Why is writing important in early years?

They learn to understand and use language to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings, and to communicate with others. During early speech and language development, children learn skills that are important to the development of Literacy (reading and writing).

What is writing? Composition – ideas, imagination and skills to tell a story, organise information Transcription – the physical process of writing.

Composition Children need – - time to talk ( and listen!) - opportunities for role play, small world play - hear examples of stories, poetry rhymes, songs, instructions

Transcription : Developmental opportunities for mark making and writing, Writing modelled by adults eg 1:1 when scribing a story or a child’s picture, adults writing for themselves e.g. a note. Be taught the correct letter formation. Be taught phonics.

Fine motor skills

What is emergent writing in early years? Emergent writing means that children begin to understand that writing is a form of communication and their marks on paper convey a message. Why is mark making important? The benefits of mark making in the early years are clear; a child’s physical skills are developed, their creative skills and imagination grows further, children are given a new output to express their feelings and also given a stepping stone into writing.

What is early writing? Children begin to make separate marks “representing” writing apart from their drawings, a key developmental event that indicates that children have begun to grasp the functionality of writing as separate from illustration. These early marks are often directionless scribbles.

The skill of writing begins with mark making lines and circles The skill of writing begins with mark making lines and circles. These are the ‘first steps’ and open the door to express themselves in a different way and not just relying on verbal communication.

The mark making journey Exploring the developmental stages before children even pick up a pencil to write!

Early Learning Outcomes Physical Development 30 to 50 months • Moves freely and with pleasure and confidence in a range of ways, such as slithering, shuffling, rolling, crawling, walking, running, jumping, skipping, sliding and hopping. • Mounts stairs, steps or climbing equipment using alternate feet. • Walks downstairs, two feet to each step while carrying a small object. • Runs skilfully and negotiates space successfully, adjusting speed or direction to avoid obstacles. • Can stand momentarily on one foot when shown. • Can catch a large ball. • Draws lines and circles using gross motor movements. • Uses one-handed tools and equipment, e.g. makes snips in paper with child scissors. • Holds pencil between thumb and two fingers, no longer using whole-hand grasp. • Holds pencil near point between first two fingers and thumb and uses it with good control. • Can copy some letters, e.g. letters from their name. Writing 30 to 50 months Sometimes gives meaning to marks as they draw and paint. Ascribes meanings to marks that they see in different places

Physical Development 40 to 60 months • Experiments with different ways of moving. • Jumps off an object and lands appropriately. • Negotiates space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children, adjusting speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles. • Travels with confidence and skill around, under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment. • Shows increasing control over an object in pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking it. • Uses simple tools to effect changes to materials. • Handles tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control. • Shows a preference for a dominant hand. • Begins to use anticlockwise movement and retrace vertical lines. • Begins to form recognisable letters. • Uses a pencil and holds it effectively to form recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed. Early Learning Goal – moving and handling Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing. Writing 40 to 60 months • Gives meaning to marks they make as they draw, write and paint. • Begins to break the flow of speech into words. • Continues a rhyming string. • Hears and says the initial sound in words. • Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together. • Links sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. • Uses some clearly identifiable letters to communicate meaning, representing some sounds correctly and in sequence. • Writes own name and other things such as labels, captions. • Attempts to write short sentences in meaningful contexts. Early Learning Goal – writing Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

STAGE THREE – WRIST PIVOT STAGE ONE – SHOULDER PIVOT Gross motor skills STAGE THREE – WRIST PIVOT Pivot: Wrist Grip: Usually Palm, but probably about to change, so keep a look out! STAGE ONE – SHOULDER PIVOT Pivot: Shoulder Grip: Palm STAGE TWO – ELBOW PIVOT Pivot: Elbow Grip: Palm

Time to write… With a special pencil – feathers, glittery From a special box In a special place – on/under tables, outside. Inspire your child – your child will have much more success if he/she experiences what they are writing about.

Instead of “write about a tree”, go outside, go to a forest, smell, hug, climb the tree! Look up at the big branches, look for the creatures that are living in them or in the leaves, stretch and pretend to be a tree! Write shopping lists, cards, labels, messages…

Talk for writing Use literature to inspire – Story maps Internalising the language of story by repetition, rhyme, use of a story map, and actions that reinforce meaning and emphasise key language patterns. Shared writing( whole class) Guided writing ( small group) Individual writing. Daily phonics, tricky words.

The Developmental Stages of Writing Scribble stage – starting point any place on the page Scribble left to right progression Mock letters – can be own name, family, pet names Letter strings – left to right, then groups of letters with space in between to resemble words Picture labelling – matching beginning letter to sound Copies print in environment Uses first letter of a word to represent the word Uses beginning letter and end letter to represent the word Hears middle sounds Phrase writing Phonically plausible sentence writing

Early Learning Goal - Writing Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Key Experiences in children’s writing development * Confidence * Purpose * Value * Experience * Adult modelling * Time

The impact of choice on writing development. Can children choose : what to write? when to write? what to write with? who to write with? to abandon a piece of writing?