Understanding the Changes in Writing Between Early to Academic Literacy: The transition between Grade 3 and Grade 4 Students
Date
2023-11-01
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Abstract
Due to the increasing curriculum demands, students often struggle to successfully transition from grade 3 to grade 4. During this transitional period, students are expected to have learned how to write and use those skills to perform academically. There are several variables at play in terms of making the transition from early literacy to academic literacy, such as vocabulary, handwriting, and fluency. Being successful in this literacy transition is crucial for overall academic success and flourishing. This study aims to explore different factors that may influence students’ writing during this transitional period. English Language Learners (ELL) and English Native Speakers (ENS) were compared. Students were compared in grade 3 to grade 4 in terms of quality of writing, quality of handwriting, total number of words (TNW), low-frequency threshold (LFT), band 4 coverage, and off-list words. A path analysis was conducted, demonstrating the importance of handwriting quality and lexical reach on fluency and indirectly on writing quality. Results show no significant differences between ELL students and ENS. Although there were no differences in quality writing outcomes from grade 3 to grade 4, LFT decreased, and TNW, handwriting quality, and band 4 coverage increased. In grade 3, all variables were correlated with quality writing outcome. However, in grade 4, the percentage of off-list words is no longer correlated with the quality writing outcome. In grade 3, only the LFT, the TNW, and the quality writing outcome were correlated with the grade 4 quality writing outcome. Path analyses suggest that the LFT and handwriting quality impact the TNW, impacting the quality writing outcome. Overall, students struggle to make the leap from grade 3 to grade 4 and require more support.
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Keywords
Writing, Vocabulary, Handwriting, Fluency
Citation
Mir-Orefice, A. (2023). Understanding the changes in writing between early to academic literacy: the transition between grade 3 and grade 4 students (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.