Penpals for Handwriting Teacher's Foundation Book 2 by Cambridge International Education

Foundation 2 Teacher’s Book (3–5 years) Gill Budgell

Kate Ruttle

Supported by the

Contents

denotes the introduction of a new letter family

Component chart (inside front cover) Scope and sequence 2 Penpals for Handwriting rationale and how to use 4 Glossary of terms 6 Links to national guidelines 7 EYFS statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance 8 Baseline, tracking progress and gathering evidence 10 Progression and pencil grip development 11 Observational guides with key observations relating to gross motor skills, fine motor skills, mark-making and handwriting 12 Teaching using Penpals for Handwriting 14 Letter patters 17 Units 1 Dots 2 Straight lines and crosses 3 Circles 4 Waves 5 Loops and bridges 6 Joined straight lines 7 Angled patterns 8 Eights 9 Spirals 10 Left‐to‐right orientation 11 Mix of patterns 12 Review of patterns 13 Introducing long-legged giraffe letters: l 14 Practising long-legged giraffe letters: l, i 15 Practising long-legged giraffe letters: u, t 16 Practising long-legged giraffe letters: j, y 17 Practising all the long-legged giraffe letters: l, i, t, u, j, y 18 Introducing one-armed robot letters: r

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

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

Photocopiable resources Photocopy Masters 1-8 Messages for parents Letter families Alphabets Writing mats Variations in font throughout Penpals for Handwriting

36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53

54 58 60 61 62 64

13 Introducing long-legged giraffe letters: l 14 Practising long-legged giraffe letters: l, i 15 Practising long-legged giraffe letters: u, t 16 Practising long-legged giraffe letters: j, y 17 Practising all the long-legged giraffe letters: l, i, t, u, j, y 18 Introducing one-armed robot letters: r 19 Practising one-armed robot letters: b, n 20 Practising one-armed robot letters: h, m 21 Practising one-armed robot letters: k, p 22 Practising all the one-armed robot letters: r, b, n, h, m, k, p

Term 2

1 Dots 2 Straight lines and crosses 3 Circles 4 Waves 5 Loops and bridges 6 Joined straight lines 7 Angled patterns 8 Eights 9 Spirals 10 Left-to-right orientation 11 Mix of patterns 12 Review of patterns

Term 1

Foundation 2/Primary 1

11 Pattern-making 12 Investigating dots 13 Investigating straight lines and crosses 14 Investigating circles 15 Investigating curves, loops and waves 16 Investigating joined straight lines and angled patterns 17 Investigating eights and spirals

Developing patterns

5 Hand and finger play 6 Making and modelling 7 Messy play 8 Links to art 9 Using one-handed tools and equipment 10 Hand responses to music

Developing fine motor skills

1 Whole-body responses to the language of movement 2 Large movements with equipment 3 Large movements with malleable materials 4 Body responses to music

Developing gross motor skills

Foundation 1/3–5 years

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

Scope and sequence

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

Term 2

21 Building on diagonal join to ascender: c·k, a<l, e©l, a<t, i<l, i<l<l 22 Building on diagonal join, no ascender: u<i, e©y, a<w, u<r, a<n, i<p 23 Building on horizontal join to ascender: oß@k, o®#t, oßb, oßl 24 Building on horizontal join, no ascender: oúi, oúy, oún, oúp, oúv 25 Building on diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: Ÿ©d, c·c, e©g, i<c, a<d, u<g, d<d, a<g 26 Building on horizontal join to anticlockwise letters: o+c, o+g, o+d, v>a, v>o 27 Introducing joins to s: aƒ[, eµ[, iƒ[, oü@ [, w>[, nƒ[, dƒ[, lƒ[, tƒ[, kƒ[ 28 Practising joining Ÿ©d and i<n<g 29 Assessment 30 Capitals

Term 2

11 Introducing diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: e©a 12 Practising diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: i<gh 13 Practising diagonal join to anticlockwise letters: d<g, n<g 14 Introducing horizontal join to anticlockwise letters: o+o, o+a 15 Practising horizontal join to anticlockwise letters: w>a, w>o 16 Introducing mixed joins for three letters: a<i<r, e©a<r 17 Practising mixed joins for three letters: o+oúr, oúu<r 18 Practising mixed joins for three letters: i<n<g 19 Size and spacing 20 End-of-term check

1 Practising diagonal join to ascender: t<h, c·h 2 Practising diagonal join, no ascender: a<i, a<y 3 Practising diagonal join, no ascender: i<r, e©r 4 Practising horizontal join to ascender: w#h, oß@h 5 Practising horizontal join, no ascender: oúw, oúu 6 Introducing diagonal join to e: iÿ, uÿ 7 Introducing horizontal join to e: o°e, v}e 8 Introducing ö 9 Practising diagonal join, no ascender: lÿ 10 Writing numbers 1–100

Term 1

Year 2/Primary 3

21 Numbers 10–20: spacing 22 Practising ch unjoined 23 Introducing diagonal join to ascender: c·h 24 Practising ai unjoined 25 Introducing diagonal join, no ascender: a<i 26 Practising wh unjoined 27 Introducing horizontal join to ascender: w#h 28 Practising ow unjoined 29 Introducing horizontal join, no ascender: oúw 30 Assessment

Term 3

1 Practising long-legged giraffe letters 2 Writing words with ll 3 Introducing capitals for long-legged giraffe letters 4 Practising one-armed robot letters 5 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

Term 1

Year 1/Primary 2

25 Introducing curly caterpillar letters: c 26 Practising curly caterpillar letters: a, d 27 Practising curly caterpillar letters: o, s 28 Practising curly caterpillar letters: g, q 29 Practising curly caterpillar letters: e, f 30 Practising all the curly caterpillar letters: c, a, d, o, s, g, q, e, f 31 Practising all the curly caterpillar, long-legged giraffe and one-armed robot letters 32 Introducing zig-zag monster letters: z 33 Practising zig-zag monster letters: v, w, x 34 Practising all the zig-zag monster letters: z, v, w, x 35 Practising all the curly caterpillar and zig-zag monster letters 36 Reviewing all the curly caterpillar and zig-zag monster letters

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

2 Introducing diagonal join from p and b, no ascender: b©u, b©i, b¿, p©u, p©i, p¿ 3 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

b©l

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

Term 1

Year 4/Primary 5

21 Revising joins: letter spacing 22 Revising joins: spacing between words 23 Revising joins: consistency of size 24 Revising joins: fluency 25 Revising joins: parallel ascenders 26 Revising joins: parallel ascenders and descenders 27 Revising horizontal join from r to an anticlockwise letter: r>[ 28 Revising break letters 29 Assessment 30 Revising capital letters

Term 3

11 Introducing joining to f: i<f, e©f, a<f, o®#f 12 Introducing joining from f to an ascender: _‹@ #l, _‹@#õª 13 Introducing joining from f, no ascender: _ù, _®@i, _®@u, _®@ r, _®@ y 14 Introducing joining from f to an anticlockwise letter: _@›o, _@›a 15 Introducing _‹@ #_®@ 16 Introducing r¬@r 17 Introducing sµ[ 18 Introducing |u 19 Revising parallel ascenders and descenders 20 End-of-term check

Term 2

5 Introducing joining from s to an anticlockwise letter: s©a, s©c, s©d, s©g, s©o, s©q 6 Introducing joining from r to an ascender: ñ¡@ b, ñ¡@ h, ñ¡@ k, ñ¡@ l, Ñ@@t 7 Introducing joining from r, no ascender: r¬i@ , r¬u @ , r¬n@ , r¬p@ 8 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©u

1 Practising joining through a word in stages: no ascenders or descenders 2 Practising joining through a word in stages: parallel ascenders 3 Introducing joining from s to ascender: s©h, s©l, s©t, s©k 4 Introducing joining from s, no ascender: s©w, s©i, s@@¿, s©m, s©n, s©p,

Term 1

Year 3/Primary 4

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

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

Term 1

Year 5/Primary 6

21 Consistency of size 22 Proportion 23 Spacing between letters and words 24 Size, proportion and spacing 25 Fluency: writing longer words 26 Speed and fluency 27 Revising break letters 28 Print alphabet: presentation 29 Assessment 30 Capital letters: presentation

Term 3

11 Revising parallel ascenders 12 Revising parallel ascenders and break letters 13 Relative sizes of letters 14 Proportion of letters 15 Spacing between letters 16 Spacing between words 17 Writing at speed 18 Improving fluency 19 Speed and fluency 20 End-of-term check

Term 2

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

11 Improving handwriting: the importance of consistent sizing 12 Improving handwriting: the importance of proportion 13 Improving handwriting: the importance of spacing 14 Improving handwriting: the importance of consistent sizing of parallel ascenders and descenders 15 Improving handwriting: the importance of closed and open letters 16 Improving handwriting: pen breaks in longer words 17 Handwriting for different purposes: annotations 18 Handwriting for different purposes 19 Choice of handwriting tools 20 End-of-term check

Term 2

1 Style for speed: crossbar join from t: tôh, t®i, t®r, t›a, õªõª 2 Style for speed: looping from g: \l, \i, \r, \a, \g 3 Style for speed: looping from j and y: Ø, ]o, ó, {r, {o 4 Style for speed: looping from f 5 Style for speed: different joins to s 6 Style for speed: looping from b 7 Style for speed: joining from v, w, x and z 8 Handwriting for different purposes: abbreviations 9 Spacing between words 10 End-of-term check

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

Penpals for Handwriting rationale and how to use 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. Penpals recommends that appropriate early years experiences are offered before more formal teaching begins.

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, together with a focus on relative size and spacing (Key Stage 1, 6–7 years) (iv) Securing the joins together 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) 3. Handwriting must be practised both 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. A Penpals Font CD supports practitioners who wish to use the Penpals font consistently in all aspects of teaching and learning. 4. Choosing the writing implement best suited to the task is an important part of a handwriting education.

A practical approach Penpals offers a practical approach to support the delivery of handwriting teaching in the context of the modern curriculum. Whilst Foundation 1 (F1: 3–5 years) offers a series of units for practical fun ideas to ensure handwritingassociated activities are built in to planned provision for each child, Foundation 2 (F2: 4–5 years) offers a series of write-in workbooks to use when children are ready. • Time: A series of units offer time-saving, practical and fun ideas for ensuring the systematic teaching and practice of handwriting skills. • Planning: Penpals helps with long-, medium- and short-term planning and is correlated to national guidelines. Most of the ideas are generic and can easily be adapted to the current topic or theme in the class or to the interests of a particular child or children. • Practice: Penpals offers a wealth of opportunities for practising skills in imaginative situations in both indoor and outdoor settings and for continuous provision. • Assessment for Learning: Penpals offers guidance and copiable resources for record-keeping, observations and baseline checks in line with best practice and national guidelines. • Motivation: The Penpals materials have been written with the support of children, nursery nurses, classroom assistants, teachers, foundation consultants, occupational therapists and handwriting experts to stimulate and motivate young children as learners. Penpals provides multi-sensory resources including those for teachers to model via the interactive whiteboard or child exploration into mark-making. From Foundation 2 (F2: 5–6 years), Penpals also provides write-in workbooks and practice books from Year 1. Penpals Foundation 1 and 2 may also be used to support children with physical delays or related special needs.

Penpals for Handwriting rationale and how to use

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.

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

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

Glossary of terms This glossary includes key vocabulary for mark-making and the development of handwriting in the early years. Wherever possible we believe it is important to use correct terminology to describe patterns with children, but, in all cases, it is assumed that practitioners will use language that is most appropriate for the child with whom they are working. In Penpals for Handwriting Foundation provision there is an emphasis on becoming familiar with vocabulary to describe parts of the hand, wrist and arm, the language of movement (shoulder, upper body, etc.), as well as the language necessary for talking about patterns and the formation of letters. We emphasise the importance of balance as children develop skills in controlling their movements within any given space (referred to as ‘proprioception’). Active learning: Tells us about a child’s motivation in terms of their involvement, their determination to keep trying and their enjoyment of learning and achievement.

Crossing the midline: the ability to reach across the middle (of an imaginary line down the middle) of the body with the arms and legs crossing over to the opposite side, e.g. being able to draw a horizontal line across a page without having to change hands in the middle. Descender: The parts of a letter which descend below the baseline. See Figure 1. Downward loops, bridges or arcades: Patterns that feature looped movements, starting with a downwards pencil line.

Eights: Patterns that feature figures of eight in vertical or horizontal planes. The horizontal plane is very tricky.

Angled movements or zig-zags: Patterns that feature two or more connecting horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines.

Fine motor skills: The development of smaller controlled movements of the hand and fingers. Ascender: The parts of a letter which extend above the x-height. See Figure 1.

Gross motor skills: The development of controlled movements of the whole body or limbs such as the arms and legs. Handedness: The preference for using either the left or right hand in gross and fine motor skills.

Figure 1: Baseline, x-height, ascenders and descenders.

Balance: The successful co-ordination of gross and fine motor skills, often linked to space. Baseline: The line on which letters sit. In Penpals we advocate using a single baseline. See Figure 1.

Hand–eye co-ordination: The ability to control hand movement by using vision. Letter families: These include the following families: Long-legged giraffe letters:

l, i, t, u, j, y

Bi-lateral movement: The ability to use both sides of the body at the same time, e.g. to do the same thing such as pushing a rolling pin, to use alternating movements such as when walking, or using different movements on each side such as when cutting with scissors while holding and controlling the paper with the other hand.

One-armed robot letters:

Break letters: Letters which are not usually joined.

Zig-zag monster letters:

Circles: Patterns that feature circles, either clockwise or anticlockwise.

r, b, n, h, m, k, p Curly caterpillar letters:

c, a, d, o, s, g, q, e, f z, x, v, w

Mark-making: Mark-making that complements children’s development of writing from scribbles to strokes to shapes to letters.

Links to national guidelines

Patter: A description of the movement needed for correct letter formation. Patterns: Mark-making that complements children’s development of strokes that can be linked to the goal of letter formation. Playing and exploring: Tells us about a child’s engagement in terms of their ability to find out and explore, using what they know in their play and being willing to have a go. Proprioception: The co-ordination of motor skills within a specific space. Shoulder movement: Used when children are making full use of their arm movements for mark-making. Spirals: Patterns that feature one curved line, growing out from the centre, inwards from the outside and move in clockwise or anticlockwise directions.

Straight lines and crosses: Patterns that feature straight lines in any direction.

Links to national guidelines Penpals F1 and F2 activities support many national guidelines including: • The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS; 2014) and Development Matters with the embedded characteristics of effective learning (non-statutory guidance) • EYFS Profile Handbook 2014 Standards & Testing Agency • Curriculum for Excellence (3–18) • Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7-year-olds in Wales: Foundation Phase, Yr Adran Plant, Addysg, Dysgu Gydol Oes a Sgiliau Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills • Northern Ireland Curriculum, Foundation Stage. Penpals complements children’s growing knowledge of phonics and it is envisaged that Penpals F1 and F2 will be used throughout the Foundation stage and alongside the chosen resource for delivering the discrete daily phonics session. Penpals F1 is ideally suited to children working within Phases 1 and 2 of Letters and Sounds, while Penpals F2 goes on to support Phases 3 and 4 where possible. Beyond Foundation, Penpals Y1–6 provides phonics and spelling (as well as punctuation and grammar) contexts in the write-in workbooks.

Upper body muscles: Used when children are learning to support their head and to reach, grasp and walk as well as developing the strength in the body to balance. Upward loops or garlands: Patterns that feature looped movements, starting with an upwards pencil line.

x-height: The height of a lowercase x, and by extension the height of all lowercase letters excluding ascenders. See Figure 1.

8 Positive relationships: what adults could do

30–50 months

• Notice and encourage the marks children make and the meanings that they give to them, such as when a child covers a whole piece of paper and says, “I’m writing”. • Support children in recognising and writing their own names. • Make books with children of activities they have been doing, using photographs of them as illustrations.

Positive relationships: what adults could do

• Encourage children to move with controlled effort, and use associated vocabulary such as ‘strong’, ‘firm’, ‘gentle’, ‘heavy’, ‘stretch’, ‘reach’, ‘tense’ and ‘floppy’. • Use music of different styles and cultures to create moods and talk about how people move when they are sad, happy or cross. • Motivate children to be active through games such as follow the leader. • Talk about why children should take care when moving freely. • Teach children the skills they need to use equipment safely, e.g. cutting with scissors or using tools. • Encourage children to use the vocabulary of movement, e.g. ‘gallop’, ‘slither’; of instruction, e.g. ‘follow’, ‘lead’ and ‘copy’. • Pose challenging questions, e.g. “Can you get all the way round the climbing frame without your knees touching it?” • Talk with children about the need to match their actions to the space they are in. • Show children how to collaborate in throwing, rolling, fetching and receiving games, encouraging children to play with one another once their skills are sufficient. • Introduce and encourage children to use the vocabulary of manipulation, e.g. ‘squeeze’ and ‘prod’. • Explain why safety is an important factor in handling tools, equipment and materials, and have sensible rules for everybody to follow.

Early Learning Goal 10: Writing

Specific area: Literacy

40–60+ months

30–50 months

Early Learning Goal 4: Moving and handling

Prime area: Physical development

Bold green text flags Penpals for Handwriting F1 and F2 coverage.

• Write down things children say to support their developing understanding that what they say can be written down and then read and understood by someone else. Encourage parents to do this as well. • Model writing for a purpose, e.g. a shopping list, message for parents or reminder for ourselves. • Model writing poems and short stories, writing down ideas suggested by children. • Provide activities during which children will experiment with writing, e.g. leaving a message. • Include opportunities for writing during role-play and other activities. • Encourage children to use their phonic knowledge when writing.

Enabling environments: what adults could provide

• Provide time and space to enjoy energetic play daily. • Provide large portable equipment that children can move about safely and co-operatively to create their own structures, e.g. milk crates, tyres, large cardboard tubes. • Practise movement skills through games with beanbags, cones, balls and hoops. • Plan activities where children can practise moving in different ways and at different speeds, balancing, target throwing, rolling, kicking and catching. • Provide sufficient equipment for children to share, so that waiting to take turns does not spoil enjoyment. • Mark out boundaries for some activities, such as games involving wheeled toys or balls, so that children can more easily regulate their own activities. • Provide activities that give children the opportunity and motivation to practise manipulative skills, e.g. cooking, painting, clay and playing instruments. • Provide play resources including smallworld toys, construction sets, threading and posting toys, dolls’ clothes and material for collage. • Teach children skills of how to use tools and materials effectively and safely and give them opportunities to practise them. • Provide a range of left-handed tools, especially left-handed scissors, as needed. • Support children with physical difficulties with non-slip mats, small trays for equipment and triangular or thicker writing tools. • Provide a range of construction toys of different sizes, made of wood, rubber or plastic, that fix together in a variety of ways, e.g. by twisting, pushing, slotting or magnetism.

Enabling environments: what adults could provide

The development of mark-making, writing and handwriting is specifically referenced in these prime and specific areas from the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

EYFS statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance

Positive relationships: what adults could do

• Talk to children about the letters that represent the sounds they hear at the beginning of their own names and other familiar words. • Demonstrate writing so that children can see spelling in action. • Demonstrate how to segment the sounds (phonemes) in simple words and how the sounds are represented by letters (graphemes). • Expect them to apply their own grapheme/phoneme knowledge to what they write in meaningful contexts. • Support and scaffold individual children’s writing as opportunities arise.

Positive relationships: what adults could do

• Provide resources for mixing colours, joining things together and combining materials, demonstrating where appropriate. • Provide a wide range of materials and mediums for children to write on and with, e.g. chalk on sugar paper, oil pastels on black paper, colouring pencils on strips of fine sandpaper. Allow children to feel and enjoy the friction and pressure of mark making. • Provide opportunities for children to use their skills and explore concepts and ideas through their representations. • Have a ‘holding bay’ where models and works can be retained for a period for children to enjoy, develop or refer to. • Plan imaginative, active experiences, such as ‘Going on a bear hunt’. Help them remember the actions of the story (We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury) and think about the different ways of moving.

• Talk to children about ways of finding out what they can do with different media and what happens when they put different things together such as sand, paint and sawdust. • Encourage children to notice changes in properties of media as they are transformed through becoming wet, dry, flaky or fixed. Talk about what is happening, helping them to think about cause and effect.

40–60+ months

Source: Development Matters, from the British Association of Early Childhood Education.

• Lead imaginative movement sessions based on children’s current interests such as space travel, zoo animals or shadows. • Provide a place where work in progress can be kept safely. • Talk with children about where they can see models and plans in the environment, e.g. at the local planning office, in the town square or at the new apartments down the road. • Demonstrate and teach skills and techniques associated with the things children are doing, e.g. show them how to stop the paint from dripping or how to balance bricks so they will not fall down. • Introduce children to a wide range of music, painting and sculpture. • Encourage children to take time to think about painting or sculpture that is unfamiliar to them before they talk about it or express an opinion.

• Support children’s responses to different textures, e.g. touching sections of a texture display with their fingers or feeling it with their cheeks to get a sense of different properties. • Introduce vocabulary to enable children to talk about their observations and experiences, e.g. ’smooth’, ‘shiny’, ‘rough’, ‘prickly’, ‘flat’, ‘patterned’, ‘jagged’, ‘bumpy’, ‘soft’ and ‘hard’. • Talk about children’s growing interest in and use of colour as they begin to find differences between colours. • Make suggestions and ask questions to extend children’s ideas of what is possible, e.g. “I wonder what would happen if …”. • Support children in thinking about what they want to make, the processes that may be involved and the materials and resources they might need, e.g. a photograph to remind them what the climbing frame is like.

Enabling environments: what adults could provide

• Provide word banks and writing resources for both indoor and outdoor play. • Provide a range of opportunities to write for different purposes about things that interest children. • Resource role-play areas with listening and writing equipment. Ensure that role-play areas encourage writing of signs with a real purpose, e.g. a pet shop. • Plan fun activities and games that help children create rhyming strings of real and imaginary words, e.g. Maddie, daddy, baddie, laddie. • When children are ready (usually, but not always, by the age of 5), provide regular systematic synthetic phonics sessions.These should be multi-sensory in order to capture their interests, sustain motivation and reinforce learning.

Enabling environments: what adults could provide

30–50 months

Early Learning Goal 16 : Exploring and using media and materials

Specific area: Expressive arts and design

40–60+ months

Early Learning Goal 10: Writing

Specific area: Literacy

Baseline, tracking progress and gathering evidence Penpals for Handwriting can help you make professional, informed and evidenced judgements about children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in areas that are linked to, and are likely to affect, their progress in handwriting. It is recognised that early years settings will have established and ongoing assessment procedures and systems as well as the means of capturing and storing evidence in online or print journals or portfolios. It is also recognised that monitoring progress in this area is always alongside all prime and specific areas of learning rather than separated from these. Whether settings are using the EYFS Profile, a baseline assessment or a range of different assessment resources, Penpals will support you in building the best informed profile for each learner. Penpals at EYFS provides support for tracking: • gross motor skills, fine motor skills, mark-making and letter formation assessed using the provided observational guides (p12–13). Keep this guide updated so it can be used as a running record. Record dates when you first see signs of attainment; emerging, expected or exceeding. • the development of a grasp to pencil grip (p11). • physical readiness for handwriting, assessed using the provided hoop test (p11) and a cutting assessment.

Some key terms Observation: Watching, listening to, interacting with a child to understand their learning (knowledge, skills and understanding). Gather and record evidence using technology and online systems where helpful. Active learning: Learning that motivates children by encouraging them to keep on trying, to be involved, to concentrate, to enjoy achievement. Emerging development: Describes attainment not yet at the expected level. Expected development: Describes attainment expected by the end of the EYFS. Exceeding development: Describes attainment beyond that expected by the end of EYFS. Behaviours for learning: Describes attention, concentration, perseverance, resilience, engagement.

Right or left-handed? Many of the Penpals warm-up activities, pattern explorations and movement pictures encourage children to experiment using both the left and right hand, sometimes simultaneously. Whilst many young children do not determine their dominant hand until they are in the Foundation Stage at nursery or school, is important to monitor emerging dominant handedness and to become as confident as possible in teacher-modelling both hands. It is also essential to make left-handed scissors and other one-handed equipment available while children are exploring laterality. Once children have decided which is their dominant hand, try to avoid elbows bumping by ensuring that left-handed children do not work too closely to the right of right-handed children.

Gathering evidence for letter formation and fine motor skills.

Unit 1 Dots Key learning • Using the language of dots. • Recognising dots. • Making and writing dots.

1 Creative mark-making for continuous provision 1. Talk about dots and dot patterns in activities across the areas of learning and development. 2. Children go on a hunt for dots and dot patterns and record the patterns found. 3. Encourage children to make dots and dot pattern movements in physical responses. 4. Skywrite dots and dot patterns together. 5. Use the language of handwriting with children so that they develop the oral skills to talk about dots and dot patterns and feel confident enough to experiment. 6. Children mark-make with dots and dot patterns using a range of media. 7. Encourage children to create dots and dot patterns using a range of materials. 8. Ask children to use mark-making tools of all shapes and sizes to fill a shape outline with dots and dot patterns. 9. Talk about the letters in the long-legged giraffe family that have dots: i, j. Talk about when the dot is placed, if appropriate. 10. Children may enjoy using some elements of F1 and F2 Interactives.

Using F2 Workbook 1 (p2–3) a Ask children to skywrite dots then to finger trace the dots in each section.

b Encourage children to select the right implement to make their own dots in each section.

2 Teacher-led activity Using F2 Interactives • Penpals gym: Ask children to try the warm-ups: Hand clasp stretch and Finger dance. • Talk about: Ask children to copy the skywriting patterns with their fingers. Look at the images and talk about the dotty patterns found in our environment. Look at the images of other children’s work. • Try: Invite children to use the interactive activity to create a series of dots with their finger to follow the movement of the bee. Use the pen tools to make patterns of dots on screen.

3 Extra support and home practice • Revisit the F1 continuous provision ideas. • Use the IWB to further explore the pattern. • Encourage children to use small whiteboards to practise the pattern. • Check children’s sitting position, angle of paper, handedness and pencil grip. • Ask children to create a dotty pattern at home and to share their work with you.

Term 1

Unit 2 Straight lines and crosses Key learning • Using the language of straight lines and crosses. • Recognising straight lines and crosses. • Writing straight lines and crosses.

Using F2 Workbook 1 (p4–5) a Ask children to skywrite then to finger trace the straight lines in each section. b Encourage children to select the right implement to trace the straight lines. c Ask children to finish the straight line pattern.

1 Creative mark-making for continuous provision 1. Talk about straight lines in activities across the areas of learning and development. 2. Children go on a straight line hunt and record the lines found. 3. Encourage children to make straight lines in physical responses, following simple instructions. 4. Skywrite straight lines together. 5. Use the language of handwriting with children e.g. ‘straight line’, ‘top’, ‘bottom’, ‘across’, ‘sideways’, ‘up and down’, ‘begin’, ‘start’, ‘end’, ‘long’, ‘short’, ‘cross’. 6. Encourage children to mark-make with straight lines using a range of media. 7. Ask children to build straight lines with construction toys. 8. Use shape outlines geared to children’s interests and encourage children to fill them with straight line patterns. 9. Talk about the long-legged giraffe letters that are written from a straight line beginning: l, i, t, u, j, y. Notice that they all begin with a straight line but then have other features (curves, curls, descenders, etc.). 10. Children may enjoy using some elements of F1 and F2 Interactives.

a b

d Prompt children to trace the tinted lines to complete the picture. e Ask children to make a pattern using the crosses shown.

2 Teacher-led activity Using F2 Interactives • Penpals gym: Ask children to try the warm-ups: Wind and rain and Finger spread. • Talk about: Ask children to copy the skywriting patterns with their fingers. Look at the images and talk about the straight lines and crosses found in our environment. Look at the images of other children’s work. • Try: Invite children to use the interactive activity. Use the pen tools to draw straight lines and crosses on screen.

Term 1

3 Extra support and home practice • Revisit the F1 continuous provision ideas. • Use the IWB to further explore the patterns. • Encourage children to use small whiteboards to practise the pattern. • Check children’s sitting position, angle of paper, handedness and pencil grip. • Ask children to create a straight line pattern or pattern with crosses at home and to share their work with you.

Unit 3 Circles Key learning • Using the language of circles. • Recognising circles. • Making and writing circles.

1 Creative mark-making for continuous provision 1. Talk about circles in activities across the areas of learning and development. 2. Children go on a hunt outside for circles and record the patterns found. 3. Encourage children to make circles in physical responses, following simple instructions. 4. Skywrite circles together. 5. Use the language of handwriting with children e.g. ‘circle’, ‘round’, ‘curved line’, ‘start’, ‘stop’, ‘close the circle’, ‘big’, ‘small’. 6. Encourage children to mark-make with circles using a range of media and materials. 7. Use shape outlines geared to children’s interests and encourage children to fill them with circular patterns. 8. Talk about the curly caterpillar letters that are written from an anticlockwise circular movement beginning: c, a, d, o, s, g, q, e, f. 9. Children may enjoy using some elements of F1 and F2 Interactives.

Using F2 Workbook 1 (p6–7) a Ask children to skywrite then to finger trace the circles in each section. Check direction. b Encourage children to select the right implement to trace the circles. c Ask children to finish the circle pattern. Talk about big and small.

b c

d Prompt children to trace the tinted lines to complete the picture. Check direction. e Ask children to make a pattern using the circles shown.

d e

2 Teacher-led activity Using F2 Interactives • Penpals gym: Ask children to try the warm-ups: Mexican wave and Finger interlock. • Talk about: Ask children to copy the skywriting patterns with their fingers. Look at the images and talk about the big and little circles found in our environment. Look at the images of other children’s work. • Try: Invite children to use the interactive activity to create circles with their finger by following the movement of the dog and plane. Use the pen tools to draw lots of different circles on screen.

3 Extra support and home practice • Revisit the F1 continuous provision ideas. • Use the IWB to further explore the pattern. • Encourage children to use paintbrushes and water to practise the pattern. • Check children’s sitting position, angle of paper, handedness and pencil grip. • Ask children to create a pattern of circles at home and to share their work with you.

Term 1

Unit 4 Waves Key learning • Using the language of waves. • Recognising waves. • Making and writing waves.

1 Creative mark-making for continuous provision 1. Talk about waves in activities across the areas of learning and development. 2. Children go on a hunt outside for wavy lines and record the lines found. 3. Encourage children to make waves in physical responses, following simple instructions. 4. Skywrite waves together. 5. Use the language of handwriting with children e.g. ‘wave’, ‘curve’, ‘up’, ‘down’, ‘slope’, ‘change direction’, ‘downwards’, ‘upwards’. 6. Encourage children to mark-make with waves using a range of media and materials. 7. Demonstrate how to create wave patterns using construction toys and a mix of materials and equipment. Then let children try. 8. Talk about the one-armed robot letters that are written from a downward loop (bridge or arcade) beginning: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. Point out that these letters all begin with a downward movement that bounces back up but they have other features too (curves, flicks, descenders, ascenders, etc.). Highlight that, although u begins with a straight line, it is actually like an upward loop. 9. Children may enjoy using some elements of F1 and F2 Interactives.

2 Teacher-led activity

Using F2 Workbook 1 (p8–9) a Ask children to skywrite then to finger trace the wavy lines in each section. b Encourage children to select the right implement to trace the wavy lines. c Encourage children to finish the wavy line pattern. Talk about up and down.

b c

d Prompt children to trace the tinted lines to complete the picture. e Ask children to make a pattern using the horizontal wavy lines shown.

Using F2 Interactives • Penpals gym: Ask children to try the warm-ups: Spirals and Curl and twirl. • Talk about: Ask children to copy the skywriting patterns with their fingers. Look at the images and talk about waves and wave-like patterns found in our environment. Look at the images of other children’s work. • Try: Invite children to use the interactive activity. Use the pen tools to draw waves on screen.

Term 1

3 Extra support and home practice • Revisit the F1 continuous provision ideas. • Use the IWB to further explore the pattern. • Encourage children to use small whiteboards to practise the pattern. • Check children’s sitting position, angle of paper, handedness and pencil grip. • Ask children to create a pattern of waves at home and to share their work with you.

Unit 5 Loops and bridges Key learning • Using the language of loops and bridges. • Recognising loops and bridges. • Making and writing loops and bridges.

1 Creative mark-making for continuous provision 1. Talk about loops and bridges in activities across the areas of learning and development. 2. Children go on a hunt outside for loops and bridges and record the lines found. 3. Encourage children to make loops and bridges in physical responses, following simple instructions. 4. Skywrite loops and bridges together. 5. Use the language of handwriting with children e.g. ‘loop’, ‘bridge’, ‘curve’, ‘up’, ‘down’, ‘slope’, ‘change direction’, ‘over’, ‘loop’, ‘point’, ‘bounce’, ‘in’, ‘out’, ‘touch’, ‘same size’, ‘same height’, ‘top’, ‘bottom’, ‘continue’, ‘flow’. 6. Encourage children to mark-make with loops and bridges using a range of media and materials. 7. Demonstrate how to create loops and bridges using construction equipment and a range of materials. Then let children try. 8. Talk about the one-armed robot letters that are written from a downward loop (bridge or arcade) beginning: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. Point out that these letters all begin with a downward movement that bounces back up but they have other features too (curves, flicks, descenders, ascenders, etc.). Highlight that, although u begins with a straight line, it is actually like an upward loop. 9. Children may enjoy using some elements of F1 and F2 Interactives.

• Try: Invite children to use the interactive activity. Use the pen tools to draw loops and then bridges on screen. Using F2 Workbook 1 (p10–11) a Ask children to skywrite then to finger trace the loops and bridges in each section. b Encourage children to select the right implement to trace the loops and bridges. c Encourage children to finish the loops and bridges pattern. Talk about up and down.

b c

d Prompt children to trace the tinted lines to complete the picture. e Ask children to make a pattern using the loops and bridges shown.

2 Teacher-led activity Using F2 Interactives • Penpals gym: Ask children to try the warm-ups: Soft arms stiff arms and Wrist rhythm. • Talk about: Ask children to copy the skywriting patterns with their fingers. Look at the images and talk about loops, bridges and looping patterns found in our environment. Look at the images of other children’s work.

3 Extra support and home practice • Revisit the F1 continuous provision ideas. • Use the IWB to further explore the patterns. • Encourage children to use glitter in trays to practise the pattern. • Check children’s sitting position, angle of paper, handedness and pencil grip. • Ask children to create a pattern of loops and bridges at home and to share their work with you.

Term 1

UNIT 13 Pattern practice

Name

Date

Copy the patterns.

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Introducing long-legged giraffe letters: l

UNIT 17 Letter practice

l t i jjj u yyy

Date

Name

Trace and write the letters.

lll iii j

ttt uuu

Talk about the tails of these letters.

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Practising all the long-legged giraffe letters: l, i, t, u, j, y

UNIT 18 Pattern practice

Name

Date

Copy the patterns.

r r h b r h rr hh b nppp m n b bb nn m k m k k mm p

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Introducing one-armed robot letters: r

UNIT 22 Letter practice

Name

Trace and write the letters.

Talk about the difference between these letters.

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Practising all the one-armed robot letters: r, b, n, h, m, k, p

h np k

Date

UNIT 25 Pattern practice

Name

Date

Copy the patterns.

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Introducing curly caterpillar letters: c

UNIT 30 Letter practice

c a c a c c aa o d o d ao o d d o f e o e do o fe e q e q g Name

Trace and write the letters.

Talk about the tails of these letters.

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Practising all the curly caterpillar letters: c, a, d, o, s, g, q, e, f

Date

UNIT 32 Pattern practice

Name

Date

Copy the patterns.

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Introducing zig-zag monster letters: z

UNIT 34 Letter practice

Name

v w x z w

Trace and write the letters.

v x

w zw

Date

Talk about why this zig-zag monster letter is different.

w z

Penpals for Handwriting: Foundation 2 Practising all the zig-zag monster letters: z, v, w, x

Your child’s handwriting Preparation for handwriting involves developing four key areas: 1. Gross motor control: The control and co-ordination of the big movements the body can make. 2. Fine motor control: Being able to finetune the movements of the arm, hand and fingers. 3. Visual control: Making sure hand and eye movements are working well together. 4. Spatial control: Helping children to be able to move themselves confidently in a space with an awareness of direction (left and right/side-to-side) and plane (horizontal or side-to-side/vertical or up and down), and eventually helping them to transfer that sense of space on to paper. Here are some things you can do at home to develop these key areas: • Play with a ball, e.g. kick, catch, throw and bounce. • Play with hoops and frisbees. • Encourage play on large climbing frames in parks. • Play with large-scale building kits. • Enjoy finger rhymes such as Tommy Thumb. • Encourage your child to make things and model things (e.g. cutting, sticking, moulding, cooking, sewing and threading) using a range of materials (e.g. dough, Plasticine®, wood). • Encourage your child to experiment with a range of tools and equipment (e.g. pens, pencils, crayons, felt tips, scissors, hole punches and tweezers). • Share jigsaw puzzles and board games. • Provide opportunities for painting, colouring and ‘making marks’ on different sizes of paper. • Enjoy household tasks together (e.g. mixing ingredients with implements or hands, using a dustpan and brush, scooping compost into plant pots and digging in the garden). • The two Penpals at Home books, Getting Ready for Handwriting and Forming Letters, provide ideas and practical support to encourage your child’s enjoyment of, and skill in, handwriting.

As part of developing confidence in these key areas children begin to explore patterns and basic letter shapes. We experiment with the following six basic patterns and their variations as they provide excellent preparation for more formal work on letter formation: • 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 Enjoy exploring these patterns at home in as many different ways as possible. Make patterns using paint, water, sand, flour and so on. Don’t always rush to find a pencil, but work together in the kitchen or garden too! Don’t worry too much about which hand your child seems to prefer for handwriting or other tasks as this will be nurtured at school with the correct tools. Familiarise yourself with the Penpals for Handwriting letters and letter families (long-legged giraffe, curly caterpillar, one-armed robot and zig-zag monster) and help your child, when ready, to begin to enjoy writing the letters and eventually to write his or her name. Only use capital letters for the first letter of their first and family name. Pattern practice and ‘play’ writing are an important part of handwriting development. Your child will be practising letter formation in a number of exciting ways: in sand, using paint, in the air, on the interactive whiteboard as well as on paper with a pencil! When your child is ready for letter formation, ask these questions: • Where does the letter start? • Is it a short letter? (a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z) • Does it have an ascender? (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) • Does it have a descender? (f, g, j, p, q, y) The lower-case letters are introduced in four family types (see second sheet). Don’t hesitate to pop into school to discuss any of these ideas. Enjoy! © Cambridge-Hitachi 2015. You may photocopy this page.

Letter families Lower-case letters are introduced in the following order in four family types:

The The family family of of long-legged long-legged giraffe giraffe letters letters

The family family of of curly curly caterpillar caterpillar letters letters The

l i t u j y

c ados g

The The family family of of one-armed one-armed robot robot letters letters

The family family of of zig-zag zig-zag monster monster letters letters The

rb n hmk p z v w x The family of curly caterpillar letters

c ados gqe f The family of zig-zag monster letters

p z v w x ÂŠ Cambridge-Hitachi 2015. You may photocopy this page.

Alphabet

ÂŠ Cambridge-Hitachi 2015. You may photocopy this page.