Handwriting

Handwriting at Hatton Park

We aim for our pupils to develop a neat, legible, fluent handwriting style which enables them to communicate effectively in writing.

Children are ready to start forming letters when they can draw the following shapes.

It is important for children to develop a good pencil grip from the beginning.

When children start school, they learn to sit correctly at a desk with their feet flat on the floor and to hold a pencil using a tripod grip. The following clip illustrates how to achieve the correct tripod pencil grip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPg9qpq6Hhg

In their reception year, children are taught to form letters as they learn the sounds they represent.

Letters are introduced in the same order as in the Rocket Phonics structured synthetic phonics programme.

s a t i p n m d c k e u r h b j v w x y z q

In Year One, letter formation is taught in letter ‘families’. These are groups of letters which are formed in a similar way with the pencil moving in the same direction.

Curly caterpillar letters

c a o g d q e s f

Ladder letters

l i t u j y

Robot arm letters

r m n p b h k

Zig-zag letters

v w x z

In Year Two, children learn to form letters of the correct size relative to one another. They start to use the diagonal and horizontal strokes to join letters when appropriate.

Click on the pencils below to see how we teach early letter-formation.