WRITING

SKILLS

OVERVIEW
WRITING SKILL
By the end of the six year primary schooling, pupils will be
able to:
express their ideas clearly on paper in legible handwriting or to
communicate via the electronic media.
develop their writing ability beginning at the word and phrase levels
and progress to the sentence and paragraph levels. Write simple
compositions comprising several paragraphs.
be independent and proficient users of the language (although much
of the writing at this level is guided, the amount of control is relaxed
for pupils who are able and proficient in the language)

OVERVIEW
By the end of the six year primary schooling, pupils
will be able to:
write clearly and legibly including cursive writing.
use appropriate vocabulary and correct grammar to get
their meaning across clearly.
write for different purposes and for different audiences.

By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able to:
3.2

3.1 form letters and words in

neat legible print
including cursive writing.

Able to write in neat legible

print with correct spelling.

Able to write in neat cursive
writing.

write using
appropriate language,
form and style for a
range of purposes.

Able to transfer information

with guidance.

Able to write with guidance.

Able to punctuate correctly.
Able to spell words by applying spelling
words.

3.3 write and present ideas

through a variety of
media.

Able to create simple texts

using a variety of media with
guidance.
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The content standards of writing skills

through learning standards that have
carefully throughout primary schooling.

are achieved
been devised

In Level Two, pupils progress to cursive writing of words,

phrases and sentences in paragraphs. This is further
developed with copy writing activities and gradually
pupils are taught guided writing whereby pupils write
linear and non-linear texts using appropriate language,
form and style.
The use of various media is also encouraged and pupils
can create both linear and non-linear texts with
guidance as well as work independently.

Writing Skills
CONTENT STANDARDS

LEARNING STANDARDS

3.1
By the end of the 6-year 3.1.1 Able to write in neat
primary schooling,
legible print with correct
pupils will be able to
spelling:
form letters and
(a) phrases
words in neat legible
(b) sentences
print including cursive
(c) numerals in word form
writing.
3.1.2 Able to write in neat
cursive writing with correct
spelling:
(a) words
(b) phrases
(c) numerals in word form

Writing Skills
CONTENT STANDARDS

LEARNING STANDARDS

3.2 By the end of the 6

year
primary schooling,
pupils will be able to
write using appropriate
language, form and style
for a range of purposes.

3.2.1 Able to transfer

information with
guidance to complete:
(a) linear texts
(b) non-linear texts
3.2.2
Able to write with
guidance:
(a) labels
(b) notices
(c) messages
3.2.3
Able to punctuate
correctly:
(a) apostrophe
(b) speech markers

Writing Skills
CONTENT STANDARDS

LEARNING STANDARDS

3.3.
By the end of the 3.3.1
Able to create simple
6-year
texts using a variety of
primary schooling,
media with guidance :
pupils will be able to
write and present
(a) non-linear
ideas through a variety of (b) linear
media using appropriate
language, form and style.

PENMANSHIP
Penmanship is an essential skill
even in our age of
technology.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Although penmanship is rarely taught to primary school
pupils anymore -- largely because the rise of technology
has appeared to make its use irrelevant -- educators are
finding a connection between learning to write by hand
and learning in general.
Children who are taught fluency in handwriting also learn
how to think fluently. Students who are required to
produce written assignments actually producing
assignments that are superior both quantitatively and
qualitatively than those produced by students who turn
in typed assignments
(Newsweek, "The Writing on the Wall").

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Cursive Writing
Generally, due to the restrictions of time to teach
all the fundamentals of the language, cursive
writing has become a forgotten subject.
Cursive writing is a beautiful art form that
connects the letters with swoops and curls. It is
an art form that is unique to each individual
student. No two handwritten letters are the same
even though each word written is identical.
Cursive writing speaks about the students
personality and the type of day they are
experiencing.

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Why should we keep teaching pupils

cursive writing in schools?
Advantages of Learning Cursive
Writing

Cursive is faster than printing .

More efficient for taking notes .
Enables pupils to write faster
during examinations.
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In Cursive Writing:
All letters are slanted.
The letters within words are joined.
The pencil is not lifted from the paper until
the word is finished. (This is the most
important point to make)
Ending strokes are important not too long
or not too short also called connecting
strokes. These strokes determine the
spacing between words as well as
connecting each letter.
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Are you good at cursive writing?

Complete the sentence below.
Lets see how good your cursive
writing can be!

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How to Teach Penmanship

Cursive Writing lowercase
alphabets

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How to Teach Penmanship

Cursive Writing lowercase
alphabets

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How to Teach Penmanship

Cursive Writing Uppercase
alphabets

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How to Teach Penmanship

Cursive Writing Uppercase
alphabets

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ACTIVITY 1
Lets look at the label. What goes into a label?

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Choose a product. Produce a label.

chips

biscuit

soap powder

chocolate

Can you name the learning standard?

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ACTIVITY 2
SECRET MESSAGES

Imagine that you are Secret Agent Oso.

You are given a task to get information
from another fellow agent. You need to
decode the message. You have to write
the decoded message in full sentences
so that your superior will be able to read
and understand the message.
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Situation
Your fellow agent observed a strange
looking man and his activities at a
supermarket. He has recorded some
information on what he has seen in
the form of pictures. Decode the
message below.

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Message to your boss

Dear Mr. M,
Two hours ago
He is rather.....................

I shall never.....................
Yours sincerely,
Agent Oso
Can you name the learning standard?

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ACTIVITY 3
Write the phrases and sentences correctly.
1.Arthurs bicycle
2.Suhaimis red balloon
3.grandpas moustache
4.Lets go to the zoo.
5.Never go to the big bad wolfs den.

Can you name the learning standard?

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Why Learn Spelling?

Good spelling is a
fundamental part of a
pupil's literacy
development.
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How to learn spelling?

Teacher can encourage pupils learn
their spellings using the 'Look,
Cover, Write, Check' Method.
This method encourages the pupil
to 'see' and 'hear' the word, and to
see for himself if he spelt it right.
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'Look, Cover, Write, Check'

Method

Look at a spelling word.

Cover the spelling word.
Visualise the covered word in the mind.
Write the word from memory.
Check what has been written with the
uncovered word.
During their English lessons, pupils should
be given the opportunity to look for
patterns in the spelling of words.
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Other ways to learn spelling

Find words within the word (there's a 'hen'
in 'when'!)
Break the word up into smaller parts (Wed
+ nes + day = Wednesday)
Break the word up into sounds (th-a-nk)
Make up a silly sentence using the letters
(big elephants cause accidents under small
elephants spells 'because')
Say the word as it is written (like 'knight')
Find a word that rhymes with it: is the
spelling the same?
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Spelling Plural Nouns

Here are some general rules for
spelling plural nouns.
Nouns
Most nouns

Plural
add s

Examples
book, books; cup, cups; sprout,
sprouts

Most nouns that end in ch, sh, s, x, or z add es

box, boxes; bus, buses; prize, prizes

Most nouns that end in a vowel and y

add s

boy, boys; day, days; key, keys

Most nouns that end in a consonant

y becomes ies

baby, babies; country, countries; spy,

and y

spies

Most nouns that end in f or fe

f or fe becomes ves

elf, elves; loaf, loaves; thief, thieves

Most nouns that end in o

add s

kangaroo, kangaroos; piano, pianos;

video, videos

Certain nouns that end in a consonant

and o

add es

hero, heroes; potato, potatoes;

volcano, volcanoes

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Some Exceptions

Certain English nouns change a vowel sound

when they become plural. These include goose,
geese; man, men; mouse, mice; and tooth, teeth.
Some nouns don't change at all when they
become plural. These include deer, fish, sheep,
and species.
A few nouns have plural forms that are left from
Old English. These include child, children and ox,
oxen.
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Spelling rules
Help your pupils to learn spelling rules. There will always be
exceptions, but they work most of the time:
Most questions start with 'wh'
i before e except after c
Add 's' for plurals except those that end in 's', 'x', 'z', 'ch'
and 'sh', when you add 'es'
Nouns ending in 'y' change to 'ies'
Use 'ce' for nouns and 'se' for verbs (you advise with advice)
When adding 'ing' or 'ed', double the last consonant after a
short vowel sound (so drop becomes dropping or dropped)
Don't drop the final 'e' when you add 'ly' ('comely'), but do
drop it to add 'ing' ('coming')

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Spelling Tips
You hear with your ear.
The word separate has "a rat" in it
(separate).
Donkeys, monkeys - There are keys in
donkeys and monkeys.
The word here is also in its opposite there.
Villain - A villain is one who lives in a villa.
There is no word in English ending in -full
thankfu
gratefu
spoonf
except lfull.
l
ul

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CRAZY SPELLING
WE HAD GHUITI ON PHRIGDEIGH.
gh as in cough
ui as in build
ti as in nation

ph as in photo
igh as in high
iegh as in weigh

The sentence reads.

BOGGLE
How many words can you make?

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