Instructional strategies for teaching to write: a Q-sort analysis

Two methods of teaching writing in first grade are adopted in Italian elementary schools: analytic or phonic-syllabic and global. The former starts with the presentation to children of letters which are combined into words and sentences, whereas the latter emphasizes writing as a meaningful activity, and consequently its starting point is represented by words and/or sentences. Twelve first grade teachers (six following the analytic and six the global method) had to Q-sort 85 instructional activities commonly used when teaching to write. From factor analysis applied to the Q-data two factors emerged, one referring to the analytic and the other to the globalistic teachers. The relationship between the two factors and the activities is presented and discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.