As a child progresses in writing development, what is the next likely step after beginning to leave spaces between words?

The next likely step after a child begins to leave spaces between words is representing initial and final sounds or morphemes in words. This progression indicates that the child is starting to understand the concept of phonemic awareness, which is critical for early writing development. By focusing on sound representation, children learn to connect sounds to letters, which helps them understand how to spell words phonetically.

At this stage, children typically start to write letters that correspond to the sounds they hear at the beginning and end of words, demonstrating an understanding of the structure of words and how they are formed. This step is also related to the development of their spelling skills, as they begin to encode their spoken language using written symbols more effectively.

In the context of early writing development, focusing on initial and final sounds is foundational for advancing to more complex spelling and writing skills later on.