This is a fun way to extend "pretend" writing into phonics-based writing, for the pre-reader.
I don't know if anyone else calls it "magic writing;" I heard of it many years ago when a friend showed me her son's Kindergarten school work, and it may simply have been his teacher's name for it. It's a great "kid writing" approach to encouraging little ones to apply what they already know, to their spontaneous writings.
Today, Taz decided to "write" a list of his favorite dinners, as I worked on this week's grocery list. I glanced at his work and saw that he was making nice left-to-right scribbles, one scribble per word. Since his interest in the activity was so high, I took the opportunity to show him how to extend it using "magic writing." It's pretty simple: The child writes the sounds he knows, in the position in which he hears them; and simply draws a blank line to represent the sounds he doesn't know. I showed him how to write an initial sound for two of the dinners on his list: Chicken [and] Biscuits and Chicken Pot Pie ("____ B_______; ____ P___ P___"). He was excited by the idea, and took a stab at pancakes, waffles, syrup and (oh, how I love this), "woast beef." :)
Taz has really struggled with making the "next step" from individual sounds to blending -- I'm very encouraged to see that, without prompting, he is able to identify at least some initial, middle and ending sounds, and position them correctly on his own. (I've actually backed off quite a bit from formal reading and math instruction with Taz at this point, since it seemed to frustrate him. I think he just needs more time to play and explore, and make use of his really excellent spatial and mechanical skills. We'll be taking a fresh stab at Kindergarten with him next August. More on that another time.)
As for the "magic writing" technique: Ideally, as I recall it, the goal is to have the child use the combination of letters and blank lines, showing awareness of whole words vs. syllables and the sounds within them; later the teacher would use the blank lines to fill in the missing letters. I'm not doctrinaire about most things educational, though, and am just happy to see him make a great first attempt!
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