WRITING
SKILLS
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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)
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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.
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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 are achieved
through learning standards that have been devised
carefully throughout primary schooling.
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.
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Writing Skills
CONTENT STANDARDS
LEARNING STANDARDS
3.1 By the end of the 6-year
primary schooling,
pupils will be able to
form letters and
words in neat legible
print including cursive
writing.
3.1.1 Able to write in neat legible print
with correct spelling:
(a) phrases
(b) sentences
(c) numerals in word form
3.1.2 Able to write in neat cursive writing
with correct spelling:
(a) words
(b) phrases
(c) numerals in word form
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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
3.2.4
Able to spell words by applying
spelling rules.
Writing Skills
CONTENT STANDARDS
LEARNING STANDARDS
3.3.
3.3.1
By the end of the 6-year
primary schooling,
pupils will be able to
write and present
ideas through a variety of
media using appropriate
language, form and style.
Able to create simple texts using
a variety of media with guidance :
(a) non-linear
(b) linear
PENMANSHIP
Penmanship is an essential
skill even in our age of
technology.
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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 student’s
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. Let’s 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
Let’s 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 except full.
thankful
grateful
spoonful
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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?
A
T
I
E
C
S
R
O
I
H
C
A
T
R
E
P
S
G
D
R
E
A
W
I
N
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Tunku Ireneza Marina Tunku Mazlan
ireneza@moe.gov.my
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