Nursery World - Writing for a purpose: Write stuff

Practice at writing should go hand in hand with children's learning how to read, says Lena Engel

When young children view letters and words, they see them as symbols: pictures that are a collection of shapes. In fact, written English to children is similar to hieroglyphics, or Chinese scripts as viewed by adults. Children require a great deal of support and daily practice to begin to decipher and attempt to write in English or to read it. Practitioners therefore should:

Alphabet table

Emphasise initial sounds to focus children's attention on the alphabet. Every week, set up a table of objects that begin with a particular letter. Use interesting objects, including those from other cultures, and label each one using lower-case letters.

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