EYFS Best Practice - All about… mark making

Observing children’s development is one of the many joys of working in the early years. This is particularly true when it comes to mark making. While babies may enjoy smearing food onto their faces, four-year-olds take great delight in producing strings of letter shapes.

So why is this form of writing so important and how can we promote it in the early years?

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF WRITING

Before looking at mark making and how it supports later writing, it is worth exploring the nature of writing. Writing is language, usually spoken, that has been turned into symbols. Put simply, writing is all about words!

Interestingly, in the revised EYFS framework, the literacy education programme emphasises this. In practice, it means plenty of opportunities for talk, but also opportunities for children to narrate what they have been doing as this helps children to sequence what eventually they may want to write.

• Provide plenty of opportunities for children to talk and develop their language.
• Use photographs as prompts to help children talk about what they have been doing.
• Look out for books with no or limited print and work with children to work out what the story might be.
• Create times for children to repeat their personal stories to others so that their stories become more fluent.
• Scribe children’s stories down so that they can see how their words can be turned into meaningful text.
  
  

AVOID CONFUSING HANDWRITING WITH WRITING

The key difference between talk and writing is the process by which words become text.

This can happen in a variety of ways. Words can be handwritten using tools such as pens, pencils or, in the case of stonemasons, chisels. They can also be recorded using keyboards, both mechanical and touchscreen. Finally, there is dictation. Someone can act as a scribe. Dictaphones or voice-activated software can be used. As well as turning words into text, older children also have to learn the conventions of punctuation and spelling.

In this country, we teach children to record their words using handwriting. There are advantages to this as it is a sensory process, but the reality is that handwriting in everyday life has been surpassed by typewritten text. Recognising that handwriting is not the same as writing is important as sometimes adults focus on the construction of letter shapes rather than what children are trying to express.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY MARK MAKING?

Mark making is sometimes referred to as emergent writing. It is the first step in children’s journey towards the type of writing that can be read and understood by others. The concept of emergent writing is that over time and with support, children’s mark-making metamorphoses into something that is recognisably writing. To the untrained eye, early mark making may look fairly inconsequential as children smear, scribble and splat, but this process helps children to develop the skills and attitudes needed to become confident and competent writers. The table shows a loose guide to the process from mark making to writing. It is worth noting that stages are not neat and even. A child in Reception who can write a simple sentence may in their own pretend play make a series of zigzags to represent writing.

LEARNING TO WRITE TAKES TIME

There is a package of skills alongside language that children need to develop. Researchers Puranik and Lonigan (2014), have usefully divided them into three broad areas: conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and generative knowledge. If we look at these three areas, we can see that learning to write will take time and most children do not become fluent until they are around 11 years old.

CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE

This is about building children’s knowledge of the purpose of print. It links also to learning to read as children start to notice print in the environment. They may ask what things say and also start to be interested in the reasons that adults are writing. Children who are developing conceptual knowledge of writing will, for example, announce that they are ‘writing’, even though their marks may look random.

PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE

Children also need to develop a wide range of skills in order to create their own print. They need fine motor skills to control writing implements as well as learning how to form letter shapes, although it is worth noting that gross motor movements need to precede these. Children also need to link letter shapes to sounds and also to be able to detect phonemes or sounds in the words that they wish to write. These skills are linked to learning to read, and so while children may be interested in mark making, leaps forward in their writing tend to come after they have started to master reading. This means that many children will be in Key Stage 1 when they start to write sentences with ease.

GENERATIVE KNOWLEDGE

This is the cognitive-linguistic aspect to writing. It is the ability to structure thoughts into sentences in a coherent way. While early on in the writing journey, children may copy sentences or write single words, as their generative knowledge develops, they start to think more about what they want to say independently of adult prompting. Scribing for children is a useful way of supporting generative knowledge.

SUPPORTING CHILDREN’S WRITING JOURNEYS

There are a number of things that adults can do to support children towards becoming a competent writer.

Role-modelling

One of the most important factors in supporting children’s mark making is to create opportunities for children to see adults write. Children, from early on, notice what adults do, and this inspires them to have a go. As handwriting is the first tool that children are taught, this means that children need to see adults with ‘pen in hand’.

This may seem straightforward, but more thought needs to be given to this aspect than in previous years. Many of the writing activities that adults used to do using handwriting, such as write shopping lists or take orders in restaurants, are being done using technology. Early years settings have also increased the use of technology to record observations and to pass information to parents. The arrival of Covid has sped this up, with many early years settings now passing all information to parents using online platforms rather than the traditional home-nursery book. Given that role-modelling has a significant influence on children’s interest in writing, it is worth reflecting on opportunities to model writing in front of children.

• How many times a day will children see adults with ‘pen in hand’?
• Do you encourage parents to look for opportunities to handwrite in front of their children?
• Do you provide opportunities for children to use the same or similar resources that adults use, e.g. pens, markers, envelopes and forms?
• The way we model writing can also make a difference to children’s understanding of the writing process, as well as the link between letters, shapes and sounds.
• Talk about why you are writing things down, e.g. ‘I’ll write a note so that I won’t forget about it.’
• Show children how you think about what you are about to write – ‘I think I’ll write “Remember Madison’s coat”.’
• If possible, ask older children what they think that you should write – ‘What should I write to help me remember this?’ Invite children to contribute to what you are doing – this might be adding in their own marks on top of yours.
• Write slowly and narrate how you construct some of the letter shapes that might be of interest to children.
• Draw children’s attention to the initial sound in words.
  
  

WRITING IS FUN

As well as role-modelling, we have to make sure that children associate writing activities with pleasure. We have seen that there are many skills for children to learn and that learning to write takes time. If children lose confidence or dislike writing activities during their journey, they spend less time engaged in it and so are less likely to develop the skills needed.

• Avoid any criticism of, or corrections to, children’s writing.
• Encourage children to talk about their writing. Was there anything that they particularly enjoyed doing?
• Ask them if they would like to know how to do something, such as writing the first letter in their name.
• Keep mark-making activities playful and meaningful.
• Make sure that parents recognise the difference between letters and words that children have copied and those that they have generated independently.
  
  

PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES

A wide range of opportunities to engage in mark making activities is essential, especially in the early stages of mark making. Sensory resources can help children to develop hand-eye co-ordination as well as gross motor skills. The sensory feedback from activities such as using brushes with dry rice or using a stick in damp sand can help children to associate writing with pleasure. When choosing resources for mark making, think about whether they will produce a ‘satisfying and successful’ mark for the child. In practical terms, it is the difference between a box of felt tips that are past their best and a chunky marker on a large whiteboard.

In a similar vein, if you have a designated mark-making area, it needs to be a place of inspiration. This might mean regularly changing some resources so there are new things on offer, but also combining it with resources associated with painting, collage or junk-modelling. Alongside a mark making area, it is essential that mark making opportunities are woven into the other areas of play and the routines of the setting both indoors and outdoors.

IMAGINATIVE PLAY AND EARLY WRITING

From around three years old, most children start to be interested in some form of imaginative play. This might include small-world play as well as role play. Imaginative play is a natural fit with early writing. Children may want to pretend they are doing surveys or are writing signs to bring in customers to their shoe shop. Look out for as many real-life resources as possible and remember that quite often adults may need to play alongside children to incorporate writing into play.

WRITING FOR A PURPOSE

It is helpful to create plenty of opportunities for writing to have an authentic purpose, such as signing in at the start of sessions or putting a mark to vote for today’s snack. Children also love receiving and sending letters and cards, while older children love resources reflecting the adult world, such as forms, duplicate books and making signs.

BOYS AND WRITING

Finally, it is not uncommon for early years settings to report that some of their older boys are not interested in mark making activities. One explanation for this might be that some boys perceive that writing using pens and pencils is not a ‘male’ activity. This is perhaps borne out by settings who find that boys show great enthusiasm when writing activities are masculinised in some way, e.g. creating a pirate den where treasure maps and messages are written. In addition, settings that encourage dads and key male figures in boys’ lives to pick up a pen often find that this can make a real difference to children’s interest in writing.

• Put up photographs of boys’ fathers and older brothers using a pen.
• Encourage dads, granddads and older siblings into the setting to join in mark making activities.
• Consider ‘masculinising’ some writing opportunities, e.g. dinosaur surveys, builders’ shopping lists.
• Provide information for parents about the benefits of role-modelling, especially fathers and sons.
  
  

Type of mark-making / Development and understanding

Random marks:  Marks are made without any particular aim.
Scribbling with the intention of writing:  Children make marks and say that they are writing. They recognise that writing and drawing are different.
Zigzag patterns/ lines as children imitate the appearance of adult handwriting:  Children start to show that they understand that in English, print goes from left to right and text goes from top to bottom. They might have noticed adults underline important things.
Letter shapes appearing in mark-making:  Letter shapes can be seen alongside other marks. Letters from children’s names are likely to appear. Some letters may be repeated. Children may copy letters from signs or props that they can see.
Strings of letter shapes and sometimes repeated letter shapes in lines:  Most marks are now letter shapes. They may be organised into straight lines. Children are deliberate about why they are writing. They may choose to copy words or ask adults to show them how to write a letter shape of interest to them.
Groups of letter shapes and spaces to represent sentences:  Children show that they understand that groups of letters represent words. They put spaces between words in their mark-making. They are clear about what they are expressing.
Attempts to use letters to represent sounds in words:  Children start to think about the sounds and letter shapes needed to write words. They may write an ‘m’ for mummy.
Increased use of phonic/graphic knowledge of words to create simple sentences:  Children start to use their phonic knowledge to write simple words. Their writing may become formulaic, e.g. ‘I like dogs’, ‘I like cats’, ‘I like mummy’.

CASE STUDY: Little Acorns in Wendover

Little Acorns in Wendover is a sessional pre-school. In 2020 it was judged Outstanding by Ofsted. Jackie Bird, assistant manager, explains that its approach to supporting children’s early writing is child centred: ‘We believe that early writing is an organic process and that while it can be encouraged, it can’t be forced.’

Jackie goes onto explain that while there are always plenty of chunky pens, crayons and traditional writing materials around, they also use a wide range of sensory opportunities including playdough and gloop that can entice children into mark making.

‘Gloop is always a favourite, but so too are glitter trays with older children. We often find that children are interested in making the shape of the initial letter in their name with the glitter, although if children are not interested, there is never any pressure. We regularly put out a long strip of paper on the floor and have an “anything goes” approach where children can come and make as many or few marks as they want.’

Jackie recommends easy access to writing opportunities in all areas of the setting, especially outdoors. ‘With Covid this year, we have spent a lot of time outdoors. Children have chosen to paint with water but also use the chunky chalks outdoors. Some children also love our whiteboards. They make marks and then wipe them clean. We have also used paint and games to encourage older children to make large circles and crosses to develop early writing movements.’

In common with other early years settings, Jackie says she has had to be creative when there are any reluctant writers. ‘We had a group of boys who were not taking up the mark making opportunities on offer. We were slightly concerned as they were due to go to the Reception class. We took them outdoors away from the other children and put out two tables covered in shaving foam. As we are near an RAF base and there were planes flying overhead, we said that we were on a secret mission and needed to write messages.

They found this hugely exciting and we repeated this activity for several weeks. We gradually introduced sticks and then pencils.

Over time, we moved the activity indoors and started to use paper and pens. The children became increasingly confident and started to see themselves as writers.’

MORE INFORMATION

• Mark Making Matters: https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mark_Marking_Matters.pdf
• Every Child is a Writer: Understanding the Importance of Writing in Early Childhood: https://bit.ly/3luFebF
• The Mosaic of Marks, Words and Materials Atelier: https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/ateliers/the-mosaic-of-marks-words-and-materials-atelier
• Puranik C.S. and Lonigan C.J. (2014) ‘Emergent Writing in Preschoolers: Preliminary Evidence for a Theoretical Framework’, Reading Research Quarterly 49 (4): 453–67