MECHANICS OF

WRITING AND
PENMANSHIP TSL
3107

PENMANSHIP
What is penmanship?
1.- Is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument (pencil,
pen, crayon, brush)
2.- Techniques of good handwriting include:
space between letters, words, paragraphs
alignment
proportion, size, height of letters (upper case, lower case letters)
direction of pen movements

MECHANIC OF WRTING

Mechanics is the term we use to

describe the technical aspects of
writing, such as spelling,
punctuation, capitalization.

EARLY WRITING
What is early writing stage?
1.- A stage where a child begins to develop basic understanding of the
mechanics of writing.
2.-Mechanics of writing include parts of speech, rules of grammar and
punctuations)

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION & PARAGRAPH WRITING

What are the main principles in teaching children to write?
1.- provide meaningful context for writing
2.- give children insights into writing
3.- develop childrens curiosity and thinking skills
4.- read to children

DEVELOPMENTAL WRITING
What is developmental writing stage?
1.- The stage where a child progresses into a deeper understanding of the
mechanics of writing which includes the following:
spelling
grammar
text organisation and cohesion

SPELLING
What should a teacher focus on when teaching spelling?
1.- teaching the relationship between the most common phonemes (sounds)
of English & graphemes (letters)
2.- teaching the most common words.
3.- developing visual memory for shapes of words.
4.- developing relevant dictionary skills.
5.- helping pupils devise ways of helping themselves to remember common
but some trouble words.

GRAMMAR
Why should a teacher teach grammar?
1.- To enable pupils to be better writers
2.- Teachers can refer to a range of resources for ideas to teach grammar
meaningfully and enjoyable.
3.- Dictation as a writing exercise is recommendable in order to improve on
grammar

TEXT STRUCTURE & ORGANISATION

What is text structure?
1.- Refers to how information is organised in a text or passage
2.- Information is organised according to certain patterns/format.

What are the common text structures?

cause and effect
choronological
compare and contrast
order of importance
problem and solution
sequence/process writing
spatial/descriptive writing