Writing readiness

At this stage the child who wants to write in English needs the following: to develop his knowledge of the English language so that he can understand what he copies and knows how to say what he wants to say in a way that is intelligible to an English-using person. to develop an interest in wanting to write in English. to recognize that print is different from pictures and that it has meaning.

 to develop the ability to discriminate between shapes so that he can recognize and then make the fine distinctions that distinguish between letters like b, d, p and q.

to develop visual memory for shapes. This is important for remembering the spelling of words.
to develop the large muscles of his arm and hands and the fine muscles of his forefinger and thumb. This is to enable him to control his writing implements (pencil, chalk, ).

Readiness skills firmly grasp a pencil (sometimes called small motor or fine motor skill) have eye-hand coordination recognize alphabet letters can follow verbal instructions knows spatial and temporal words- above, below, on top of, and between have a dominant hand use memory skills to remember the formation perception skills to visual what the letter should look like

Stages in a

writing lesson

Writing

Prewriting
Stages in a writing lesson

Postwriting

Pre-writing
To get students ready to write. Begins when the topic is announced by the teacher. Classroom activities at this stage should help students develop ideas, clarify and enrich original ideas.

-Brainstorming Getting started can be difficult, so students divided into groups quickly produce words and ideas about the writing. Based on the topic, students call out as many ideas as possible. Do not evaluate or reject any, accept all suggestions. (through discussion: teacher or group)

-GoStop Prepare the students for free writing by explaining that they should write whatever thoughts enter their head from the moment that the teacher says "go" to the moment he/she says "stop. When the pen or pencil hits the paper it does not stop for pauses, erasures, or corrections. Eventually, most students begin to focus and the writing flows. Students then have the opportunity to develop these pre-writing ideas further or save them for another day.

-Mind-maping May be a whole class or group activity. The activity begins with the teacher writing the key word in the centre of the board. The ideas generated are written around the keyword and linked to it or sub-categories of it.

-Listing List every idea associated with the topic and produce as long a list as possible. Ensure that students have record all the ideas and do not forget some relevant and interesting ideas.

Writing
-Drafting After students have generated some ideas, they must decide what they will say about their chosen topic. Students develop an initial plan for the product they will compose. As they do so, they must consider the purpose, audience, point of view, and format because these elements have implications for both the planning and the drafting of the written product. To develop an initial plan for drafting, students organize the information they have generated during pre-writing by using such structures as outlines, story frames, maps, diagrams, charts, and concept webs.

-Feedback/Conferencing Important stage. Students receive most guidance on how to improve their writing skills through the questions and comments raised by teacher or peers. The student discovers, clarifies and refines what he writes.

Rewriting/revising
Encourage students to think as their re-write, not merely copy the draft. They should concentrate on improving their composition by making the meaning clearer and their writing interesting. Encourage students to add ideas.

Post-writing
Students may share their written work. Sharing is a useful post- writing activity since it provides students with an immediate audience. Read aloud. (to yourself, peers or public) Students may choose to publish their writing.