Developing writing

Building Blocks Phonics Handwriting Shared writing

Stage 1 - The Beginning of Writing - The child is using letters to represent words. The teacher keeps a record of what she has “written” by writing the words.

Stage 2 - The child is using initial letters to represent words and has begun to hear and write other sounds in words.

Stage 3 - The child is using their phonic knowledge to write more words. They are beginning to write key words. We can see finger spaces and a full stop!

Stage 4 - The child is using basic sight vocabulary for some words and good phonic knowledge for unknown spellings. A story is developing.

Stage 5 - The child is beginning to use sentences and can spell many words correctly. Full stops are used but she is not yet quite sure of beginning a sentence correctly.

Supporting your child’s writing (including activities to improve their fine motor control and strength) Play dough or plasticine Threading beads Pegs/tweezers Finger painting Construction toys – Lego, blocks Jigsaw puzzles Air writing Writing on backs Using chalk, pencils, crayons, felt tips, whiteboards Reinforce the formation of letters (where to start and which direction to go)

Helping your child to write Value all your child’s writing. Remember! - early writing may look like ‘scribble’ or marks. Help them become aware of the meaning and purpose of writing, let them see you writing! Give them the opportunity to write - lists, letters, cards, invitations. Provide a variety of tools for writing – clip boards, paper, crayons, pencils, paint, chalk, book making resources. Celebrate and talk about their writing with them.