School Discourse: Learning to Write Across the Years of Schooling

Description

Writing development has been a key area of research in applied linguistics for some time but most work has focused on children's writing at particular ages, for example, at the early primary, late primary or secondary stage. Christie and Derewianka draw on extensive research in both primary and secondary years to trace the developmental trajectory from age 5 or 6 through to 18. Using a systemic functional grammar, they outline developmental changes in writing in three major areas of the school curriculum - English, history, and science - as children move from early childhood to late childhood and on to adolescence and adulthood. The book considers the nature of the curriculum at various stages, discussing the interplay of curriculum goals, pedagogy and developmental changes as children grow older. It also explores how emergent control of the different subjects requires control of various subject specific literacies and considers the pedagogical implications of their findings. It will be of interest to anyone involved in the writing performance of children in schools, particularly applied and educational linguists.

Frances Christie is Emeritus Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia and Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia. Beverly Derewianka is Professor of Language Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, Australia.

'The authors have made a tremendous contribution to our understanding of the paths learners follow in written language development from early childhood to late adolescence. They provide, for the first time, detailed and clearly articulated descriptions of the language students learn to control as they write key genres across the curriculum. The book will be a frequently-consulted reference work for teachers, curriculum developers, and writing researchers.' - Professor Mary J. Schleppegrell, School of Education, University of Michigan, USA. School Discourse is an invaluable resource for teachers working with primary and secondary students in educational institutions where the medium of instruction is English. Not only does the book present what genre types students are supposed to make meaning with but it also projects the trajectory of writing development across developmental phases. This might also have implications for improving writing programmes in institutions of higher education, where instruction builds on what has been covered in primary and secondary schools. -- Australian Journal of Linguistics 31:3