1. Writing should be developed in isolation from other skillls. T/F

I would say this is false. Many concrete experiences such as painting, drawing, using play-doh, dramatic play, or building with blocks help children develop the physical, cognitive, socio-emotional skills and understandings that are the foundations of conventional reading and writing. All these skills should be encouraged at home and at school from early age. It is how the learners use these experiences that are gathered to help with their writing skills. This is how literacy ‘emerges’ in children that is significant and can lead to writing. These skills are used when teachers and parents encourage ‘literacy play’ by adding notepads and pencils to the resources provided to encourage role-play and dialogue. Vocabulary can be built through games and activities that increase the range of words your child will know to write with depth. Children can learn how reading and writing are used to achieve goals. For example, at home a child might see thier grandmother following a recipe in a cookbook or watch his mother reading the directions for putting a toy together. From these observations, children learn that reading and writing are used to carry out daily tasks and to communicate and receive information.

2. We should not restrict the age at when children begin to write. T/F

This is true. From an early age, children start using a pen and pencils. Long before they go to school, before they even know the alphabet, children begin to write. In fact, for most children literacy begins at home such as with crayons. The scribbles of very young children have meaning to them, and scribbling actually helps them to develop and become familiar with holding a pen/pencil with their writing. Young children who are encouraged to draw and scribble stories will learn to write more easily, effectively, and confidently once they head off to school. Young children can learn a lot by watching someone write, imitating adults and older children, exploring, and experimenting. Literacy learning does not begin at a certain age and I think should not be limited to the classroom. It can develop significantly during the pre-school years and be influenced by social contexts as well as individual skills and applications.

3. Handwriting and spelling are only part of the process of writing. T/F

This is true. The one major fact of writing is that of putting a pen to paper. This involves the transcription aspects of writing, combining handwriting and spelling abilities with the choice of the right words, shaping these into the appropriate syntax and general organisation. Other parts of writing include emulating and exploring the different genres of writing. For example, the child can write but how do they organise their writing, and who is the audience. For a younger child chronologically, organised writing may be easier to tackle at first, such as stories and reports where what happened next provides a major prompt. Appreciation of the possibilities of different kinds of non-chronological text is a major part of writing such as descriptions classifications, explanations, and arguments. Teachers and parents can help by pointing out the distinctive features of these types of writing as opportunities arise. Teachers and parents influence the learners writing through wider reading and of being read to highlight the many facets to writing.

4. Attention should be paid to developing good habits in alphabet letter formation. T/F

This is true. It could be assumed that children’s early ‘invented’ spellings will evolve into conventional versions over time. Parents and teachers need to encourage correct hand movements for forming each letter of the alphabet from a very early age. As a learner gets exposed to more literature he will try out new hand movements. The teacher and parent’s role is to show the visually patterned nature of the English spelling system. Letters have starting points and mistakes from the start can be hard to change as time moves on. Words with time will begin to flow into each other.

5. Using joined-up writing may help develop the learning of the common letter strings found in English. T/F

This is true. How a child writes each letter relates to how they can join that letter up to the next letter. When the child makes a writing mistake for instance beginning a g at its tail, forming an e with a clockwise motion, this can quickly become habitual and can be very difficult to change. Such errors also prevent children from developing the sense of ‘flow’ in the formation of commonly occurring letter strings which are spontaneously joined by correct exit strokes leg. in. ly. ch). This kinaesthetic control over written language production is not only more efficient but is also likely to promote success in spelling.

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