In his latest book, Gunther Kress explores how children learn to spell in the context of current concerns about early literacy. Using numerous examples of children's writing and drawing, Kress looks at children as 'makers of meaning' and explores their earliest ventures into writing. Kress covers problems such as dyslexia within today's educational system. Technological aids on spelling and writing such as spell-checkers and the effects of the increasing visualization of communication (computer, TV, film) are also discussed.

Gunther Kress is Professor of English/Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. His previous publications include Learning to Write and Before Writing, both published by Routledge.

Introduction 1 Why, and why now? 2 A framework for thinking about the issues 3 The many meanings of spelling 4 What do children try to spell? 5 The look of spelling 6 The sound of spelling