Cranmore Foundation
Stage
Writing Workshop
Developmental Writing - What is it?
• Often referred to as emergent writing
• It is the opposite of copy writing
• Children have ownership of their writing from the beginning.
What does developmental writing
look like?
Mark making- selecting paper
and pencil and watching the
effect produced
Some evidence of left to right and top to bottom. Some letter
like shapes emerging.
Letter like symbols and some letters from his name are
being used. He was able to say what he was going to write
but unable to read back. He knows that writing conveys
meaning but is yet to understand it has permanence.
Clearer identifiable letters. There is some phoneme match
and the corresponding grapheme was pointed out on an
alphabet strip.
Beginning to show ability of hearing some final
as well as initial phonemes within words.
Phonetically plausible letter combinations, writing
to convey meaning and demonstrating
understanding that words are separate units
Some key words spelt accurately. Finger spaces,
capital letters and full stops.
The practice Guidance for the foundation Stage
• “The complexity of writing can seem overwhelming because it
draws upon a mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes all at once:
knowledge of the purpose of writing and the different ways
writing can be represented, a range of skills, and a willingness
and interest in ‘having a go’ at writing.
• A writer needs to:
• understand what the writing is for, its purpose, which could be
to make someone feel happy, to give information, to explain
something, to be able to make something
• have some sense of who the writing is for, the audience, which
could be the practitioner, a friend, Mum, Dad, brother, sister,
a character in a book
• gather ideas, thinking about what they want to write
• draw upon a store of words and ideas
• have sufficiently well developed motor control of their arm, wrist,
core stability, hand and fingers to hold a pencil effectively,
controlling its movement and forming letters, or be able to use a
keyboard
• know about the purpose and organisation of print, the alphabetic
code and words as units of meaning
• know about and use letter-sound relationships for writing
• write a few, then an increasing number of those tricky words
which are essential for fluent writing, e.g. is, was, the
• be able to place an idea, action, or statement within a sentence
•
use the conventional features of different
genres: list, label, letter, caption.
• The importance of developing language skills
• The thinking that needs to take place before writing, and
the quality of the writing, will be affected by the child’s
ability to express their thoughts and ideas orally, and then
to redirect these oral skills into producing written text.
The quality and richness of the child’s expressive language
reveals how well they can structure a sentence, and this
forms the basis of written sentence construction.
• Children’s abilities to express their ideas fluently, drawing
upon a rich store of words, expressions, sentences and
different types of language, have been created by many,
many conversations with interested adults – most likely to
have been their mothers and fathers, other family members
and practitioners. “
• Being listened to at home, taking part in conversations
regularly and playing with an adult builds up children’s listening
stamina, and helps them listen closely to what they hear in the
setting.
• These experiences form a rich store of language, which can be
drawn upon as children engage in talk, understand what they
hear, have read to them in books, and begin to engage in the
processes of writing.
How do we as adults support this process?
• Modelling writing – notes, diaries, shopping lists, letters, filling in
forms, sending e-mails
• Opportunities - access to mark making materials – chalks
outside, paint brushes in water outside, cornflour, writing in trays of
sand using chop sticks, tips of feathers etc
encouraging them to write labels for their toys
notes to daddy, party food lists/ guest lists
a diary
fine motor activities – number counting on
fingers, finger puppets, tweezers, pegs
core stability
•
Giving them encouragement and support and showing that
WRITING IS FUN!
Taking them to the next step
• Talking to them is the key
• When appropriate use your read writing to compare and above all
encourage

When they are at that stage – 1. create a purpose for writing
going to write
2. think and say what they are
3. help them to sound out words
4. think about letter formation
5. think spaces between words
6. capital letters and full stops
Sentences
•
•
•
•
Think of the sentence prior to writing.
How many words?
Segment the word into phonemes
Write down the corresponding grapheme. If
unsure, use an alphabet strip
• Keep re reading. What’s the next word?
• Green for first capital letter, red for full
stop.
• Shared writing
The big problem !
We must not stop the flow of writing
We must encourage and not criticise
We must value their writing at all times
“ I can’t do it, can you write it for me?”
Our response ‘ Have a go ’
If unsure, encourage any letters so the flow continues!
Today’s activity
• Spend a moment reading the sheet which explains in detail the
activity
• Consider the points we have discussed
• Above all, enjoy the activity