Stages of Writing Development: How to Teach Your Child to Write

Children develop writing skills in four stages: preliterate, emergent, transitional, and fluent. Understanding these stages helps you support their progress.

1. Preliterate Stage (0 to 2 Years) – Scribbling is Writing

At this stage, any scribbles or drawings are considered writing. Kids mimic adults by pretending to write.

Signs of a Preliterate Writer:
✔ Scribbles or draws while telling a story
✔ Imitates writing by making marks on paper
✔ Holds a crayon or marker and enjoys making marks

How to Help:
🖍️ Keep paper and crayons easily accessible
📝 Ask, “Tell me what you wrote!” to encourage storytelling
💌 Leave small notes for your child to inspire writing back

2. Emergent Stage (2 to 4 Years) – Letters Begin to Appear

Children start recognizing that letters form words, though their writing may still include symbols and drawings.

Signs of an Emergent Writer:
✔ Writes random letters, often mixed with squiggles or drawings
✔ Recognizes and writes some letters, especially their name
✔ Begins to understand that words represent spoken language

How to Help:
🔠 Teach your child to write their name and simple words like “Mom” or “Dad”
📖 Read aloud daily to build letter recognition
🚗 Create signs for play (e.g., a STOP sign for toy cars)

3. Transitional Stage (4 to 7 Years) – Letters Become Words

Kids start matching sounds to letters and using invented spelling (e.g., “mi kat z hpe” for “My cat is happy”).

Signs of a Transitional Writer:
✔ Writes words by sounding them out
✔ Spelling is inconsistent but logical
✔ Reverses or mixes up some letters

How to Help:
📝 Encourage writing in pretend play (e.g., menus, doctor’s notes)
📚 Read together to reinforce letter-sound relationships
🎨 Keep writing fun—don’t focus too much on correcting spelling

4. Fluent Stage (5 to 6 Years) – Writing Becomes More Structured

Children begin using conventional spelling and can write more complex ideas.

Signs of a Fluent Writer:
✔ Writes sentences with some correct spelling
✔ Memorizes common sight words (e.g., “the,” “was”)
✔ Expresses thoughts clearly in writing

How to Help:
💌 Write letters to each other or family members
📖 Encourage “shared stories”—take turns writing a few lines
✍️ Introduce drafting—first for ideas, second for spelling corrections

Each child progresses through these stages at their own pace. Celebrate their writing journey and encourage creativity along the way! ✨📝