Experiment with drawing, scribbling, letters, and temporary spelling to convey ideas.

Use the appropriate strategies to communicate meaning when "writing":

• find ideas to explore (before)
• tell story about self (during)
• add detail (after).

Use language cues and conventions to construct and communicate meaning when "writing":

• use and apply the different functions of language (pragmatic)
• tell or dramatize stories using own words and appropriate gestures (textual)
• use different sentence patterns (syntactic)
• manipulate sounds and words in shared, guided, and independent activities (lexical/semantic)
• explore sounds and rhymes (graphophonic)
• use various tools and techniques to represent ideas (other cues and conventions).

Attempt to copy letters or words from the environment (e.g., books, chart paper poems, word wall, name cards, public signs) to express ideas or understanding.

Share experiences, feelings, and thoughts with a scribe.

Write as part of play (e.g., grocery list, parking tickets, menu, signs).

Tell others about the intended meaning of drawings and writings.

Dictate a story based on a representation that needs to be explained in writing.