What is writing ?

"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form.

Why writing is important in the

foundation phase

Writing is important in the foundation phase as it helps children to express themselves in a comfortable way. Children are able to communicate their thoughts and feelings in a visual manner. In order for a child to be able to write properly there are perceptual skills in which the child needs to perfect or be able to execute in order to write. A child needs to have developed their fine motor skills in order the use their hands and fingers correctly to hold a pen or pencil to write. A child needs to have developed hand-eye co-ordination in order to be able to write and read from left to right.

Emergent writing

Emergent writing is young children’s first attempts at the writing process. This means that the child begins to understand that writing is a form of communication and their marks on paper convey a message.

Stages of emergent writing:

Writing capabilities of each grade

from Grade 1-3:

Between the two different writing styles being that of print and cursive the first writing style that is taught to children is print. Print is the easier writing style of the two to learn as it is easier to read, execute.

Grade 1: The formal teaching of all the lower case letters as well as an introducation to the idea of capital letters all in print

Grade 2: The completion of the lower case letters in print as well as all the capital/ uppercase letters. The children are given activities to complete which help introduce the formation and teachnique used for cursive writing as well as the children eventaully start learning cursive wriitng of the lower case levels while being introduced on how to do the captal/upper case letters

Grade 3: The ability to execute print lower case and upper case as well as in cursive upper and lower case writing.

Factors that can negatively

influence ones writing:

• Incorrect posture
• Incorrect pen or pencil grip
• Bad lighting in the class
• Using the wrong writing hand
• Broken furniture or working station
• incorrect positioning of paper or book
• Being frustrated or flustered towards writing

What a teacher can do to help:

• The teacher can insure that the child is sitting with a correc posture and when the child is not to correct it. The childs head must not be too close to the table or paper on which they are writing or working with, they must be sitting facing forward with their legs together and lastly sitting up straight.
• To help improve incorrect pen or pencil grip the teacher can demonstrate to the child the correct mannor in holding/gripping the pen or pencil and if this still doesnt work there are rubber grip tools which a teacher can slideover the pen or pencil which helps guide and teach the child how to hold a pen or pencil properly because of its shape and form.
• To make sure there is enough and good lighting one must ensure that there are enough lights in the classroom that provides proper lighting to cover the surface area of all the learners desks. Replace light bulbs as soon as they blow or break.
• If a child is struggling to decide on their dominant hand one can do activities with the learner which involves drawing and writing, let the learner use both hands and from this a teacher will be able to observe and guide the child into deciding which is their dominant and correct hand to use.
• It is the teachers job to ensure that all the learners desks and working stations are not broken that they are all suitable for a student to work efficiently at it.
• As a teacher it is your duty to ensure and encourage a child to always be openand willing to learn new things, learning to write can be a major frustration for children and learners who are struggling to get the hang of it. When a child is struggling a teacher needs to keep the learner positive and provide them with the comfort and reassurance that they are capable of writing as long as they keep practicing and dont give up.