Barnes Farm Infant school Policy for Handwriting and Presentation

Transcription

1 Barnes Farm Infant school Policy for Handwriting and Presentation At Barnes Farm Infants we believe that neat, well-formed handwriting and presentation of written work helps to raise standards as the pupils take pride in and have a sense of ownership of their work. As a school the children work towards joining their handwriting once they have mastered the correct formation of all letters. There are four main purposes to this policy: To state the school s approaches to this subject in order to promote parents and carers understanding of the curriculum; To establish a clear understanding of what is expected of the children; To ensure that every child knows what is expected of them regardless of which adult is in the class working with them; To establish expectations for teachers; To promote continuity and consistency in presentation across the school. Why have a handwriting and presentation policy? Handwriting is a skill which, like reading and spelling, affects written communication across the curriculum. Given effective teaching, handwriting can be mastered by most pupils by the time they are seven or eight years old enabling them, with practice, to go on to develop a faster and more mature hand ready for secondary school and adult life. The surest way to ensure consistent teaching and the development of legible, fluent joined handwriting throughout the school is to have a written policy agreed and put into practice by all staff. (The Handwriting association) Aims: To raise standards in writing across the school. To have a consistent approach across Foundation Stage and Key Stage One when teaching handwriting and presentation of work throughout the school.

2 To adopt a common approach towards handwriting by all adults when writing in children s books, on the whiteboard or on displays / resources. For pupils to: Achieve a neat, legible style with correctly formed letters. Develop flow and speed, so that eventually they are able to produce the letters automatically and in their independent writing. Strategy for Implementation Entitlement and curriculum provision Handwriting is taught regularly through short, focused sessions and may be linked with spelling, grammar or phonics objectives. The teaching of handwriting generally occurs outside Literacy lessons, although shared and guided writing also provides additional opportunities for the modelling and monitoring of handwriting. Teaching and Learning Handwriting is a skill which needs to be taught explicitly. Since handwriting is essentially a movement skill, correct modelling of the agreed style by the teacher is very important; it is not sufficient to require pupils to copy models from a published scheme or worksheet. Consistency in the attitudes displayed, the methods employed and the models provided is the key to effective learning. A mixture of whole class, small group and individual teaching is planned. The role of the teacher: To follow the school policy to help each child develop legible and fluent handwriting. To provide direct teaching and accurate modelling. To provide resources and an environment which promotes good handwriting. To observe pupils, monitor progress and determine targets for development. Early Years Foundation stage Outcomes months - To hold pencil between thumb and two fingers, no longer using whole-hand grasp. - To hold pencil near point between first two fingers and thumb - To copy some letters, e.g. letters from their name.

3 40-60 months - To show a preference for a dominant hand. - To begin to use anticlockwise movement and retrace vertical lines. - To begin to form recognisable letters. - To use a pencil and holds it effectively to form recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed. Early learning goal moving and handling - To show good control and co-ordination in small movements. - To handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing. The National Curriculum 2014 states Writing presentation for: Year One write most letters, correctly formed and orientated, form lower-case letters in the correct direction, with ascenders and descenders distinguished starting and finishing in the right place. Write with spaces between words accurately, leaving space between words. Sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly, form capital letters, form 0-9, understand which letters belong to which handwriting families (ie letters that are formed in similar ways) and to practise these. Year Two use upper and lower case letters appropriately within words, write capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower-case letters. Form lower-case letters of the correct size relative to one another. Start using some of the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined. Use spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters. Year 3 use diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left un-joined increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting. At Barnes Farm Infant school we begin with letters written separately (not joined up yet) although you ll see that all letters have the flicks on them so children are ready later. Presentation across the school: It is essential that all children should have pride in their work and that it is set out well. Literacy books should have the full written date e.g. Wednesday 23 rd September 2015 for Year Two. Year One to start off with just the day of the week, progressing to full date by the summer term All other subjects (including maths and handwriting books) should be written using numerals: The date should be written at the top. The next line should be missed and an appropriate title should be written. The Learning Objective for every piece of work should be displayed (not just on interactive board) to be referred to throughout the lesson as needed, year 2 should write the LO (with exception of

4 HN SEN) and in summer Term year 1 should write the LO in preparation for year 2. FS Learning Objectives are typed and stuck into books Modelled examples are used to introduce new skills and reinforce expectations. The class teacher may have their own book to model expectations. Children use guidelines if they are writing on plain paper All drawings and diagrams are in pencil Rubbers will be used within reason to correct pencil work Pencil crayons, not felt pens, are used in exercise books Coloured pens are used for specific reasons by children e.g. self correcting, editing or peer assessment (purple polishing) One single line is used to cross out mistakes or edit writing Books are well kept with no writing or doodling on the outside or inside of covers Children are taught where to start a new piece of work When squared paper is used for Maths, 1 digit is written in each box and a line is left between each sum At Key stage 1 children will generally begin new work on a new page as appropriate for ability Poor presentation is challenged through verbal feedback and marking. Underlining should be completed with a ruler Inclusion The vast majority of pupils are able to write legibly and fluently. However, some pupils need more support and a specific individual or group programme is drawn up in consultation with the SEN coordinator. Thicker triangular pencils, pencil grips and wider lines will be used by children experiencing problems writing alongside other activities to develop their fine motor skills. Teaching Time There should be daily mark making activities in Foundation Stage, a minimum of 2x 15 minute lesson a week in year one and a minimum of 1x 15 minute lesson per week in year 2. Some children who find handwriting difficult need further intervention. Agreed Examples of letter Formation: The Four Joins 1. To letters without ascenders 2. To letters with ascenders 3. Horizontal joins

5 4. Horizontal joins to letters with ascenders The break letters (letters that aren t joined from) are: NB: children must be taught individual letters first so that they see them as individual units BEFORE learning to join. Paper As motor skills increase then the size of writing should decrease. Children should start on plain paper books then as their handwriting improves lined exercise books should be introduced. Foundation stage The correct sitting and pencil grip is taught. All children should start to write in books with plain paper and are taught how to write on the line. The children when ready will learn diagraphs in line with phonics as taught (and are ready). Year 1 All children should start the year as above and then move towards books with narrower lines. Handwriting books containing grey and red lines should be introduced at the appropriate time. Year 2 The majority of children should be ready to start the year using handwriting books containing grey and red lines. Some children may need to continue with wide line books until they are ready and for a small number of children, particularly those with SEN, it may be necessary to use a book with wide lines. All children should be allowed to use lined paper from time to time so that they can practise to apply skills and consider issues of presentation and aesthetics. Teaching Sequence Hand and finger strength Physical preparation Tracing Patterns Over teacher s writing (highlighter) Under teacher s writing (directly under words write in large letters, leave large spaces between words) independence

6 Techniques for teaching letter formation model good handwriting at all times demonstrate talk through the process encourage children to verbalise the process children form letters in the air finger trace over tactile letters write over highlighter pen (or dotted letters) draw round templates write in sand / rice with finger or stick write with chalk on a surface e.g. ground / board wax resist letters form letters with pegs on pegboards finger trace the outline of letters on the back of the person in front of you Pencil Grip Children should write with a pencil (or pen when ready and introduced in year 2) with a rounded nib. Pencils should be reasonably sharp. A tripod grip is the most effective way of holding a pencil For right handers Hold lightly between the thumb and forefinger about 3cm away from the point The paper should be placed to the right tilted slightly to the left Use the left hand to steady the paper For left handers Hold lightly between thumb and forefinger resting on the first knuckle of the middle finger Hold about 3cm from the tip The hand should be kept below the writing line The paper should be tilted slightly to the right at about degrees Use the right hand to steady the paper Assessment The phase leaders in team meetings and senior leaders should monitor children s writing and presentation in book regularly (at least termly). The following should be considered: Is the writing generally legible? Are the letters correctly shaped and proportioned? Are the joins made correctly? Are the spaces between the letters, words and lines appropriate? Is the writing properly aligned?

7 Are the writing standards achieved by the majority of pupils in line with the new National Curriculum? Individual assessment Children should be observed as they write during handwriting lessons the teacher should circulate, monitor and intervene. Teachers also need to monitor and mark whole pieces of writing. The following should be considered: Is the posture correct? Does the child hold the pencil correctly? Does the child use the correct movement when forming and or joining letters? Are the letters revered or inverted? Does the child write fluently and rhythmically? Is the writing easily legible? Is the child s handwriting development in line with the new National Curriculum? Order of teaching Using shape families to teach letter formation For simplicity, the letters of the alphabet can be sorted into four main movement groups. Some letters have different forms b, k, y, v, and so these fall into two groups. Some letters e.g. f, s, have some affinity with a group but could be taught separately. The advantage of aligning letters with a key letter is to help children to remember the starting point and subsequent movement of the letter. This is particularly effective in discriminating b from d. The four groups are: down and off in another direction, exemplified by the letter l (long ladder): letters i, j, l, t, u, y (v, w with rounded bases) down and retrace upwards, exemplified by the letter r (one-armed robot): letters b, h, k, m, n, p, r; (numbers 2, 3, 5 follow a clockwise direction) anti-clockwise round, exemplified by the letter c (curly caterpillar) letters: c, a, d, e, g, o, q, f, s; numbers: 0, 6, 8, 9 zigzag letters: letters: v, w, x, z; numbers: 1, 4, 7. Single letters (EYFS and Yr1) i l t u y j k r n m h b p c a d g q o e s f v w x z Preventing confusion between the letters b and d Introduce each letter of the alphabet in association with its key letter (l, c or r). The letter d is a curly caterpillar letter: it starts exactly like a c, but then goes up to the top in a straight line and then down again. The letter b is a

8 one-armed robot letter: it starts higher than the letter r, but when it touches the line it goes back again, over and round. In this way children learn letters as movement rather than as visual shapes, and so they have a mechanism for remembering letters that are visually confusing. In Letters and Sounds, the letter d is learned in Phase 2, Set 2 and the letter b in Phase 2, Set 5. If the letters are taught effectively, the motor memory of each letter will be paired with the phoneme and will not present a problem. Supporting activities tracing patterns tracing copying over (letters, numbers and words) copying under (letters, numbers and words) Foundation Stage Primarily foundation stage children will be taught correct letter formation and orientation, forming lowercase letters in the correct direction, with ascenders and descenders distinguished starting and finishing in the right place. However joins to digraphs naturally acquired through phonics will also be taught. Joins (Yr1 and Yr2) Introduction of the four handwriting joins First join; un um ig id ed eg an or ing ung Second join; ch sh th tl ll ill sli slu ck ack st sti ink unk Third join; od pg re ve oon oom Fourth join; wl vl of ff fl flo Practise the break letters b p g q y j z Practise capital letters Supporting activities Match and copy captions Trace and copy patterns Copy words Copy sentences Write out menu Copy poem Alphabetical ordering Policy completed: November 2016 Ratified by governors on: 2015 Policy Review date: November 2017