1. Allenby Primary School Handwriting Workshop for Parents February 2017

2. School expectation
By the end of Year 2 the children working at age expected level should use diagonal and
horizontal strokes needed to join letters in some of their writing. They should be using a
fluent, joined style.

3. How to achieve this expectation
The children in Reception will be taught the pre cursive handwriting and they will be encouraged to use it in their writing. These letter formations should be clearly shaped and correctly orientated.
In Nursery the children should begin to print some recognisable letter shapes.

4. From the moment the children arrive in the Nursery they are encouraged to mark make and to manipulate materials, to paint, draw, squiggle, all of which will strengthen their muscles before they learn to write.

5. Progression in handwriting Nursery: Pre-writing skills
Some examples of early handwriting skills activities:
threading and sewing
cutting with scissors, especially along lines or following a pattern
using tweezers or chopsticks to pick up small objects
jigsaw puzzles
tracing line drawings
following mazes with pencils or felt tips
using a variety of tools and media to draw
dot-to-dot pictures
colouring or decorating pictures with crayons, pencils or felt-tips

6. Why pre cursive style?
Automatic style releases the brain to concentrate in other areas e.g. grammar, sentence structure without being distracted on how to form a letter.

7. Other benefits of the pre cursive style
-Children need to be able to produce letters without thinking how to form them. -When making each letter with one movement, children’s hands develop a ‘physical memory of it. -It is easier to produce the correct shape. -Letters and words flow from left to right. -Children are less likely to reverse letters when writing -Proven to be beneficial for dyslexic children.

8. The children are taught how to form the letters with the statement “
The children are taught how to form the letters with the statement “..off we go…”, followed by forming the letter using the usual handwriting method.
The Read Write Inc rhymes will be taught in Reception, together with phonics.

9. How you can help your child
Correct posture
Correct pencil grip
Correct positioning of the paper
Correct formation of the letters using the “off we go…” stroke

11. Let’s have a go writing some letters now!