Penpals for Handwriting Teacher's Book 5 by Cambridge International Education

Year 5 Teacher’s Book Gill Budgell

Kate Ruttle

Supported by the

Contents

denotes the introduction of new content

Component chart (inside front cover) Scope and sequence 2 GPS focus chart 4 Penpals for Handwriting: rationale 5 Sequence of teaching in a discrete handwriting session 7 Rules for handwriting 10 Differentiation, Assessment and record keeping 11 Beginning of year assessment 12 Key issues 13 Handwriting policy 14 Joining 15 Joining for Year 5 17 Units Term 1 1 Introducing sloped writing in letter families 2 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to ascender: t<h, s©h, n<b, n<d, h<t, s©t 3 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join, no ascender: a<i, a<y, k<n, e©r, iÿ, e©n 4 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to an anticlockwise letter: a<c, s©c, b©o, d<a, e©a, h<o 5 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to ascender: w#h, w#l, oß@h, oßl, o®#f, @oßb 6 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join, no ascender: oúi, oúy, oúu, oúp, v}e 7 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to an anticlockwise letter: o+o, o+a, w>a, w>o, v>a, v>o 8 Practising sloped writing: joining from r: r>a, r}e, r¬@i, r>o, r¬@u 9 Practising sloped writing: joining from s: s©h, s©u, s©c, s©l, s©w, s©p 10 End-of-term check

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Term 2 11 Practising sloped writing: proportion – joining from f to ascender: _‹@#l, _‹@#õª 12 Practising sloped writing: size – joining from f, no ascender: _@›a, _ù, _®@i, _@›o, _®@u 13 Different styles for different purposes: writing a paragraph 14 Practising sloped writing: speed: ff 15 Practising sloped writing: speed and legibility: r¬@r 16 Practising sloped writing: size, proportion and spacing: sµ[ 17 Practising sloped writing: building speed: |u 18 Different styles for different purposes: decorative alphabets 19 Different styles for different purposes 20 End-of-term check Term 3 21 Sloped writing: proportion, joining p and b to ascenders: p©h, p©l, b©l 22 Handwriting for different purposes: joining from p and b, no ascender: b©u, b©i, p¿, p©u, p©i, p©r 23 Practising sloped writing: parallel downstrokes: p©p, b©b 24 Practising sloped writing: all double letters 25 Practising sloped writing for speed: t<i<a<l, c·i<a<l 26 Practising sloped writing for fluency 27 Personal style 28 Handwriting for different purposes: print alphabet 29 Assessment 30 Capitals Photocopiable resources Photocopy Masters Writing mats Variations in font throughout Penpals for Handwriting

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

48 63 64

Whole-body responses to the language of movement Large movements with equipment Large movements with malleable materials Body responses to music

Hand and finger play Making and modelling Messy play Links to art Using one-handed tools and equipment Hand responses to music

Pattern-making Investigating dots Investigating straight lines and crosses Investigating circles Investigating curves, loops and waves Investigating joined straight lines and angled patterns Investigating eights and spirals

Dots Straight lines and crosses Circles Waves Loops and bridges Joined straight lines Angled patterns Eights Spirals Left-to-right orientation Mix of patterns Review of patterns

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Introducing long-legged giraffe letters: l Practising long-legged giraffe letters: l, i Practising long-legged giraffe letters: u, t Practising long-legged giraffe letters: j, y Practising all the long-legged giraffe letters: l, i, t, u, j, y Introducing one-armed robot letters: r Practising one-armed robot letters: b, n Practising one-armed robot letters: h, m Practising one-armed robot letters: k, p Practising all the one-armed robot letters: r, b, n, h, m, k, p

Term 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Term 1

Foundation 2/Primary 1

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Developing patterns

5 6 7 8 9 10

Developing fine motor skills

1 2 3 4

Developing gross motor skills

Foundation 1/3–5 years

Units introducing new letters or joins are flagged with coloured dots.

Scope and sequence

Introducing curly caterpillar letters: c Practising curly caterpillar letters: a, d Practising curly caterpillar letters: o, s Practising curly caterpillar letters: g, q Practising curly caterpillar letters: e, f Practising all the curly caterpillar letters: c, a, d, o, s, g, q, e, f Practising all the curly caterpillar, long-legged giraffe and one-armed robot letters Introducing zig-zag monster letters: z Practising zig-zag monster letters: v, w, x Practising all the zig-zag monster letters: z, v, w, x Practising all the curly caterpillar and zig-zag monster letters Reviewing all the curly caterpillar and zig-zag monster letters

Numbers 10–20: spacing Practising ch unjoined Introducing diagonal join to ascender: c·h Practising ai unjoined Introducing diagonal join, no ascender: a<i Practising wh unjoined Introducing horizontal join to ascender: w#h Practising ow unjoined Introducing horizontal join, no ascender: oúw Assessment

Term 3

11 Practising long-legged giraffe letters, one-armed robot letters and curly caterpillar letters 12 Practising zig-zag monster letters 13 Writing words with double zz 14 Mixing all the letter families 15 Practising all the capital letters 16 Practising all the numbers 0–9 17 Writing words with ck and qu 18 Practising long vowel phonemes: ai, igh, oo 19 Practising vowels with adjacent consonants: ee, oa, oo 20 End-of-term check

27 28 29 30

21 22 23 24 25

Building on diagonal join to ascender: c·k, a<l, e©l, a<t, i<l, i<l<l Building on diagonal join, no ascender: u<i, e©y, a<w, u<r, a<n, i<p Building on horizontal join to ascender: oß@k, o®#t, oßb, oßl Building on horizontal join, no ascender: oúi, oúy, oún, oúp, oúv Building on diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: Ÿ©d, c·c, e©g, i<c, a<d, u<g, d<d, a<g Building on horizontal join to anticlockwise letters: o+c, o+g, o+d, v>a, v>o Introducing joins to s: aƒ[, eµ[, iƒ[, oü@ [, w>[, nƒ[, dƒ[, lƒ[, tƒ[, kƒ[ Practising joining Ÿ©d and i<n<g Assessment Capitals

Introducing diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: e©a Practising diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: i<gh Practising diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: d<g, n<g Introducing horizontal join to anticlockwise letters: o+o, o+a Practising horizontal join to anticlockwise letters: w>a, w>o Introducing mixed joins for three letters: a<i<r, e©a<r Practising mixed joins for three letters: o+oúr, oúu<r Practising mixed joins for three letters: i<n<g Size and spacing End-of-term check

Term 2

Practising diagonal join to ascender: t<h, c·h Practising diagonal join, no ascender: a<i, a<y Practising diagonal join, no ascender: i<r, e©r Practising horizontal join to ascender: w#h, oß@h Practising horizontal join, no ascender: oúw, oúu Introducing diagonal join to e: iÿ, uÿ Introducing horizontal join to e: o°e, v}e Introducing ö Practising diagonal join, no ascender: lÿ Writing numbers 1–100 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Term 1

Year 2/Primary 3

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Term 3

Practising long-legged giraffe letters Writing words with ll Introducing capitals for long-legged giraffe letters Practising one-armed robot letters Practising long-legged giraffe letters and one-armed robot letters 6 Introducing capitals for one-armed robot letters 7 Practising curly caterpillar letters 8 Writing words with double ff 9 Writing words with double ss 10 Introducing capitals for curly caterpillar letters

1 2 3 4 5

Term 1

Year 1/Primary 2

32 33 34 35 36

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Term 3

23 Practising all the long-legged giraffe and one-armed robot letters 24 Reviewing all the long-legged giraffe and one-armed robot letters

Introducing joining from s to an anticlockwise letter: s©a, s©c,

Introducing joining to f: i<f, e©f, a<f, o®#f Introducing joining from f to an ascender: _‹@ #l, _‹@#õª Introducing joining from f, no ascender: _ù, _®@i, _®@u, _®@ r, _®@ y Introducing joining from f to an anticlockwise letter: _@›o, _@›a Introducing _‹@ #_®@ Introducing r¬@r Introducing sµ[ Introducing |u Revising parallel ascenders and descenders End-of-term check

Revising joins: letter spacing Revising joins: spacing between words Revising joins: consistency of size Revising joins: fluency Revising joins: parallel ascenders Revising joins: parallel ascenders and descenders Revising horizontal join from r to an anticlockwise letter: r>[ Revising break letters Assessment Revising capital letters

b¿, p©u, p©i, p¿

Introducing diagonal join from p and b to an anticlockwise letter: p©a, p©o, pµ[, b©a, b©o, bµ[ 4 Revising parallel ascenders and descenders: b©b, p©p 5 Break letters: x, z 6 Spacing in common exception words 7 Consistent size of letters 8 Relative size of capitals 9 Speed and fluency 10 End-of-term check

Introducing diagonal join from p and b, no ascender: b©u, b©i,

b©l

Introducing diagonal join from p and b to ascender: p©h, p©l,

Term 1

Year 4/Primary 5

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Term 3

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Term 2

6 7 8

Introducing joining from r to an ascender: ñ¡@ b, ñ¡@ h, ñ¡@ k, ñ¡@ l, Ñ@@t Introducing joining from r, no ascender: r¬i@ , r¬u @ , r¬n@ , r¬p@ Introducing joining from r to an anticlockwise letter: r>a, r>d, r>g, r>o 9 Introducing joining from r to e: a<r}e, e©r}e, u<r}e, oúr}e, i<r}e 10 Introducing break letters: g, j, y, f, b, p, x, z

s©d, s©g, s©o, s©q

s©u

2 3 4

Practising joining through a word in stages: no ascenders or descenders Practising joining through a word in stages: parallel ascenders Introducing joining from s to ascender: s©h, s©l, s©t, s©k Introducing joining from s, no ascender: s©w, s©i, s@@¿, s©m, s©n, s©p,

Term 1

Year 3/Primary 4 Revising parallel ascenders Revising parallel ascenders and break letters Relative sizes of letters Proportion of letters Spacing between letters Spacing between words Writing at speed Improving fluency Speed and fluency End-of-term check

Consistency of size Proportion Spacing between letters and words Size, proportion and spacing Fluency: writing longer words Speed and fluency Revising break letters Print alphabet: presentation Assessment Capital letters: presentation

11 Practising sloped writing: proportion – joining from f to ascender: _‹@ #l, _‹@#õª 12 Practising sloped writing: size – joining from f, no ascender: _@›a, _ù, _®@i, _@›o, _®@u 13 Different styles for different purposes: writing a paragraph 14 Practising sloped writing: speed: _‹@ #_®@ 15 Practising sloped writing: speed and legibility: r¬@r 16 Practising sloped writing: size, proportion and spacing: sµ[ 17 Practising sloped writing: building speed: |u 18 Different styles for different purposes: decorative alphabets 19 Different styles for different purposes 20 End-of-term check

Term 2

Introducing sloped writing in letter families Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to ascender: t<h, s©h, n<b, n<d, h<t, s©t 3 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join, no ascender: a<i, a<y, k<n, e©r, iÿ, e©n 4 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to an anticlockwise letter: a<c, s©c, b©o, d<a, e©a, h<o 5 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to ascender: w#h, w#l, oß@h, oßl, o®#f, @oßb 6 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join, no ascender: oúi, oúy, oúu, oúp, v}e 7 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to an anticlockwise letter: o+o, o+a, w>a, w>o, v>a, v>o 8 Practising sloped writing: joining from r: r>a, r}e, r¬@i, r>o, r¬@u 9 Practising sloped writing: joining from s: s©h, s©u, s©c, s©l, s©w, s©p 10 End-of-term check

1 2

Term 1

Year 5/Primary 6

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Term 3

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Term 2

Style for speed: crossbar join from t: tôh, t®i, t®r, t›a, õªõª Style for speed: looping from g: \l, \i, \r, \a, \g Style for speed: looping from j and y: Ø, ]o, ó, {r, {o Style for speed: looping from f Style for speed: different joins to s Style for speed: looping from b Style for speed: joining from v, w, x and z Handwriting for different purposes: abbreviations Spacing between words End-of-term check Improving handwriting: the importance of consistent sizing Improving handwriting: the importance of proportion Improving handwriting: the importance of spacing Improving handwriting: the importance of consistent sizing of parallel ascenders and descenders Improving handwriting: the importance of closed and open letters Improving handwriting: pen breaks in longer words Handwriting for different purposes: annotations Handwriting for different purposes Choice of handwriting tools End-of-term check 21 Handwriting for different purposes: fast-joined and print letters 22 Handwriting for different purposes: note making 23 Handwriting for different purposes: neat writing 24 Handwriting for different purposes: print letters for personal details 25 Different styles of writing 26 Handwriting for different purposes: presentation 27 Handwriting for different purposes: decorated capitals 28 Handwriting for different purposes: layout 29 Assessment 30 Handwriting for different purposes: handwriting patterns

Term 3

16 17 18 19 20

11 12 13 14

Term 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Term 1

Year 6/Primary 7

21 Sloped writing: proportion, joining p and b to ascenders: p©h, p©l, b©l 22 Handwriting for different purposes: joining from p and b, no ascender: b©u, b©i, p¿, p©u, p©i, p©r 23 Practising sloped writing: parallel downstrokes: p©p, b©b 24 Practising sloped writing: all double letters 25 Practising sloped writing for speed: t<i<a<l, c·i<a<l 26 Practising sloped writing for fluency 27 Personal style 28 Handwriting for different purposes: print alphabet 29 Assessment 30 Capitals

Term 3

GPS scope and sequence The Penpals Workbooks from Year 1 to Year 6 have a different GPS (Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling) focus in each unit. The focus type is indicated at the top of each unit page.

Year 5/Primary 6 Term 1 Unit

Term 1 GPS focus

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

S Homophones G Relative clauses G Using ough S Suffixes S Alphabetical order clauses G Subordinate P

4 5

Suffixes –ise| and –ice|

D S S G

Suffixes –ible| and –able|

End-of-term check

7 8 9 10

GPS focus

Unit

S ss sounds

S |u| words S Homophones G Adverbials of time, place and number

18 19 20

End-of-term check

Term 3 Unit 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Antonyms Active and passive Suffixes –ence|, –ent|, –ance|, –ant

Spelling strategies: syllabification Abbreviations in common exception words Informal and formal

End-of-term check

Term 2

Suffixes –tion| and –tious

GPS focus

there|, their|, they ’ re S a|, ai|, ay and eigh Homophones

P Punctuation to clarify meaning S Near homophones P Punctuation and layout G Modal verbs S rr| before verb suffixes

Unit

S G G S

Alphabetical order

Term 2 Unit

Year 6/Primary 7

11 12

14 15

18 19 20

GPS focus

G Cohesion: colons S Suffixes –ible| and –able| P Hyphens S –ible| and –able| S P G G G

Suffixes –ent|, –ence|, –ant|, and –ance| Colons, semi-colons and commas Ellipsis Fronted adverbials Subject and object noun phrases

End-of-term check

Term 3 GPS focus

P G S S

Unit

Punctuation in sentences

Adverbs of possibility

Spelling strategies: syllabification

de|–, dis|–, re|–, mis|–, over|– S –tial| and –cial| S i| before e

S P

Silent letters

Punctuation for labelling

Prefixes

Assessment

Alphabetical order and capital letters

25 26

GPS focus

G Conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions G Formal and informal P Paragraphs G P Bullet points P Parentheses (dashes, brackets, commas) S Strategies for spelling G Verb tenses G Main and subordinate clauses

Assessment

Handwriting patterns

Penpals for Handwriting: rationale Even in this technological, computer-literate age, good handwriting remains fundamental to our children’s educational achievement. Penpals for Handwriting is the only handwriting programme to offer a progression from 3–11 years and will help you teach children to develop fast, fluent and legible handwriting. If you would like advice on implementing a handwriting policy at your school, you can find this on our website: education.cambridge.org/ PenpalsWelcome.

Traditional principles in the contemporary classroom We believe that: 1. A flexible, fluent and legible handwriting style empowers children to write with confidence and creativity. This is an entitlement that needs careful progression and skilful discrete teaching that is frequent and continues beyond the initial foundation stages. 2. Handwriting is a developmental process with its own distinctive stages of sequential growth. We have identified five stages that form the basic organisational structure of Penpals: (i) Physical preparation for handwriting: gross and fine motor skills leading to mark-making, patterns and letter formation (Foundation, 3–5 years) (ii) Securing correct letter formation (Key Stage 1, 5–6 years) (iii) Beginning to join along with a focus on relative size and spacing (Key Stage 1, 6–7 years) (iv) Securing the joins along with a focus on break letters, legibility, consistency and quality (Lower Key Stage 2, 7–9 years) (v) Practising speed, fluency and developing a personalised style for different purposes (Upper Key Stage 2, 9–11 years)

A practical approach Penpals offers a practical, active learning, approach to support the delivery of handwriting teaching in response to the increased demands of the National Curriculum 2014. • Time: Penpals’ focus on whole-class teaching from an interactive whiteboard, with key teaching points clearly identified, allows effective teaching in the time available. • Planning: Penpals helps with long-, medium- and short-term planning for each year group, correlated to national guidelines. • Practice: Penpals offers pupil Practice Books, as well as Workbooks, with their own internal structure of excellent models for finger tracing, tracing, copying and independent writing. • Assessment: Penpals offers many opportunities for assessment, including: self-assessment questions and challenges throughout the Practice Books and Workbooks; two or three assessment units in each year group and assessment ideas in the Teacher’s Books. The Penpals for Handwriting Intervention Programme also provides further information, activities and checklists. • Motivation: Penpals is attractive and well-designed with clear links between all of the elements in each year group. The materials are written with the support of children, classroom assistants, teachers, and handwriting experts to stimulate and motivate children. • ICT: Use the Penpals Interactives to enrich and extend the children’s handwriting experiences.

3. Handwriting must also be practised discretely and in context. Beyond the initial foundation stages, Penpals provides Workbooks for handwriting practice in the context of age-appropriate spelling, punctuation and grammar. Learning to associate the kinaesthetic handwriting movement with the visual letter pattern and the aural phonemes will help children with learning to spell. However, Penpals always takes a ‘handwriting first’ approach. 4. Choosing the writing implement best suited to the task is an important part of a handwriting education. A Penpals Font CD-ROM supports practitioners who wish to use the Penpals font consistently in all aspects of teaching and learning.

Penpals for Handwriting: rationale

A few words from the experts â&#x20AC;Ś Handwriting is the bedrock for learning. Being able to handwrite allows children to express themselves on paper and gives them confidence as well as pride in their work. Many teachers will have seen the utter delight in childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes when they first discover that they can communicate through marks on the page. It is also sometimes overlooked that handwriting supports the mastery of other skills in school, such as early reading, spelling and the securing of mathematical concepts. The physical connectivity with the pencil seems to impact on the brain in a way that using a keyboard does not1, 2. If children can learn to write legibly, fluently and automatically when they are in the primary school, this skill then allows them to engage fully with the secondary curriculum where they are expected to take notes, produce written assignments in class, and complete tests and exams under timed conditions3. Being able to fully demonstrate understanding, knowledge and ability is critical to their progress as this is the way in which they are judged. It is important that handwriting has been fully mastered as it has been demonstrated in several research studies that failing to write legibly can cost vital marks in tests and exams where examiners struggle to read the text4. It has also been found that where young people cannot get enough work down on the page, the content of what they write suffers5, 6, 7. In these ways, handwriting has been shown to play a vital role in academic success at school. Where schools equip themselves with a scheme, such as Penpals for Handwriting, which supports statutory curriculum requirements, they can promote excellence in handwriting and benefit from its application across the curriculum. Dr Angela Webb, Chair of The National Handwriting Association Anthony et al, 2007 James et al, 2015 3 Muller & Oppenheimer, 2014 4 Santangelo & Graham, 2015 5 Christensen, 2005 6 Connelly et al, 2001 7 Webb et al, 2011 1 2

Handwriting is the ultimate fine motor task, which additionally requires skills in hand-eye co-ordination, organisation and sequencing. We expect these skills of very young children, all too often before they are developmentally ready, for example requiring fine motor control of fingers before having postural stability. Pre-writing skills can be learnt, but we should not expect letter and number formation until they can master an oblique cross (X), which requires crossing midline. Many children with handwriting difficulties are referred to occupational therapists who can help improve letter formation, fluency and pencil grip, for example, but it would be of greater benefit to make sure children get the basics of handwriting correct at the outset. Penpals for Handwriting will help establish the right skills at the right time for each child and so make this essential communication tool a pleasure rather than a chore. Catherine Elsey State Registered Occupational Therapist, National Handwriting Association

Sequence of teaching in a discrete handwriting session The intended sequence is: 1. Teach: The teacher introduces the unit focus using the Penpals Interactive.

2. Practise: The child practises the unit focus through a short activity or text. There is generally no additional cognitive demand so children can concentrate on their handwriting; however, some of the units make reference to the wider curriculum.

5. Assess: Children are asked to self- or peer-assess their handwriting as well as the GPS objective.

A note about grammar, punctuation and spelling The revised edition of Penpals for Handwriting enables you to support your teaching of the grammar, spelling and punctuation curriculum with handwriting. These are all skills needed for transcribing ideas and children need to be able to combine them effortlessly. By Year 5, most children will be refining their sloped style for speed and using handwriting as a curriculum tool, rather than as an end in itself; they should be aware of the need to change their handwriting style to match the purpose of the text. Combining handwriting with the cognitive demands of grammar, spelling and punctuation provides children with an ‘authentic’ cross-curricular handwriting experience. Ongoing discrete handwriting teaching and practice remains important.

3. Assess: Children are asked to self- or peer-assess their handwriting. 4. Apply: Following a brief introduction to rehearse the join or focus, children are asked to complete an activity where there is a cognitive demand in addition to the handwriting focus. This enables the child to apply their handwriting in a brief activity. Please note that the Workbooks should not be used to introduce a GPS concept, but should only be used for reinforcement and consolidation.

A note about application of handwriting across the curriculum One of the challenges of all handwriting programmes is achieving the transfer of skills from the child’s handwriting book to their writing across the curriculum and in all other circumstances. The Workbooks are intended to support this transfer by offering grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) activities with a handwriting focus as outlined above. High frequency words, also known as common exception words, from National Curriculum (2014) are embedded in all the resources where it makes sense. After following the suggested teaching sequence below, transfer of the join or other unit focus into writing across the curriculum should be encouraged. Many of the Pupil Book units encourage this wider application.

Sequence of teaching in a discrete handwriting session

Using the Penpals for Handwriting components Ten units have been provided for each school term. The terms have been organised into a specific teaching sequence to ensure that skills are developed, practised and consolidated. Units 10, 20 and 29 are assessment units, which give both practitioner and children the opportunity to review progress and set new targets if appropriate.

3. Teach (Letter/join animations): These provide opportunities to revisit all join formations using a slightly more sloped style for speed and fluency. Children can practise palm writing and copying the letters/joins in the identified words.

For each unit, you will need: • The Y5 Teacher’s Book. • The Y5 Interactive. • An interactive whiteboard or tablet. • A laptop or PC connected to a data projector. Children will need: • An appropriate handwriting pen and writing book each. Dry-wipe pens and small whiteboards can be used if preferred; however, since good posture is crucial to good handwriting, it is important to ensure that children are sitting at a table with both feet flat on the floor for their written work. • A sharp pencil and coloured pencils. • Y5 Practice Book. • Y5 Workbook.

4. Teach (Gallery): This includes samples of handwriting for children to assess. Look at some examples of good writing and identify necessary improvements in poor samples.

The teaching sequence of each unit generally follows the common pattern outlined here.

Using the Interactives: whole-class session 1. Unit focus: This is clearly identified at the start of each unit.

5. Practise (Word Bank): Model how to click a letter or word from the Word Bank to practise tracing and writing it on-screen. Invite children to engage with this in a teaching session or independently as practice. The Word Bank includes a Challenge Word which is also provided as an image. Invite children to identify the word, which will be linked to the unit focus.

2. Penpals gym: Handwriting is a physical activity so children need to warm up their muscles. Use the activities shown to physically prepare the core muscles and the hands for handwriting. Children still enjoy this aspect of handwriting even at UKS2/upper primary.

Sequence of teaching in a discrete handwriting session

Using the Practice Book This session should ideally follow on directly from the whole-class session. It is best if work is overseen by an adult to ensure correct letter formation and joining, especially for children about whom there are concerns. The teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page for the unit provides key learning points to help identify issues on which to focus.

If your timetable means that the Workbook activity is introduced on another day, revisit the unit on the IWB to remind children of the handwriting focus. One or more of the words in the Word Bank will be relevant to the Workbook session.

1. Independent writing: Practice of the focus join or joins in a slightly more sloped style for speed and fluency. 1. Independent writing: Practice of the join or unit focus in a slightly more sloped style for speed and fluency. 2. Writing the unit focus, letter or join in context: Children try the joins in a slightly more sloped style in isolation before starting the activity and exploring the different joins in context. 3. Self- or peer-assessment: Children are asked to identify where they have demonstrated control of the unit focus and where they need to improve. They should then improve that letter, join or word. 4. Pattern practice or Speeding up: Pattern practice continues to be an excellent way of refining fine motor control needed to gain increased control over letter shapes and joins. In a number of units, pattern practice is replaced by Speeding up where children are asked to write a short phrase at increasing speeds. This focus activity helps to build speed and fluency.

Using the Workbook Once their work has been checked, children can move directly from the Practice Book to the Workbook. The Workbooks offer an opportunity to use the handwriting join or focus to consolidate (not to teach or introduce) understanding from GPS (Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling) lessons. You may want to monitor children as they progress through this session.

2. Writing joins in words or groups of letters: Once children have practised writing the unit focus, letters or joins, they should use them in words which are relevant to the grammar, punctuation or spelling activity. 3. Introduce the activity: Explain the grammar, punctuation or spelling focus and talk about the activity. See the chart on p4 which provides an overview of the GPS content. 4. Completing the activity: Children complete the activity, following the instructions. 5. Self- or peer-assess: Children assess their achievement in terms of both handwriting and the grammar, punctuation and spelling focus. As before, they identify where they have managed the join or handwriting focus well and letters, joins or words to improve. 6. Challenge activity: There is often an additional challenge activity, for those children who need it, to attempt. Home practice Photocopy masters (PCMs) are provided at the back of the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book for extra practice or for homework.

Unit 1 Introducing sloped writing in letter families Key learning • Introducing sloped writing. • The slope is regular and not extreme.

1 Using the Interactives Penpals gym • Ask children to try the warm-ups: Hands and arms and Blindfold, or choose others from the reference area. Teach • Introduce the key concept that writing on a slight slope can be quicker and neater. Children should practise this. • Look at the examples of children’s work. Discuss the examples of children’s sloped writing.

c Children practise writing their names in a sloped hand. Let them share these and peer-assess. d Ask children to read each word before writing it to compare upright and then sloped writing. How does it feel? e Encourage children to practise building up speed. f Self- or peer-assess: ask children to find their two best letters to tick and two to improve.

3 Using the Workbook (p2) Handwriting practice with a spelling focus: alphabetical order a Watch while children write the letters using the guidelines to help with the slope. Check the key learning points. b Children write the letters in alphabetical order with a slope. Ask children to write the letters again at a faster pace. c Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check the work, finding two letters to tick and two to improve.

b Practise • Children practise using the word bank: l h, m k p, c a d, o s g, q e f, v w x z. • The challenge word is w}e©a<t<hÿ©r.

i t, u j y, r b n c

2 Using the Practice Book (p2)

4 Extra support

a Explain to children that they should now try to slope their writing slightly as it helps with speed and fluency. Emphasise that break letters still apply. Give guidance to both right- and left-handers (see page 10). Left handed-children may find sloped writing particularly hard. If this is the case, allow them to continue with upright writing as long as their wrist is straight. Lefthanded children may benefit from using a writing slope. Remind them to keep their wrist under the writing line. If they are writing with a pen, ensure it is intended for use by left-handed children. b Watch while children write each of the sloped letters. Check the key learning points above.

Small group work: Practice Book • Children practise all the letters in their families before trying the progression on the page: provide sloped guidelines for writing. • Practise each letter and word upright and then on a slope to compare. Small group work: Workbook • Use individual whiteboards to practise the slope first, or use the IWB to get the flow. • Revisit the letter families together. • Check sitting position, angle of paper and pencil grip. • Remind children to focus on the slope as they write. Homework • PCM 1 on page 48.

5 Common errors • Angle of slope is too extreme or inconsistent. • Letter formation within the letter families is inaccurate.

Term 1

Unit 2 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to ascender: t<h, s©h, n<b, n<d, h<t, s©t Key learning

3 Using the Workbook (p3)

• The slope is regular and not extreme. • Ascenders should be parallel and in proportion to x-height letters.

1 Using the Interactives Penpals gym • Ask children to try the warm-ups: Scissors and Parallel lines, or choose others from the reference area. Teach • Demonstrate the animated join. Children should practise this. • Look at the examples of children’s work. Ask children to identify and assess the target joins.

Handwriting practice with a spelling focus: homophones t<hÿ©r}e, t<hÿ©i<r, t<hÿ©y’r}e a Watch while children trace and write the joins, first upright and then sloped. Check the key learning points. b Watch them trace and write the homophones. Talk about when each is used. c Read the sentence, considering which homophone should be inserted into each gap. Children fill in the gaps. Ask children to rewrite the sentence. d Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check the work, finding two joins to tick and two to improve.

a b c d

4 Extra support Practise • Children practise using the word bank: s©tì©l, s©t<a<t<i<oún<a<r¬@y, s©t<a<t<i<oúnÿ©r¬@y, t<hÿ©i<r, t<hÿ©r}e, w}e©a<t<hÿ©r, • The challenge word is b©a<t<h<r>o+oúm.

s©tæ©a<l, w#hÿ©t<hÿ©r.

2 Using the Practice Book (p3) a Children write the joins, first upright and then on a slope. Watch while they write the letters. Check the key learning points above. b Read the rhyme together and talk about its meaning. c Children then write the rhyme. d Children read each word before writing it to compare upright and then sloped letters. e Encourage children to use coloured pencils or pens to practise the sloped pattern. f Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check their handwriting using the criteria given, finding the two best words to tick and two to improve.

Small group work: Practice Book • Provide sloped writing guidelines. Watch while children write the joins, both upright and on a slope. • Revisit the key learning points above. • Children read and write the text. • Check the accuracy of their joins. Make additional opportunities to practise tricky joins in isolation. Small group work: Workbook • Check while children trace and write the joins. • Discuss the homophones. • Once children have written each of the words, model writing the completed sentence. • Then children trace and write the sentence. Homework • PCM 2 on page 48.

5 Common errors • Angle of slope is inappropriate or inconsistent. • Ascenders are not parallel. • Height of ascenders is inconsistent (apart from t which should be shorter). • Spacing between letters is too wide or too cramped.

Term 1

Unit 3 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join, no ascender: a<i, a<y, k<n, e©r, iÿ, e©n

• The slope is regular and not extreme. • x-height letters should be consistently sized. • Spacing between letters should be appropriate.

e Encourage children to use coloured pencils or pens to practise the sloped pattern. f Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check their handwriting using the criteria given, finding the two best words to tick and two to improve.

1 Using the Interactives

3 Using the Workbook (p4)

Key learning

Penpals gym • Ask children to try the warm-ups: Circles and Interlocking rings, or choose others from the reference area. Teach • Demonstrate the animated join. Children should practise this. • Look at the examples of children’s work. Ask children to identify and assess the target joins.

Handwriting practice with a spelling focus: a, a<i, a<y and e©i<gh. a Watch while children trace and write the joins. Check the key learning points. b Watch children trace and then write the beginning of the rhyme. c Read the sentence together, considering which grapheme should be inserted into each gap. Children fill in the gaps. Ask children to write the complete sentence. d Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check the work, finding two joins to tick and two to improve.

a b c

d Practise • Children practise using the word bank: c·oúm<p©l<a<i<n, s©u<b©w>a<y, e©i<gh<tì©n, nÿ©i<gh<b©oúu<r, s©t<r>a<n<ge, a<p©p©r}e©c·i<a<tæ, _@›a<m<oúuƒ[, a<v>a<i<l<a<b©lÿ. • The challenge word is _@›a<m<oúuƒ[.

2 Using the Practice Book (p4) a Children write the joins using a comfortable and speedy slope. Check the key learning points above. b Children read and write the question. c Children use the Internet or anthologies to find the poem and practise copying a verse. d Read and write: children read each word before writing it to compare upright and then the slope. How does it feel?

4 Extra support Small group work: Practice Book • Use sloped writing guidelines. • Revisit the key learning points above. • Read the question together. Ask children to scan it for joins or words they think may be tricky. Give opportunities to practise those joins or words in isolation before writing the full text. • Check the accuracy of their joins. Make additional opportunities to practise tricky joins in isolation. Small group work: Workbook • Check while children trace and write the joins and the beginning of the rhyme. Take the opportunity to identify difficulties. • Discuss the graphemes and decide when each should be used in the sentence. • Check the accuracy and consistency of their copying and provide additional practice if necessary. Homework • PCM 3 on page 49.

5 Common errors e

• The angle of slope is irregular or inappropriate. • Spacing between letters is too wide or too cramped.

Term 1

Unit 4 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to an anticlockwise letter: a<c, s©c, b©o, d<a, e©a, h<o f

Key learning • • • •

The slope is regular and not extreme. Ascenders and descenders are parallel. Spacing between letters is consistent. All letters and joins are correctly formed.

Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check their handwriting using the criteria given, finding the two best words to tick and two to improve.

3 Using the Workbook (p5)

1 Using the Interactives Penpals gym • Ask children to try the warm-ups: Shoulder lift and Clap and fist, or choose others from the reference area. Teach • Demonstrate the animated join. Children should practise this. • Look at the examples of children’s work. Ask children to identify and assess the target joins.

Handwriting practice with a spelling focus: homophones a Watch while children trace and write the joins, first upright and then sloped. Check the key learning points. b Watch children trace and write the homophones, using sloped handwriting. c Read the definitions together and decide which word belongs with each definition. Children write the words for each definition. Encourage them to write a definition for one of the other words. d Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check the work, finding two words to tick and two to improve.

a b c

Practise • Children practise using the word bank: b¿©a<r, b©a<r}e, p©aƒ[©t, p©aƒ[µ[@¿©d, cœ©r}e©a<l, s@@¿©r¬@i<a<l, a<l<l<oúw}Ÿ©d, a<l<oúu<d. • The challenge word is b¿©a<r.

2 Using the Practice Book (p5) a Children practise the joins using a comfortable and speedy slope. Check the key learning points above. b Read the instruction and explain the task. c Children write the required letter combinations. d Read and write: children read each word before writing it to compare upright and then sloping. How does it feel? e Encourage children to use coloured pencils or pens to practise the sloped pattern.

Small group work: Practice Book • Use sloped writing guidelines. Watch while children write the joins, both upright and on a slope. • Revisit the key learning points above. • Help children to address the task systematically, e.g. a<d, a<g, then b©a, b©c, and so on. • Check the accuracy of their joins. Make additional opportunities to practise tricky joins in isolation. Small group work: Workbook • Check accuracy as children trace and write the joins and the homophones. • Identify pairs of homophones. Discuss the meaning of each word and then agree which word matches each definition. • Children write the words. Homework • PCM 4 on page 49.

5 Common errors

Term 1

4 Extra support

• Joins to anticlockwise letters are too short, and distort the letter shape. • The spaces between letters are too wide, too cramped or inconsistent. • The slope is irregular.

Unit 5 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to ascender: w#h, w#l, oß@h, oßl, o®#f, oßb Key learning • • • • •

The slope is regular and not extreme. Ascenders are parallel. x-height letters are consistently sized. Spacing between letters is regular. All letters should be joined except break letters g, y, j, x, z.

1 Using the Interactives Penpals gym • Ask children to try the warm-ups: Hand shake and Fist to fist, or choose others from the reference area. Teach • Demonstrate the animated join. Children should practise this. • Look at the examples of children’s work. Ask children to identify and assess the target joins.

3 Using the Workbook (p6) Handwriting practice with a grammar focus: relative clauses a Watch while children trace and write the joins, first upright and then sloped. Check the key learning points. b Watch children trace and then write the relative pronouns, using a speedy sloped style. c Read the sentences together and decide how to complete each relative clause. Children complete and then write the sentences. d Self- or peer-assess: ask children to check the work, finding two joins to tick and two to improve.

a b c

d Practise • Children practise using the word bank: w#h<o, w#h<i<c·h, w#hÿ©r}e, w#hÿ©n, w#h<oü@ [@¿, w#h<y, w#hÿ©t<hÿ©r, w#h<a<tæ©v}e©r. • The challenge word is w#h<y.

2 Using the Practice Book (p6) a Children write the joins upright first and then using a comfortable slope. Check the key learning points. b Read the instruction together. Children write the question web using a joined, speedy handwriting style for taking notes. They then choose their own topic and write w#h questions in a neater, joined handwriting style. c Children create their own web, writing questions beginning with each word. Remind them to ensure their writing is legible. d Children read each word before writing it to compare upright and then the slope.

Small group work: Practice Book • Use sloped writing guidelines. Watch while children write the joins, both upright and on a slope. • Revisit the key learning points above. • Together, create a question web related to a current curriculum area. Then children draw the web and write the questions. • Check the accuracy of their joins. Make additional opportunities to practise tricky joins in isolation. Small group work: Workbook • Check while children trace and write the joins and the relative pronouns. • Discuss how to select a relative pronoun to complete each relative clause. • Ask children to complete and write the sentences. Homework • PCM 5 on page 50.

5 Common errors

• Ascenders are not parallel and slope is inconsistent. • Spacing between letters is either too wide or too cramped. • x-height letters are not all the same height.

c e

4 Extra support

Term 1

Unit 1 Introducing sloped writing in letter families

Name

Date

For sloped writing, try to angle your paper slightly. Practise these patterns.

Slope tip! Left handers

//////////////////

/////

Right handers

/ / / / // Write the letters with a slope.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Penpals for Handwriting Y5

Unit 2 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to ascender:

Name

Angle your paper slightly. Practise the pattern.

Practise the joins.

Slope tip! The joins are the same but a little more sloped!

Unit 3 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join, no ascender:

Name

Date

Practise the slope.

Slope tip! Remember, the spacing of the words and letters should not change.

e©n

Penpals for Handwriting Y5

Unit 4 Practising sloped writing: diagonal join to an anticlockwise letter:

Name

Date

Angle your paper slightly. Practise the patterns.

c·c·c·c·c·c c·a<c·a<c·a c·c·c·c·c·c c·a<c·a<c·a Practise the joins. Write a word that includes each join.

Slope tip! Sloped writing is quicker and makes handwriting look more stylish.

Unit 5 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to ascender:

w#h, w#l, oß@h, oßl, o®#f, @oßb

Name

Date

Angle your paper slightly. Practise the patterns.

oß@h<oß@h<oß@h<oß@h<oß@h Practise the joins. Join

Practise

Phrase including the join

w#h w#l oß@h o®#f oßb oß@k Penpals for Handwriting Y5

Unit 6 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join, no ascender:

oúi, oúy, oúu, oúp, v}e

Name

Date

Angle your paper slightly. Practise the patterns.

oúu<oúu<oúu<oúu<oúu Practise the joins. Join

Practise

Word

Associated word

oúi oúy oúu oúp v}e Penpals for Handwriting Y5

Unit 7 Practising sloped writing: horizontal join to an anticlockwise letter:

Name

o+o, o+a, w>a, w>o, v>a, v>o

Date

Angle your paper slightly. Practise the patterns.

o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o w>oúw>oúw>oúw>o o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o Practise the joins. Join Practise

A word that includes the join

_@›o o+c w>o v>o w>a oü@ [

Slope tip! All letters must have the same slope.

Penpals for Handwriting Y5

r r>a, r}e, r¬@i, r>o, r¬@u

Unit 8 Practising sloped writing: joining from :

Name

Date

Practise the patterns.

r¬@i<r¬@i<r¬@i ñ¡@h<ñ¡@h<ñ¡@h r>a<r>a<r>a Practise the joins. Join from r to each of the letters of the alphabet.

r>a ñ¡@b r>c

Remember that r s do not join to x or z.

Penpals for Handwriting Y5

Unit 9 Practising sloped writing: joining from :

Name

Date

Practise the patterns.

Remember: we do not join to x or z.

Penpals for Handwriting Y5

Unit 10 End-of-term check

Name

Date

Choose a paragraph from your work. Write it here in a sloped handwriting style.

Why do we practise with a slightly increased slope? Penpals for Handwriting Y5