An Observational Study of Writing Instruction and Practice in Kindergarten Classrooms

ABSTRACT The purpose of this observational study was to examine the amount and type of writing instruction and practice in kindergarten classrooms. Participants included 78 kindergarten teachers from 34 elementary schools across three states in the US. Classroom teachers were videotaped three times (fall, winter, and spring) during the academic year. We assessed the multidimensional components of writing instruction and practice at the level of specificity using a time-sampled, observational scale. The results demonstrated that most kindergarten teachers devoted considerable time to teaching writing (7 minutes a day) and providing opportunities for children to practice writing (24 minutes a day). Kindergarten teachers delivered instruction and practice to the whole group and relied on teacher modeling and monitoring and providing feedback to structure writing instruction and practice. In addition, most of the variability in classroom practices occurred within individual teachers. Considerable variability was also observed in classroom practices across schools, which signal the influence of schools on teachers’ writing practices.