Proficiency in written language requires time and patience to reap the desired harvest. Writing skills develop and become more sophisticated as students use them for meaningful purposes and varied audiences. This brochure is a useful tool for assessing children's development along a continuum of written language growth as well as a source of information about the competencies that children are expected to learn in second through fifth grades. The descriptors in the continuum list specific behaviors that are typical of children's development at particular ages or grades. The competencies list specific behaviors that children are expected to learn in second to fifth grades according to the 1999 NC Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts.
Writing is a powerful instrument of thought.
In the act of composing, writers learn about themselves and their world and communicate their insights to others. Writing confers the power to grow personally and to effect change in the world. Use expanded vocabulary to generate synonyms for commonly over-used words to increase clarity of written and oral communication. Write structured, informative presentations and narratives when given help with organization. Attend to spelling, mechanics, and format for final products in one's own writing.