- Wednesday 25 October 2017
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A whole-school approach is vital to maintaining a consistent approach to the teaching and learning of handwriting from Kindergarten to Year 6, with the emphasis in Kindergarten on pre-writing skills, such as patterning.
For a whole-school approach to be effective, certain documents need to be prepared prior to implementation. These include:
- a handwriting policy outlining the font, the time allocations, the expectations of the program and of the students, how the program will be implemented and evaluated, teaching strategies, and differentiation and assessment requirements;
- a progressive teaching and learning sequence within each year level and across the school;
- a list of handwriting terminology with relevant explanations and examples;
- a document outlining the dotted-thirds line sizing and the writing implements to be used in each year level; and
- any relevant forms that teachers may need to access regarding referrals to specialists.
Once all relevant documents have been prepared, they must be shared with all relevant members of staff and discussed at staff meetings, until all expectations of the program are clear to all members of staff. Training and/or mentoring should be provided where necessary, to ensure all teaching staff feel confident to teach handwriting, according to the new whole-school policy.
Before implementation begins, explain to parents the importance of handwriting in today’s society, and inform them of any changes that have been made to the school handwriting program. Explain any new expectations of the students or parents and encourage parents/carers to become involved in their child’s handwriting.
When a whole-school program is clearly outlined using appropriate documentation, and implemented systematically by all staff, students are better equipped to transfer their handwriting knowledge and skills from one year level to the next, without having to learn a ‘new way’ of writing. This allows students to develop and extend their handwriting skills as they progress through schooling.
