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.