Literacy parent workshop Handwriting

Why handwriting? Children need to be able to write without thinking about how to write. We have found that handwriting is a key issue across the school. Being able to write fluently allows a child to focus on what they are writing and spelling improves! In order to achieve the expected level at the end of KS2, children need to be able to “produce legible joined handwriting, maintaining legibility, fluency and speed.”

Getting ready to write - pre writing experience To develop their handwriting a child needs strength and stability in their body. This gross motor control can be developed in the playground and in PE sessions, for example, crawling, jumping, running, hopping, arm circling, ball skills. Writing involves using a tool to make small controlled movements. This fine motor control can be developed by activities such as cutting, threading, modeling, sorting small objects, sticking, pattern-making and tracing.

Have a go! – Finger exercises These finger exercises can help children to develop the fine motor skills needed: Finger to thumb Rounds with your wrists Roll a pen between fingers Finger football with; paper, cotton, marbles etc http://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/hand-finger-games-improve-handwriting.html

The tripod grip Your child will usually start to use the three finger, or tripod grip, by the age of 6. Initially the fingers will be held rigidly but, as your child improves their control of the finger muscles, the fingers will start to move the pencil. Practice your grip now! http://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/tips-forming-tripod-grip.html

Grip aids There are lots of lots of resources out there to help our child develop the right pencil grip. Various pencil grips Stabilo pencils DIY solution: Cotton wool or small ball

Getting ready to write – warm up exercises Before we start our handwriting sessions we always do a warm up exercise to focus the body and mind. Have a go! http://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/handwriting-warm-up-exercises.html

Before the children can join their letters, they should be taught letter formation.

Once the children can form their letters correctly, they are taught how to join their letters. Many children who print regularly confuse capital letters and small letters in their writing: this is far less likely to happen if they write in a joined script from the start. As a general rule, children who print are poorer spellers than those who join. http://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/continuous-cursive-letters-beginners.html

The order of teaching the lower case letter shapes. Have a go! Write your name using this script. What letters do you need to practice?

Getting ready to write – handwriting position

Getting ready to write – paper position

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. http://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/handwriting-join-continuous-cursive-letters.html Now try and write the following sentence: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. This sentence has every letter of the alphabet. Get your child to have a go and try and correct their pencil grip or seating position.

Write down the word ‘quick’ Speed Once a child can write fluently with the correct letter formation, they need to be able to write at speed but maintain consistency, fluidity and presentation. Let’s have a go! Write down the word ‘quick’ Check that the letter shapes and alignment are correct. Make any adjustments. Let’s see how many you can do in 1 minute – it must be legible! http://www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/

The ‘S’ rules Shape: Are all the letters legible? Sitting: Do the letters sit on the baseline with the ascenders clearly taller Size: Are the letters the appropriate size relative to each other? Spacing: Is the spacing between the words appropriate? This should not be too large or too small − about the width of a letter ‘o’. Are the letters in each word evenly spaced? They should be close together but not touch. Slant: Is the slant of the ascenders and other down lines parallel, or do they wag in all directions? Sequence/string: Is the pupil joining all the letters that should be joined according to the style used? Speed: Is the pupil writing at a speed appropriate to his/her needs?

Any Questions?