Introduction to Understanding and Supporting Young Writers from Birth to 8

In this chapter the authors introduce the book and argue for a greater focus on writing in research, policy, and curricula, including a re-imagining of what young children are learning about writing with traditional and digital technologies. The authors acknowledge the disruption to education and care created by the COVID-19 pandemic, respond to the debate and discussion of contemporary issues related to the teaching of writing, and illustrate how the remaining chapters in the book contribute to a deeper understanding of children's progressions and continuity in early writing from 0 to 8 years of age. The authors introduce the three key areas expanded in the various chapters. The first is the integration of children's language experiences and rich contexts for learning (Chapters 2, 3, and 4). Second is the complexity of the writing process and the array of interrelated skills that are associated with learning to write (Chapters 5, 6, and 7) and practices for assessing and teaching writing (Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11). Finally is the need for explicit teaching to address the achievement gap in writing that exists between the lowest and highest performing students, alongside writing practices shaped in response to the needs of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (Chapters 12 and 13). Each chapter can stand alone, although read together they are complementary.