Receptive language, listening
skills, expressive language, reading, and writing
| Stage 1 | Random Scribbing (2 and 3 year olds) | Children make marks on paper randomly with little muscular control. |
| Stage 2 | Controlled Scribbing (3 year olds) | Children "write" across the paper in linear fashion, repeating patterns over again, showing increased muscular control. |
| Stage 3 | Letter-Like Forms (3 and 4 year olds) | Children make mock letters. These are written lines of letters that have letter characteristics but they are misshapen and written randomly, even covering the page. They like to pretend they are writing; and, in their work they separate writing from drawing. They have purpose to their letter-like forms. |
| Stage 4 | Letter and Symbol Relationship (4 year olds) | Children write letters to present words and syllables. They can write their name. They know the word that represents their name. They can copy words. Reversals are frequent. |
| Stage 5 | Invented Spelling (4 and 5 year olds) | Children make the transition from letter forms to invented spelling. This requires organization of letters and words on the page. They use a group of letters to form a word. Many of the letters will be consonants. They understand that letters relate to sounds. Some punctuation appears. They can copy words from thier environment. |
| Stage 6 | Standard Spelling (5, 6 and 7 year olds) | Most of the words the children use are written correctly, some add punctuation. They organize their words in lines with spaces between the words; and, they move from left to right, and from the top of the page to the bottom. |
Source : MacDonal, S. (1997) The Portfolio and Its Use : A Road Map for Assessment.
Southern Early Childhood Association