Introduction

Glenda Bissex, the founder of the National Writing Project, wrote GNYS AT WRK: A Child Learns to Write and Read (1980). In this case study, Bissex acts as a parent researcher and details her son's journey to becoming a fluent writer and reader. Although grounded in sound educational theory, the goal of this qualitative research was not to generalize the findings to other students, but to encourage the educational community to look at individuals in the act of learning and to tailor instruction according to those individual needs (p. vi).

Synthesis of Major Findings

In this case study, Bissex attempts to uncover connections between Read's work (1971) on invented spelling and Chomsky's notion of reinvented spelling (1970) and her son, Paul's, early writing and reading experiences. With the use of miscue analysis and observations, Bissex determined that Paul's invented spelling system enabled him to create a system to represent English orthography and sounds. Initially asking for the spelling of sounds (as opposed to words), Bissex watched Paul move from a semisyllabic system based on letter names and sounds to an alphabetic system with finer sound distinctions after only 5 months of invented spelling (p. 24). During this phase of his development, Bissex realized that Paul identified many irregularities in English orthography as a result of his early writing experiences without the benefit of formal instruction or reading materials controlled for repetitive vocabulary or phonic regularity. Viewing writing as a means of communicating with family and friends, Paul immersed himself in different forms of writing that enabled him to interact with others.

By the time that Paul reached first grade, Bissex observed that he not only had taught himself to read, but had progressed from "laborious decoding to building up speed in reading" (p. 42). Bissex noticed that Paul writing prior to learning to read and that his writing samples became his reading materials. Once he moved into the conventional spelling stage, where he was concerned with having the correct spelling for words, his desire to write decreased while his desire to read increased and the energy that had initially poured into writing transferred to reading. During first grade, Paul began to develop a visual strategy for spelling which led to misspellings of words that he normally spelled correctly. Using Brunner's integration study (1969) to explain this phenomenon with Paul, Bissex hypothesizes that the initial interference of the one stage (phonemic strategy) was suppressed by the second stage (visual strategy), leading to an integration of the two strategies and signaling a more advanced conception of spelling. By the end of first grade, Paul had mastered the first grade curriculum and its expectations by generalizing spelling patterns and principles from an "unstructured set of correctly spelled words" and by "accumulating learned words, " (p. 62).

By second grade, Bissex witnessed Paul's growing disinterest in spelling in school as the instruction shifted from stories with pictorial representations to completing workbooks and writing spelling lists. However, Paul's ability to write freely at home-,- enabled him to rediscover the joy of writing as he used writing to understand adult reality, to grow, and to make some reality of his own.

Conclusions & Implications For Practice

1. Prior to the emergent reading stage, young children should be read to very early on a regular basis and be exposed to writing materials, writing tools, and should have some exposure to letter names and sounds.

2. Given the connection between spelling and reading, children should be encouraged to use invented spelling to promote free writing and communication with others.

3. Children should initially be allowed to write as children (as talk), as opposed to being forced to write like adults (book language).

4. When Paul was in first grade, he needed more of an advanced approach to spelling and writing. Educators should conduct needs assessments on children and design curriculums to match students' ability levels and to differentiate instruction accordingly.

5. Writing helped Paul to grow and to understand adult reality. Writing programs, which focus on "writing stories, short answers to workbooks questions, and the occasional poem" (p. 73), should be extended to include broader purposes for and types of writing.

6. Bissex suggests that teachers need to use inquiry-based models of teaching and participate in teacher initiated research in order to improve professional practices and to align pedagogical practices with student learning needs. For more information: http://course1.winona.edu/lgray/el620/Unit5Inst/inquiry.htm

References

Bissex, G.L. (1980). GNYS AT WRK: A child learns to write and read. Harvard

University Press: Massachusetts.

Chomsky, C. (1970). Reading, writing, and phonology. Harvard Educational

Read, C. (1971). Pre-school children's knowledge of English phonology. Harvard

For more information on how to teach writing:

McCormic-Calkins, L. (1994). The art of teaching writing. Heinemann: New

External Links

For more information on Bissex's book: http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/ReferenceMaterials/BibliographyLiteracy/Bissex1980.htm

For more information on how invented spelling enhances phonetic approaches to reading: http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/blank.htm

For an annotated bibliography for teachers desiring to conduct research in writing instruction: http://www.writingproject.org/cs/nwpp/download/nwp_file/2430/tic_biblio.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d

For other works by Bissex: http://www.heinemanndrama.com/products/07224.aspx

Comments By Sara Mcginnis

Philicia, your page was very informative. I learned a lot about Bissex, who I knew nothing about. Many of your links are not linked to a page. I wasn't sure if you just hadn't gotten to it or not. I would link the part where you discuss Read and Chomskey to those pages that other have done. It would really help the read to be able to look those researchers up as well. Very nice job!

Comments by Christy S. Nobles

I found this page to be very interesting and very useful in understanding more about Glenda Bissex and her research. It was an interesting yet refreshing study for the simple fact that she chose to study her own child and his struggles with reading. Her daily interaction with Paul led to a greater understanding of his struggles. I had never heard of Bissex before but now am interested in learning more about this study and other's she may have been a part of. I am a parent with a struggling reader so I can easily relate. You did a great job on this page. The only change I would suggest is to make your external/internal links. I noticed that they were not working, this could offer more information about the topic for those of us who would like to learn more. Wonderful job, Philicia.

Comments by Annette Gebhardt

Your page was very well written and organized. It was a very enjoyable read. I recommend one change. However, Paul's ability to write freely at home, enabled him to rediscover the joy of writing as he used writing to understand adult reality, to grow, and to make some reality of his own. I would suggest eliminating the comma after "home" because the verb "enabled" connects to the subject "ability." I will certainly refer to this article again for the useful information. Great job!