Handwriting Policy

Aims

Teaching time

There should be a minimum of 2 x 15 handwriting lessons each week as well as time to practice

Children who find handwriting difficult should be targeted for daily intervention.

Model

Loydence Academy uses the Nelson Thorne Handwriting Scheme with the following letter formation;

Lower case letters

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Capitals

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Numbers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

The Four Joins

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

The break letters (letters that aren’t joined from) are:

b j p x y z s

NB children must be taught individual letters first so that they see them as individual units BEFORE learning to join.

Paper

As motor skills increase then the size of writing should decrease. Children should start writing in A4 plain books then as their handwriting improves then lined exercise books should be introduced.

Reception

All children should write in A4 books. These books should have pencil lines drawn on before the children write. These lines should be well spaced (about 2cms apart).

Year 1

Children should start the year as above. When they are ready they should move on to wide lined exercise books. Handwriting books should be introduced at the appropriate time.

Year 2

The majority of children should be ready to start the year in narrow lined books. For some children, they will need to continue on wide lined books until ready and for a small number of children, (particularly those with SEN) it may be necessary to use an A4 book.

All children should be allowed to use unlined paper from time to time so that they can practise to apply skills and consider issues of presentation and aesthetics.

Teaching Sequence

Hand and finger strength
Tracing patterns
Over teacher's writing (highlighter)
Under teacher's writing (directly under words - write in large letters, leave large spaces between words)
Independence

Techniques for teaching letter formation

Model good handwriting all the time
Demonstrate
Talk through through the process
Encourage children to verbalise the process
Children form letters in the air
Finger trace over tactile letters
Write over highlighter pen (or dotted letters)
Draw round templates
Write in sand with finger or stick
Write with chalk on chalkboard
Wax resist letters
Form letters with pegs on pegboard
Form letters with beads in plasticine
Finger trace the outline of letters on the back of the person in front of you

Getting ready to write Seating and posture

Chair and table should be at a comfortable height
The table should support the forearm so that it rests lightly on the surface and is parallel to the floor
Encourage children to sit up straight and not slouch
The height of the chair should be such that the thighs are horizontal and feet flat on the floor
Tables should be free of clutter
Rooms should be well lit
Left handed pupils should sit on the left of their partners

Pencil grip

For right handers

For left handers

Hold lightly between thumb and forefinger resting on the first knuckle of the middle finger
Hold about 3cm from the tip
The hand should be kept below the writing line
The paper should be tilted slightly to the right at about 20 - 30°
Use the right hand to steady the paper

NB: It is very important that a right handed child is NOT seated on the left hand side of a left handed child as their elbows will collide!

Assessment

Key stage leaders in team meetings and senior leaders should monitor children’s writing and presentation in books regularly (at least termly).

The following should be considered:

Is the writing generally legible?
Are the letters correctly shaped and proportioned?
Are the joins made correctly?
Are the spaces between the letters, words and lines appropriate?
Is the size of the writing appropriate?
Is the writing properly aligned?
Are the writing standards achieved by the majority of pupils in line with the Level Descriptors in the National Curriculum?

Individual assessment

Children should be observed as they write during handwriting lessons – the teacher must circulate, monitor and intervene. Teachers also need to monitor and mark whole pieces of writing.

The following should be considered:

Is the posture correct?
Does the child hold the pencil correctly?
Does the child use the correct movement when forming and or joining letters?
Are any letters reversed or inverted?
Does the child write fluently and rhythmically?
Is the writing easily legible?
Is the pupil's handwriting development in line with the Level Descriptors in the National Curriculum?

Links to spelling

Linking handwriting with spelling is one of the most powerful ways of developing the visual memory. Handwriting should be practised using letters, blends, strings or digraphs so that patterns are internalised.

Remember to use Look – Say – Cover – Write – Check

The child:

Looks at the word carefully
Says the word
Covers the word so that it can't be seen
Writes the whole word from memory
Checks the word is written correctly
If not, repeat
Is the pupil's handwriting development in line with the Level Descriptors in the National Curriculum?

Joins

Year 2 going into Year 3;

Introduction of the four handwriting joins

First join; un um ig id ed eg an or ing ung
Second join; ch sh th tl llill sli slu ck ack st sti ink unk
Third join; od pgre ve oon oom
Fourth join; wl vl of ff fl flo
Practise the break letters bosqy i z
Practise capital letters

Supporting activities

Match and copy captions
Trace and copy patterns
Copy words
Copy sentences
Write out menu
Copy poem
Alphabetical ordering

Joins Y3 (going into Y4)

Revision
Practise the break letters b p gay j z
Practise capital letters
Further practise of the four handwriting joins
in and out ute ve vi ok oh sh as es (practising two ways of joining the letter s) ri rury (practising joining from the letter r) oa ad as (practising joining to and from the letter a) ee ea ed (practising joining from the letter) ow ov ox (practising joining from the letter o) ky hy ly (practising joining to the letter y) ha ta fa (practising joining to the letter a) od oo ogl practising joining from the letter o) er ir ur (practising joining to the letter ) ai al ay o you oi re oe fe (practising the horizontal join to the letter e) fu wu vu (practising the horizontal join to the letter u) ot ol ok (practising joining to ascenders) ai al ow ol (practising all the joins)

Supporting activities

Year 4

ning ping ting oc od oo ake ome are fla flo fle who wha whe ie in il inly ky ny ap ar an ick uck ack practise writing with a slope he we fte fir fin wra wri kni (silent letters) ii Il tt rr nn mm cc oo dd ss ff ee ew ev ex (spacing) th ht fl (proportions) ac ag af Capital letters Decorated capital letters Practising with punctuation !? -“”,

Supporting activities

Years 5 and 6

Practise consistency and size of letters
Practising using a diagonal joining line
Practising leaving an equal space between letters
Practising joining to the letter y
Practising using a horizontal joining line
Practising the size and height of letters
Practising joining from the letter i
Practising joining to and from the letter v
Practising consistency in forming and joining letters
Practise speedwriting
Practising crossing double tt on completing the word
Practising joining to and from the letter e
Practising joining to and from the letter w
Practising printing
Practising drafting and editing
Practising joining to the letter t
Ensuring letters are consistent in height and size
Practising with punctuation
Practising break letters
Practising joining from the letter m
Ensuring the ascender on the letter t is the correct height
Practising spacing within words
Developing fluency
Practising printing
Practising forming and joining the letter f
Practising presentation
Practising printing
Practising speed writing
Revision
Looking at different handwriting styles

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