Instructing Preschool Writers: Interactive Writing and the Writing Workshop

Abstract

Preschool children hold immense writing potential that is rarely realized in traditional classrooms. This mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study focused on how best to teach these emergent writers. By comparing the effects of interactive writing, writing workshop, and traditional instruction, the study provided a clearer picture of how these instructional approaches influence students’ writing achievement and processes. The quantitative results of the study pointed to the effectiveness of both writing workshop and interactive writing for improving students’ foundational writing skills. The qualitative results supported these findings and highlighted how students differed in the extent they identified as authors and played in their writing. Based on these findings, both writing workshop and interactive writing might be effectively applied in preschool classrooms by empowering emergent writers and providing opportunities to write.