (2025). https://www.zaner-bloser.com/research/building-the-reading-brain

Updated Definition of Dyslexia, 2025

The International Dyslexia Association released an updated definition of dyslexia at their annual conference this month. The new definition better clarifies how dyslexia is developed within an individual and what types of learning issues an individual with dyslexia may have. The new definition better describes the complexity of the disability and when individuals should begin receiving support to minimize the struggles that accompany dyslexia. The revised definition of dyslexia was completed under the direction of Charles Haynes, Hugh Catts, and Malt Joshi, who considered research gathered since the previous definition was published.

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties in word reading and/or spelling that involve accuracy, speed, or both and vary depending on the orthography. These difficulties occur along a continuum of severity and persist even with instruction that is effective for the individual’s peers. The causes of dyslexia are complex and involve combinations of genitive, neurobiological, and environmental influences that interact throughout development. Underlying difficulties with phonological and morphological processing are common but not universal, and early oral language weaknesses often foreshadow literacy challenges. Secondary consequences include reading comprehension problems and reduced reading and writing experience that can impede growth in language, knowledge, written expression, and overall academic achievement. Psychological well-being and employment opportunities also may be affected. Although identification and targeted instruction are important at any age, language and literacy support before and during the early years of education is particularly effective (IDA, 2025).

Cognitive Brain Development Theories

Current research confirms earlier brain development theorist that suggested brain development takes place in a structured systematic fashion. For years researchers have suggested that individual’s cognitive processing skills develop in a layered manner. Now we have fresh research conducted with new forms of technology not available to most of these researchers to validate their theories. Four relevant cognitive development theories concluded before current technology are described below.

The first theory was developed by Binet and Simon in 1916. Their work established the intelligence guidelines that we use today. Educators at the time were struggling to accurately label struggling students or why students did not all respond to same types of curricula at different levels of education. Binet and Simon’s research determined how the brain functioned at different age levels. The results of their research show that a student gains cognitive processing skills or cognitive intelligence in a systematic manner. For example, they discovered that a picture could determine a child’s intellectual age of three, seven, and twelve. Three-year-old children give simple explanations of the people within a picture, but not the background or happenings of the people within the picture. Binet and Simon noted, “At three years, therefore, the child is at the stage recognition and identification of objects” (p. 190). The answers are usually given in simple one-word sentences. Children at the intellectual age of seven can examine a picture and describe the relationship of the people and objects within the picture. Binet and Simon noted that the answer is given in complete sentences. At the intellectual age of twelve, children are able to give an interpretation of the picture. These interpretations are expressed in a written description of their feelings that are attached to the description of the picture. Children begin to view the whole picture and the meaning of the picture as they grow intellectually.

The second theory was developed by Vygotsky through his research from 1926 to 1930 that focused on “the mechanism of transformation of natural psychological functions into the higher functions of logical memory, elective attention, decision making, and comprehension of language” (Vygotsky, 1934, p. xxvii). Vygotsky’s research in educational psychology led to cognitive rehabilitation practices. He focused on the mental age and the functioning age of children and discovered that ages were not always the same. Vygotsky also discovered that children maturate in a stratified, blended pattern. Vygotsky’s cognitive development theory rests on the amount and type of social interaction that takes place during the maturation process. Vygotsky (1934) argued that children will exhibit higher cognitive functions in an enriched environment. Cognitive functions of children will increase as they master social processes. Vygotsky’s research led to two major findings of cognitive development, the zone of proximal development and inner speech.

The third theory was realized by Piaget (1966), who worked for Binet in the mid-1920s. His findings were not made known until the mid-1960s. Piaget argued that when children’s bodies go through the maturation process, their brains also move into higher levels of cognitive processing. Piaget (1966) concluded that “mental growth is inseparable from physical growth: the maturation of the nervous and endocrine systems, in particular continues until the age of sixteen” (p. xvii). Piaget considered cognitive development within the womb to be more genetically linked than environmentally linked. For Piaget the environment takes on a larger role of development of cognitive intelligence outside of the womb. Piaget (1966) argued that individuals develop their cognitive processing skills at different ages, each level building on the previous level. Piaget established four major levels of cognitive development: sensori-motor, semiotic or symbolic, concrete operations, and propositional operations or pre-adolescent.

The fourth theory was formed through Fowler’s (1983) research that focused on the effects of stimulation on cognitive processing development. A portion of his research focused on language development and the cognitive process of learning how to read. Fowler (1983) theorized that cognitive development was founded on two major explanations that involved the environment and genetics. According to Fowler (1962), the inherited design unfolds itself through “ordered stages of maturation” and is modified through the child’s environmental experiences (p. 143). Fowler argued that the cognitive processing skills of children will grow through the acquisition of layered skills and that children must be able to question before they can reason. Fowler argued that cognitive development is dependent on three main skills as well as motivation. He suggested that these skills were knowledge, codes, and problem-solving strategies and styles. Formal knowledge is how the information is processed, used, and stored within the brain. Codes refers to the use of codes, which are the connections within the brain that allow children to catalog, store, and retrieve vast amounts of information. The complexity of the code connections grows as children maturate. Strategies represent the style of processing information. All children demonstrate different tempos for processing information. All children have different forms of analyzing and integrating information into brains. Fowler (1983) recognized Piaget’s basic stages of cognitive development, but he felt that cognitive development occurred in a blurred rather than a rigid formation. He felt that all new cognitive processing skills are developed based on previously developed cognitive skills.

Current research that supports the theories explained above will be described in my next blog.

References

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1915). A method of measuring the development of the intelligence of your children. Chicago Medical Books.

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. Williams & Wilkins Co.

Fowler, W. (1962). Cognitive learning in infancy and early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 59(2). 116-152.

Fowler, W. (1983) Potentials of childhood, Vol 1. Heath & Co.

Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (2000). The psychology of the child. Basic Books.

Vygotsky, L. (1934). Thought and language. MIT Press.

Empowering Writers Through Picture Writing

Motivating students to put words on paper during writing instruction can be challenging. Teaching them prewriting skills and scaffolding the writing exercise can ease the reluctancy to write. One tool or writing method that I use on a regular basis is what I call picture reading and writing. This exercise takes some of the intrinsic and extrinsic pressure off students during the writing process. This exercise allows students to grow their confidence in their writing skills. This exercise assists students in developing the following skills: (a) synthesizing information, (b) observation, (c) listening, (d) inferencing, (e) about adjectives, (f) building and using their lexicon, (g) structured writing routine, (h) grammar usage, (i) collaboration, (j) recalling information, and (k) success in the writing process. This lesson is usually taught in a whole group setting, as this gives opportunity for modeling from students of higher writing skills. This also provides opportunity to provide a variety of scaffolds for struggling writers. This also provides opportunity for students who can orally write solid sentences to mentor and participate.

Before the lesson begins you will need to collect the following items: (a) an interesting or unusual picture about a current topic, (b) a place to write a list of words and a paragraph, (c) student journals or a piece of paper, (d) a way to project the picture, and (e) teacher and student writing utensils.

I begin with showing students an interesting picture and asking them to read the picture. What is the picture about? What can you tell is happening the picture? What might have just happened? What will happen next? Ask students to discuss what is happening or has happened or what this is a picture about. They might discuss the picture whole group or with their elbow partner.

After students have a good grasp of what the picture is about, I ask them to help create a list of adjectives that may help to describe the picture, like a brainstorm. I write their suggestions on anchor paper or the board for all students to see. This is a pre-writing skill that students may use while developing all genres of writing. All good writers take the time to “prepare” to write. Students develop/write the brainstorm in their journal. Students may copy my list and add some of their own words not mentioned yet. Students who are comfortable with the writing process will usually develop their own list. When students become perplexed with coming up with words to describe the picture, ask them questions about the picture that they may have missed. Questions like, what is happening in the background ? or why might she be smiling ? I have also added a word or two that might trigger other related words located in their personal dictionary to surface.

During the third step of picture writing, I/we discuss the features of a paragraph. I will go more in depth with my discussion each time we picture write, until they are more able to develop a paragraph on their own. A good paragraph will begin with a topic sentence. The topic sentence drives the rest of the paragraph. If students say the sky is blue, then the rest of the paragraph should be about the color of the sky. The length of the paragraph is dependent of the skill level of students present. In the primary grades I have students write a topic sentence, followed by three sentences related to the topic sentence, then a conclusion sentence. If students in the group that can handle more “middle” sentences, then I have them write more. For this exercise, I usually ask students to write descriptive sentences about the picture. In the past, I have also used this for creative writing, etc.

Step four is writing the paragraph. The first couple of times I orally demonstrate how students can use the class developed brainstorm list of words to develop a sentence. I lead them the first few times through this exercise, allowing them to take the lead as their confidence grows. Then, I usually give students a few minutes to begin composing sentences, either oral or written. After a few minutes I asked for topic sentence suggestions. Each student may compose a different paragraph or they can copy the class developed paragraph that I have written at the front of the room. I never write a paragraph, I take dictation. This allows all ability levels to participate in the writing process. During the writing phase there is opportunity to discuss punctuation, subject/verb agreement, if the sentence is related to the topic sentence, letter formation, paragraph formatting, etc. I usually use just one sentence from a student during a writing exercise. This allows for more students to participate in the class developed paragraph-sharing their voice. After we have three or four sentences, then I ask for a sentence to conclude the paragraph. You may have to make suggestions at first.

The last step is holding them accountable. I glance or read each paragraph to ensure that they have completed the task. I usually give them a star at the top of their paragraph. This task is about getting words on a paper. Most students should have at least the class developed paragraph. There might be exceptions for various reasons. Some may struggle with copying from the board. Some students may struggle with letter formation. Most students will add their own sentences, as they feel more confident in the writing process. I usually have students complete this task once a week.

I use this writing exercise for a variety of outcomes. One being just writing words and sentences on paper. The exercise helps them to build brain connections for writing words on paper. This exercise helps build brain connections for putting their thoughts on paper. This exercise helps to build brain connections for synthesizing pieces of information. The brain is a muscle that needs to be developed, strengthened, and used for writing on a regular basis. Like other muscles in the body the signals become stronger or weaker depending on the usage.

Picture writing allows all students to participate in the writing process.

Composing Written Words

Writing is an exercise that requires higher cognitive processing abilities. These skills take time to develop, as children need to first build the foundations or connections necessary to speak words and sentences. This skill begins to appear around age two when children are beginning to build their own oral sentences. Some children will begin earlier; some children will begin later. Student brain connections begin developing under the direction of their genetics gained at conception. They are listening and observing others to learn how different sounds convey meaning. The brain continues to build roads, highways, and by-ways according to their genetics and their environment. They will build the necessary connections to survive in their immediate environment under the direction of their genetics. This means making the connections to coordinate information between the necessary parts of the brain for speaking and writing language. This means developing connections to synthesize stored and new information. A child’s immediate environment will either increase or hinder their oral language growth. A child’s oral language ability usually dictates their reading and writing ability. There will be exceptions, like students with dyslexia.

Brain development occurs in a systematic or ordered fashion, like a flower growing from a seed. The flower grows systematically in stages. We can observe some stages of the flower’s development, while other stages are invisible or internal. Some flowers take longer to mature; other flowers are slower to mature. Writing skills are developed in a similar fashion. There are five stages that students move through while learning how to write (Voyager Sopris Learning, 2025). The first stage is pre-phonemic – scribbling/drawing, usually not legible. The second stage is early phonemic – begins to recognize and emulate letter shapes. The third stage is strings of random letters – able to write letters, writing nonsense words. The fourth stage invented/transitional spelling – encoding words, putting phonemes together based on the sounds of a word. The fifth stage is conventional writing and spelling – able to write coherent sentences and passages, often relying on their phonics knowledge. The growth is both seen and unseen.

Often student brain connections or routes have not developed enough for them to transfer their oral language to paper. Vygotsky (1934/2002) theorized that children first process and compose their verbal language aloud through others in their environment. At this stage of development individuals in the student’s environment are more likely to hear unfiltered verbiage, like he stinks or their shirt is dirty. At this stage their brain is relying on just one route of thought called interpsychological. Around ages 7-9 the student brain will begin using a second thought processing route that Vygotsky (1934/2002) referred to as intrapsychological or inner speech. Students compose their own thoughts without filtering them through their environment. They begin to individualize their thoughts relying more heavily own data bank of information instead of those in their environment. Students begin refraining from sharing their exact thoughts.

In the formal classroom, students are often shut down or not allowed to talk while independent writing is taking place. Most students in the primary grades need to express themselves orally before putting words on paper. Their brains have not moved from one processing route or verbally thinking to having two routes to process their thinking. Creating a writing environment that gives opportunity for a variety of different volume levels allows students to orally express and discuss composing their writing, and it gives an opportunity to focus on putting their oral composition onto to paper.

A student who seems to be lazy or unengaged is typically struggling to write words on paper. These students are still gaining the foundational writing skills in stages 1-3. They are building the necessary connections to write words on paper. These students are usually frustrated and feel degraded. They begin to navigate ways around the task.

If a student is struggling to verbally express a coherent sentence, then direct, explicit instruction in a small group needs to take place. You become their co-author. You become their sounding board. You become their scribe. The student should write the scribed sentence in their own handwriting. This helps students to build their handwriting connections to put words on paper. Small group instruction allows the instructor to work with students more at their zone of proximal development. When students are ready for this instruction with the assistance of someone of higher cognitive processing. They will likely be stuck for some time without your assistance. This is also a form of scaffolding.

References

Voyager Sopris Learning (2025). What are the stages of writing development? Voyager Sopris Learning. https://www.voyagersopris.com/vs/blog/stages-of-writing-development.

Vygotsky, L. (1934/2002). Thought and Language. MIT Press.

Creating a Positive Learning Environment for Literacy Achievement

At the beginning of each school year, teachers have the challenge of creating a safe learning environment. They have a clean slate to create a positive learning environment. Each set of students may change what that safe learning environment might look like and how it might function. Creating a classroom environment that encourages student achievement should be the goal of each teacher. Student achievement is the data of teacher efforts. Some data is hard to harness or record – social and verbal. Educators usually take anecdotal notes about student social and oral achievements, such as orally composing a sentence or phonemic awareness abilities. Students thrive in spaces that have established routines and positive norms.

Creating a safe environment for students to learn and grow often takes the first few weeks of a new school year to fully implement. Establishing a plan for routines and schedules of how your classroom might function to begin the school year helps both the teacher and students to begin establishing classroom norms, during the first few days of school. The following list is some items that teachers should consider when creating classroom norms before students arrive:

student work spaces – like library, desk, table, floor, group work, computer usage, science investigation
how and where will students keep their backpacks, lunch, school supplies, books, etc.
where will each student sit, during whole or small group instruction
will students have a designated work space or free choice, etc.
classroom routines,
layout of classroom,
schedule of what a “normal” school day will be (some of which is dictated by administration and your teaching team),
at-a-glance “meeting or information spot”, like jobs or assignments, regular or daily schedule
how and when will students go to the bathroom,
when can students have drinks or snack.

Other things to consider when establishing a positive classroom learning environment should include pull-outs or push-ins and other items established by Individual Educational Plans (IEP) or a 504, such as needing to sit closer to the teacher or needing more breathing room. There are usually other activities that your classroom might participate in, such as library or working in the garden that affect routines or schedules. These first day plans are usually altered during the first few weeks of school when you have gotten to know student needs.

Creating a consistent, safe, positive learning environment lets the brain rest and focus on the immediate lesson. Maslow (1954) hierarchy of needs states that items of higher need for survival will take precedence over those items of lower need. Items of great concern or need may be slightly different for each student and may look a little different each day or moment. Your classroom is a community within a larger educational community (school) that is within a larger community (town or city). Things that happen in each of these different layers of student life do affect student achievement.

I discovered the following poem by Dorothy Law Nolte in a pediatrician’s office when my children were very young. I often use the philosophy of this poem to assist me in reflecting upon and improving what my current classroom positive learning environment should look and feel like.

Children Learn What the Live

If children live with criticism,

they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility,

they learn to fight.

If children live with ridicule,

they learn to be shy.

If children live with tolerance,

they learn to be patient.

If children live with encouragement,

they learn confidence.

If children live with fairness,

they learn to have faith.

If children live with approval,

they learn to like themselves.

If children live with acceptance and friendship,

they learn to find love in the world.

Teachers are assisting in the process of creating positive social environments. This usually lends to more positive working environments during adulthood. Furthermore teachers are still students, they are learning everyday how to improve their craft of educating the next generation of leaders. When we know better, we should be implementing better.

References

Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and personality (3^rd ed.). Harper & Row Pub.

Ray, Jennifer S. (2018). Using intrinsic and extrinsic motivational strategies in instruction.

The Literacy Brain. theliteracybrain.com/2018/07/21/using-intrinsic-and-extrinsic-

motivational-strategies-in-instruction/

When Should Core Curriculum Be Supplemented?

No curriculum will meet all of your current students learning needs. And what you found successful last year may not be successful this year. The core curriculum for any subject should be reaching 80% of your students. Changes should be made to increase student retention of intended outcomes, when less than 80% of your students are not retaining intended outcomes of core curriculum. There are usually different variables of an instructional lesson that may have a negative or positive effect on the core curriculum.

One tricky part of education and the effectiveness of instructional lessons is the background knowledge that both the teacher and the student bring to the lesson. Each person has had a different set of experiences and exposures before entering the classroom. Teachers can glean from their 13 years of formal-required education. Educators also bring their collegiate educational experiences, and their natural temperament and abilities into the planning and delivering of instructional lessons. In addition, teachers should be seeking ways to improve how to best meet the needs of their current students. This is why professional development is so vital to the process. Professional development may be gained through many different platforms, such as: (a) observation of instructional lessons, (b) self-study, (c) collaboration/discussions with colleagues or community members, (d) college classes or seminars, and or (e) trial and error. Most educators will seek to improve their craft on their own.

In relation to the K-12 students, each are unique individuals that usually require different types of instruction to really grasp and gain ownership of a taught skill. To meet 80% of your current students’ instructional needs in the classroom does not require that each student have a personal instructional plan. But this does mean that written and published instructional lessons may need some differentiation to meet the learning needs of your current students. If you know that most students learn better by taking notes, then taking notes of important details should be added to a lesson. If you know that most of your students need a few more mini lessons to digest and own a skill, then this change should be made. Written and published instructional lessons usually follow a systemic pattern, like teaching students letter names and sounds before asking them to decode CVC words. If students do not own letter-sound correspondences before teaching them how to decode words, most students will struggle and the decoding lesson will usually take many months to grasp. Some skills may be introduced and practiced as new skills are being taught, which may make the art and science of each instructional lesson a challenge. Educator professional development and background knowledge usually increase the ease of developing each instructional lesson to best meet the needs of students in your classroom.

A note of importance, usually only 5% of students on average will be able to grasp, hold onto, and use a new skill after the first lesson. If you do not have the definition of an average classroom, then students taking ownership after the first lesson will be different. Student ability changes with each subject, meaning that some students may be able to learn new skills in reading easier than they can in science. Data gathered today may not look the same tomorrow. Calculating the 80% should include multiple points of gathered data.