Ms. Bradley's Writing Space

No Easy Way Out by Dayna Lorentz

7th-9th grade reading level

I would read this to middle schoolers and maybe fifth graders. It demonstrates good writing through sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions, as well as organization, ideas, and voice as the main character takes it upon herself to help solve part of a larger problem. The excerpt flows easily, and the imagery that comes to mind is clear.

Press the play button to listen to the intro!

Literacy is an essential part of daily life in our society. However, no one is born knowing how to read and write. It takes years for a child to develop the motor skills to pick up a writing utensil and manipulate it to create markings on a surface, and then years after that to hone the ability to write legibly and fluently. At some point in their lives, every literate person has gone through the Stages of Literacy. Click on the link below to see my Stages of Literacy!

Ms. Bradley’s Stages of Literacy Timeline

Let’s take a look at the criteria for the writing portion of each Stage of Literacy, according to Literacy Bug (Page 28)

Stage 0 (0-6 years old)

• Scribbling
• Mock writing
• Palm grasp

Stage 1 (6-7 years old)

• Invented spelling
• Development of using writing as a way to explore the world

Stage 2 (7-9 years old)

• Words have correct slope, size, shape, and spacing
• Mature tripod grasp
• Use of punctuation and appropriate capitals

Stage 3a (9-12 years old)

• Cursive writing
• Legible and fluent handwriting
• Recognizes differences between spoken and written language

Stage 3b (12-14 years old)

• More adept at moving between speaking and writing
• Writing fiction and essays
• Use of multimedia

Stage 4 (15-18 years old)

• Diversifying writing to address multiple audiences
• Critical analysis
• Functional communication

It is important to help students develop their reading and writing skills, and the best way to do so is through the use of a variety of activities and assessments. Too many teachers rely on just essays and other writing assignments to assess their students’ skills. Not all students learn the same, so why should they be assessed the same?