Fun with writing Let your child see you writing Talk about why you are writing, and who it is for, eg a note to someone for a particular reason, a note to remind yourself about something, a shopping list, an invitation, a card, a recipe Have paper and pencils consistently accessible in one place so they can play at writing anytime
When your child writes Be interested Ask them to read it to you Ask who they are writing to and why Value the message in their writing
Value the message more than the spelling Although it takes several years to develop conventional spelling skills, ‘poor’ spelling is frequently the first thing children get feedback on, and they can switch off writing because of this Talk about the content first, and say something positive, eg I like the way you… Or ask a question, eg Why did the boy in your story…?
Spelling progression Children start by writing a mixture of scribble, symbols and letters This develops as they gradually use their early letter-sound knowledge to represent more and more sounds they hear in a word, eg bot for boat (Phonetic spelling) Phonetic spelling gradually develops into more conventional spelling as they are taught phonic letter patterns, eg oa, and common sight words, eg was
What to say about letters and their sounds Letters are code for the sounds in the words that we say. For example, the name of this letter is B and it is code for the spoken sound /b/ (a short buh) Give an example of a spoken word that begins with the sound /b/, eg bus
Play with spoken words Make up rhymes or point them out, eg dog rhymes with log Step out the words in an oral sentence – one step per word Break people’s names up into syllables Break up words into the smallest sounds they can be broken up into, eg fish = ff…ih…sh
Other ideas Play a game hunting for things starting with the same sound Ask if you can put their writing on the fridge, and encourage them to read it to other people Use something they have written to help them see that writing is for a purpose, eg a list, a recipe, a note