Guest Posted January 20, 2005 Posted January 20, 2005 hi, I'm an NQT in reception and in need of some advise. i give the children plenty of opportunities ti write ie in role play, writing table, outside etc and many are ready to write but i need some advise about starting handwriting. where do i start or shouldn't i yet? someone recommended i start with pattern work ie wiggly lines, loops etc some else said practicing a letter at atime im so unsure and they are ready for this practice as i dont want to hold them back. any advise?
Guest Posted January 20, 2005 Posted January 20, 2005 Hi Clare, I have this discussion every year with my TA. It depends when the children are ready I think. The dilema for us is that we are encouraging the children to write but they don't know how the letters are formed so try and get into terrible habits which are almost impossible to break. We have decided to have a small lined book and now do a regular weekly spot with small groups. Hope this helps. Abi
Susan Posted January 20, 2005 Posted January 20, 2005 Hi Clare DO you not have a handwriting policy or scheme to which you could refer? This should give you guidelines for writing patterns and letter style and hence formation. As Abi has already said it is important not to let bad habits become embedded and you could teach patterns alongside letter formation. I believe it is important to give or teach the skill before expecting children to use it in the process and that the physical skill should be natural. There have been other discussions and a very useful directory of the activities that will enhance fine motor skills for writing, that I am sure are already taking place in your classroom but I can not find it! Perhaps someone else will be more successful? White boards and pens are very easy for the beginning writer to use and I have laminated sheets for use with them too. Do remember though that these activiites are best supervised or guided rather than independant. I have also found that shallow trays of sand are good for pattern making and letter formation.
Guest alisonjayne Posted January 21, 2005 Posted January 21, 2005 Hi we do sky writing and copying over letters on large white board. We also draw large circles starting at the top going anti clockwise these can be done on the table, on paper in sand, water painting.....later on we follow paterns eg zig zags, waves, circles, we also use snake letters using the head of the snake as the starting point. Hope this helps Ali
Guest Posted January 21, 2005 Posted January 21, 2005 Hi there CLK As usual I'm going to go on about Write Dance , which I always bring up when anyone mentions handwriting, as I love it & think it's brilliant! You start with dancing and learning some movements to go with it, and then begin putting them onto large sheets of paper. We learnt 4 dances last term, and this term have started doing them on paper. That's slower than I wanted to go but Christmas seemed to get in the way big time this year!! As well as this we have begun practising handwriting patterns - really large scale for the six children I have identified as not yet ready for small pattern work, smaller for the rest of the class (reception age). The children really seem to be enjoying it, and a group each session gets to do something fun (such as the pegs on plates game that was suggested on this site a few months back or working outside with squeezy bottles & water). But really, really have a think about write dance; the children learn all the basic moves they will need for writing on the large scale that helps muscle strength and embeds them better into the memory. I love it!! Dianne
apple Posted January 21, 2005 Posted January 21, 2005 Hi Dianne I'd be interested to know if write dance really does have an impact on childrens ability to form letters correctly as know matter how much we teach letter formation it seems to me to be developmental. Clk7 We link any handwriting to 'curly caterpillar' 'one armed robots' 'zig zag' and 'long ladder' letters as described in the bacl of PIPs and Developing Early Writing handbooks from the National Literacy Strategy.
Guest Posted January 22, 2005 Posted January 22, 2005 Liza, I agree that I'd love to know if it really affects children's letter formation too!! I also think there comes a time when the children can 'see' not only how the finished letter will look, but how to make it in the way they have been shown, and the difference between that and their own methods of writing the letter! I don't think this happens for more than about a third of children in YR Benefits I DO believe in are - making marks with whole arm/shoulder eases the transition into writing for many children. Being free to bash the paper really hard with crayons & make great big shapes seems to give reluctant mark makers much more confidence to have a go at other times. And linking to dance gives a creative element to the proceedings, and makes it more real to the children. Oh, and sometimes when the music is on and all the children are absorbed in the enjoyment of making these beautiful shapes on paper, it seems more like therapy than handwriting!!! I'm quite certain that you can achieve all this in lots of different ways, but it's true that if you have lots of enthusiasm for somethink it works much better with the children! Dianne
catma Posted January 22, 2005 Posted January 22, 2005 As mentioned above the developing handwriting sesction in the back of developing early writing is very useful and has a focus on gross motor skills too, which would link to Dianne's write dance focus. It also combines the pattern making aspect through the three basic shapes l,r,c as Liza says too with useful advice on pencil grips, left handers etc etc. You could also talk to your Litco, as they should have an idea of what the schools handwriting development policy is. If they don't, you might want to suggest it is put on the whole school agenda!! Don't be alone in the school trying to solve a problem - handwriting is an issue for everyone to tackle.
Guest Posted January 22, 2005 Posted January 22, 2005 All of the above suggestions are important steps to handwriting and I love the sound of write dance, it just makes so much sense! Start with handwriting patterns using a variety of media (sand, paint, pencils, crayones etc)and sizes, practise letter formation with a 'magic finger' in the air, then begin to convert to letters on laminated boards and paper. For the first term, the children arrive and have to trace over a laminated copy of their name and numbers 1-5 with a board pen, this later converts to laminated cards with a letter for them to trace over several times and then try on their own. With this informal introduction, I find the children begin to get letter formation quite quickly. We also do additional handwriting sessions for 5-10 mins every day (very formal, but the children benefit hugely). Don't forget, those that are struggling need lots of fine motor skills practise and don't be afraid to use play dough to help reinforce the actual formation. (You could have cards made up with letters A4/A5 size, for the children to follow). Good luck, it's an amazing process and so satisfying to see the children progress so quickly!
Guest Posted January 23, 2005 Posted January 23, 2005 I am an NQT in reception also and Ive been worried about the same thing - so it's nice to know others are also! I recently went on an NQT residential course and one of the workshops was drama. The lecturer told us about an activity which helps children to think about letter shapes. It was making letter shapes with our body, individually or in pairs. We actually did it and it was really fun but really made us think about letter shapes. The children could maybe do this for a warm up for PE or outdoors? I also use individual whiteboards as a whole class where I demonstrate writing the letter on my large whiteboard and they have a go on their individual boards (Progression in phonics 'show me' activity). This is differentiated by outcome and all the children really enjoy it. Especially when they get to go to the staffroom afterwards to photocopy their letter shapes to take home. I'm sure every thing your already doing has helped them to develop their writing skills. Keep up the good work
Guest Posted January 23, 2005 Posted January 23, 2005 Our lead FS consultant critisised the fact that she had observed the nursery children tracing their names she said 'I hope this was an assessment'. She said that it was too formal for nursery and that they should be writing their name in context. I agree that they should but they were doing this tracing AS WELL as writing on the back of paintings, writing during imaginative play etc. It annoyed us because someone's got to teach them the correct letter formation and what better place to start than their name? I understand that some children are not developmentally ready yet but also think that it takes a lot longer to 'unlearn' how you form a letter if you have got into bad habits. My own handwriting is awful-joining up doesn't come naturally to me and I put this down to being left to my own devices and picking up bad habits. Thank god for keyboards!
Guest Posted January 24, 2005 Posted January 24, 2005 cheers everyone for the suggestions, ill get to work an use them, thanks again!
Guest Posted January 24, 2005 Posted January 24, 2005 hi, I'm an NQT in reception and in need of some advise. i give the children plenty of opportunities ti write ie in role play, writing table, outside etc and many are ready to write but i need some advise about starting handwriting. where do i start or shouldn't i yet? someone recommended i start with pattern work ie wiggly lines, loops etc some else said practicing a letter at atime im so unsure and they are ready for this practice as i dont want to hold them back. any advise? I'm far from being experienced and would like to hear what other people do also but personally I start the children with patterns and follow on to write letters on white boards so there is no failur. Only when they are able to write a letter correctly do they receive a letter sheet.
Guest Posted January 24, 2005 Posted January 24, 2005 hi, I'm an NQT in reception and in need of some advise. i give the children plenty of opportunities ti write ie in role play, writing table, outside etc and many are ready to write but i need some advise about starting handwriting. where do i start or shouldn't i yet? someone recommended i start with pattern work ie wiggly lines, loops etc some else said practicing a letter at atime im so unsure and they are ready for this practice as i dont want to hold them back. any advise? I'm far from being experienced and would like to hear what other people do also but personally I start the children with patterns and follow on to write letters on white boards so there is no failur. Only when they are able to write a letter correctly do they receive a letter sheet.
Guest Posted January 24, 2005 Posted January 24, 2005 Hi Imelda I see you have been a member for some time so welcome and thanks for making your first post. I hope it is the first of many! Linda
mundia Posted January 26, 2005 Posted January 26, 2005 I found that the simple test to get children to draw a triangle (or possibly diamond) is a good indicator of whether or not children are ready for formal handwriting. I cant rememeber whwre I first came across it but I have used it many times because it is so simple and is a firaly good indicator. ther are broadlly speakng 3 phases. 1. children draw anything from a circle to a square with rounded corners in one single movement of the arm. 2. Children identify that there are 3 disticnt lines to a triangle and draw 3 lines but they dont join up. They look more like a sideways capital I or E with teh middle prong missing 3. a traingle with 3 definate sides, that do join up. If my memory serves me correctly, which it may not so, this is about visual perception so if a child who may have good enough pencil control cant perceive the triangle and draw it like step 3, they also cannot write most letters of teh alphabet that involve change of direction Hmm it made perfect sense when I thought it.
Sue R Posted January 27, 2005 Posted January 27, 2005 Sounds good to me, mundia!! May help keep an anxious mother off my back!!! Phew! Sue
Beau Posted January 27, 2005 Posted January 27, 2005 Thanks Mundia, This is just the sort of thing we need to know in preschools too. As Sue says some parents are overly anxious that their children are prepared for school - starting children on writing being a big pressure! I think I'll learn your post and quote it on every occasion - it sounds good to me so my parents are bound to buy into it too.
Guest Posted January 27, 2005 Posted January 27, 2005 And don't forget to give the children plenty of opportunity to practice their handwriting/letter formation in different media. Most of my low able children in reception are forming their letters in sand, paint, flour etc with their fingers to get the flow. Also, i leave the trays out for the chidlren to consolidate their learning in free choice time.
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