Goal
Children will begin the Foundation Stage with a wide variety of writing skills ranging from simply making marks to writing their own name unaided. They will move from gross to fine motor skills using a variety of tactile methods. They need opportunities to make marks in their own way and to gradually refine these into recognizable patterns and eventually individual letters.
Of particular importance in relation to handwriting is the development of good posture and balance. It is very important never to force a child to write before all foundation skills for handwriting are in place.
Gross and fine motor control must be first achieved.
Activities that help develop a child’s gross motor skill should be incorporated in the daily activities. Activities include: dance, football, use of small apparatus, cycling, gripping climbing frames, and building with large construction kits all help develop gross motor control.
For fine motor control: see homeroom list.
Until children have gained reasonable fine motor control through art, mark making and other activities, formal handwriting worksheets are inappropriate.
All Early years’ staff, including support staff, must be aware of directionality and when children are showing a firm interest in writing their name, they should be encouraged to use correct directionality.
To aid coordination, sand trays and sticks (or fingers), paper, paint and large brushes, modeling materials, blackboards and chalk may be used. They will be taught the use of capital letters for names and beginning of sentences.
- Sand: trays/Seeds and other tactile materials
- Letter: Shapes/feely, letter shapes
- Large paper: brushes to make writing patterns
- Boards: chalkboard/finger tracings
- Play dough, clay
Grades K and 1
In accordance with the National Literacy Strategy the children are taught how to form both upper- and lower-case letters and how to join them, whilst still developing fine and gross motor skills with a range of multi-sensory activities. Handwriting is taught daily and can be linked to the phonics session during Literacy lessons.
The children are taught to:
• Write from left to right and from top to bottom.
• Start and finish letters correctly.
• Be consistent with the size and shape of letters and the spacing of letters and words.
• Have the correct pencil grip.
• Find a convenient position for their page.
• Have the correct posture and position.
It is expected that by the end of this stage, the majority will be writing unaided, using capitals where appropriate and presenting their written work legibly. An introduction to joined writing can be started when a child has developed a consistent, clear print style, where letters are generally correctly formed.
Grade 2 to 5
During this stage the children continue to have direct teaching and regular practice of handwriting. We aim for them to develop a clear and fluent style and by the end of Elementary, be able to adapt their handwriting for the following different purposes:
• A neat legible hand for finished, presented work
• A faster script for notes
• Print for labeling maps or diagrams.