Doonfoot Primary School. Handwriting Policy

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Martin Neal
7 years ago
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1 Doonfoot Primary School Handwriting Policy February

2 Doonfoot Primary School HANDWRITING GUIDELINES Nursery Children in the nursery environment should be exposed to as many literacy opportunities as possible, and should get experience in using a number of writing tools and papers to participate in a wide and varied range of writing activities. The children should be given plenty of opportunities to develop hand control by using plasticine, cutting out, small construction toys, jigsaws, peg boards, drawing patterns, etc. No formal teaching of writing is undertaken in the nursery class until a child shows an interest in writing and is ready to be taken to the next stage. The role of the nursery teacher then, is to ensure appropriate formation of letters, in, for example, in the child s name. Primary 1 Young children learn by imitation and the majority of children starting school will have been copying writing from as young as three years old. However, only a small proportion of these children will be forming letters correctly, and indeed may be writing in capital letters having learnt to do so from environmental print. Therefore it is vital that the correct formation is taught as quickly as possible to promote good habits and in an effort to eliminate bad ones. Handwriting should be taught as a whole class, in the order of the letter patterns attached, using the school resource as a support. The formation of the letters should be taught as a brisk pace, aiming for all the lower case letters and numbers being introduced by the end of December P1. Time may then be taken to reinforce them on a daily basis during the remainder of P1. Children should be encouraged to write their name correctly at all times. It should be noted that during the initial introduction of the letters, it is not necessary for the children to know the names of the sounds being shown, although the teacher should talk about their sounds as the correction formation is being taught. These lessons should be teacher led, with the teacher demonstrating the formation and then circulating to ensure this is being done correctly. It is an opportunity to help and praise individuals. Handwriting lessons are NOT successful, at this stage, when pupils are left to practice independently either in a jotter and/or workbook as they are often reinforcing the wrong information. It is recommended that teachers us a variety of materials to introduce and practice the letters a white board is ideal for this. Pupils could also write in the air and use crayons, sand and paint. It is 2

3 more difficult to write using a pencil so teachers may prefer to delay using them in until the beginning of term 2. Large plain jotters could also be introduced at this point. Ordinary jotters with lines should be introduced later in term 4 of P1 to teach correct sizing and placement of the letters. Peer/self evaluation A simple way to do this is to ask the pupils to circle their best example of a letter/word and to tell a partner why they chose it. A peer may be asked to highlight or put a star next to the one they think is best and explain why. Examples of good handwriting could be celebrated and displayed to motivate other members of the class. Developing good hand control Throughout P1, pupils should be given plenty of opportunities to develop hand control plasticine, cutting out, small construction toys, jigsaws, peg boards, drawing patterns etc. These should be given/offered daily they fit nicely with an active learning and literacy through play environment. Primary 2 The children of primary two may spend the first 2 terms practising the formation of lower case letters part of words eg common words and/or CVC, CCVC, CVCC words. Again this is more effective done as a teacher led session. Their own forename and surname is practised, followed by the introduction and consolidation of capital letters. To develop good handwriting in all areas of the curriculum, ordinary lined jotters should be used rather than specialised handwriting jotters. At this stage, handwriting should still be taught as a whole class, 2-3 times a week, but with additional activities for any children experiencing difficulties. It is essentially important for these pupils to be given hand control activities as described above. Joined script To prepare for using a joined script, pattern making is still a priority. This could be done as a stand alone activity or as part of an art lesson. The pupils should be ready to learn base line joins at the beginning of term 3. Again, the teacher may decide to use whiteboards at the beginning of this process. It is very important that children are encouraged and expected to transfer their joined script to all areas of the curriculum. Peer/self evaluation Opportunities for good hand control through active learning / art and as per Primary 1. 3

4 Primary 3 The pupils of P3 will need to spend the first term practising and consolidating base line joins progressing on to top joins and joins to anti-clockwise letters. Again, the teacher may decide to use whiteboards at the beginning of this process. To develop good handwriting in all areas of the curriculum, ordinary lined jotters should be used rather than specialised handwriting jotters. At this stage, handwriting should still be taught as a whole class, 2-3 times a week, but with additional activities for any children experiencing difficulties. It is especially important for these pupils to be additional letter formation activities and in some case hand control activities. It is very important that children are encouraged and expected to transfer their joined script to all areas of the curriculum. Peer/self evaluation As per Primary1. Primaries 1 3 Writing area If possible, and practical it is a good idea to create a writing area in each class, which will provide a stimulating and interesting area where the pupils choose to write. This may be free writing and/or writing tasks eg make a menu or write a silly poem. There should be a variety of pens/pencils and paper, plus some examples for set activities eg real menus. It may also be useful to display a list of common words for reference. Primary 4 and Primary 5 Primary 4 and 5 pupils will benefit from a regular handwriting lesson, again teacher led at least once per week. This will help to reinforce good practice and will give them opportunities for self ment. Other opportunities for handwriting may take place through using a whiteboard. By this stage, you should expect pupils to transfer their joined script to all areas of the curriculum. Primary 6 and Primary 7 By Primary 6 and 7, it is very difficult for pupils to change their handwriting habits. Rather than class/individual writing lessons, it is better at this stage just to encourage all pupils to use their own fluent and legible style in all their writing. With good teaching in P1-5, most pupils will be able to do so. If a pupil s writing is still poor, it is often simply the size of letters that is inconsistent or the placing of them on a line. This may be best tackled by teacher/pupil discussion or individualised and specific target setting eg I am going to make t,b,d,k,l and h taller than the rest of my letters, ie / PLP. 4

5 HANDWRITING Primary 1 (work in a downwards direction) T = Taught P = Practised T P T P T P T P T P s c d j 0, 1 a k g z 2, 3 t e o w 4, 5 i h u v 6, 7 p r l y 8, 9 n m f x b Child s First Assess Name a-z 5

6 Primary 2 Nelson Handwriting Book A for reference T = Taught P = Practised Taught Practised Assessed Lower case a-z Child s full name Capitals A-M Capitals N-Z Baseline Joins T P T P T P T P ll all ar ip li in aw up ti un iv ib il an hu ub it im ti th ill um ki ck ut am du ch at ine ay ent ull ime ey ant 6

7 Primary 3 Nelson Handwriting Book 1 for reference Top Joins T = Taught P = Practised T P T P T P T P T P ou re ob ve fe ov ri ol we fi ow rt ot wh fu op rk of fl if ft Joins to anti-clockwise letters T P T P T P T P ac oa fa ea ad od fo ed ag og va ca oo wa da ws ha Other Joins T P T P T P to e descenders ss joining from t descenders to e sw joining from p qu us joining from b ff ix 7

8 Primary 4 Nelson Handwriting Book 2 for reference Top Joins P = Practised T P T P T P T P T P ou re ob ve fe ov ri ol we fi ow rt ot wh fu op rk of fl if ft Joins to anti-clockwise letters T P T P T P T P ac oa fa ea ad od fo ed ag og va ca oo wa da ws ha Other Joins T P T P T P to e descenders ss joining from t descenders to e sw joining from p qu us joining from b ff ix 8

9 Primary 5 Nelson handwriting Book 3 for reference Consolidation of previous work, with an emphasis on reduction of size of writing. Introduction to using pens. Primary 6 Nelson Handwriting Book 4 for reference Revision of problem joins and introducing calligraphy as a style of writing where appropriate. Primary 7 Nelson Handwriting Book 4 for reference Consolidation of work of previous years encouragement of joined style, while allowing children to develop their own style of handwriting. 9

Phonics. Phase 1 6 Support for spelling Monitoring and assessing resources

Phonics. Phase 1 6 Support for spelling Monitoring and assessing resources Phonics Phase 1 6 Support for spelling Monitoring and assessing resources Phase 1 Letters and Sounds phase 1 - Seven aspects 1) Environmental sounds 2) Instrumental sounds 3) Body percussion 4) Rhythm