To develop writing skills commensurate with literacy standards, children must begin building their foundation for writing in the primary grades (Graham & Harris, 2005; New Standards Primary Literacy Committee, 1999), especially because children's early writing performance is strongly related to their later success (Juel, 1988). According to the New Standards Primary Literacy Committee (1999), teachers play an indispensable role in a child's process of learning to write, and thus, high-quality instruction is crucial for improving writing outcomes. In an era of high-stakes testing that includes assessments of students' writing proficiency, it is essential that writing instruction be informed by principles demonstrated to be effective.

To address this need, the two articles in this dissertation investigate Interactive Writing, a dynamic approach to writing instruction for young children. Participants included six teachers and 101 first graders from five public schools in a large metropolitan area. The studies evaluate the overall effectiveness of Interactive Writing and provide a case-study of this approach in one classroom.

In the first study, 49 children in the Interactive Writing condition showed greater growth over the school year on measures of independent writing than did the 52 children in a comparison group. These effects were sustained after controlling for other factors, including the quality of the classroom literacy environment and time on instruction. Notably, the treatment classrooms spent an average of only 10.5 minutes a day engaged in Interactive Writing.

The second study focused on the teacher and six children from one treatment classroom. Findings from this six-week study demonstrate that Interactive Writing is a multifaceted approach to instruction that creates a community of writers around a meaningful topic while simultaneously providing differentiated instruction. Daily observations revealed that incorporation of the three components of each lesson, the teacher's decisions about what aspects of writing to emphasize based on students' needs, and teacher talk about applying learning are central to effective instructional delivery. Analysis of the students' independent writing suggests this teaching enables children with varied literacy profiles to improve their writing.

Together these studies suggest that Interactive Writing is a promising approach for instructing and engaging young writers.