Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Early Childhood Practice Exam

What stage of writing development does the sample "I that he racked the leaves all reddy!" exemplify?

1. Semi phonetic

2. Phonetic

3. Transitional

4. Conventional

The correct answer is: Transitional

The sample "I that he racked the leaves all reddy!" exemplifies the transitional stage of writing development. In this stage, children start to refine their understanding of spelling and sentence structure. They typically demonstrate a growing awareness of the alphabetic principle and begin to use more standard spelling patterns, although their writing still includes inaccuracies. In the example provided, the child shows a mix of spelling that reflects both phonetic spelling ("reddy" for "ready") and some understanding of sight vocabulary and syntax (the basic structure of a sentence). Transitional writers will use a wide variety of words they are familiar with, leading to sentences that may be more complex than those from earlier stages. They are progressing toward conventional spelling but still make some errors that indicate they have not fully mastered standard spelling rules yet. Understanding the transitional stage helps educators recognize the child's development and provide appropriate support, encouraging further refinement in their writing skills. This stage is key for developing more complex sentence structures and expanding vocabulary, which are important as children approach the conventional writing stage.