First Writing and Handwriting: Foundation Study Guide
Writing helps children to share ideas. It begins with drawing and speaking and grows into sentences.
Every Australian state and territory uses its own handwriting style for school, so check which one your child's school teaches. The basics are the same: sit up straight, hold the pencil with a relaxed three-finger grip, and form each letter from the right starting point.
Writing is also about ideas. Foundation children draw, talk about their picture and then write one or two sentences. They learn that a sentence starts with a capital letter, has spaces between words and ends with a full stop.
Building strength and control
Before writing, strengthen small muscles with play dough, threading beads, cutting with scissors, tearing paper and drawing. Draw patterns such as waves, zigzags and loops to practice pencil control. A lot of writing difficulty is really muscle fatigue, so keep sessions short.
| Activity | What it builds |
|---|---|
| Play dough | Hand strength |
| Threading beads | Finger control |
| Cutting with scissors | Two-hand coordination |
| Drawing patterns | Pencil control |
From a picture to a sentence
Ask your child to tell you about their picture, then help them say a sentence out loud before writing it. Say it again for each word and write the sounds they hear.
A picture of the dog.
'My dog likes to run.'
Capital letter, spaces, full stop.
Point to each word.
Capital letters and full stops
Capital letters are used for the first letter of a sentence, for names (Mia, Sydney) and for 'I'. Full stops show where a sentence ends. Make a poster with the words 'Capital at the start, full stop at the end' and use it for every piece of writing.
Worked examples and common mistakes
Child writes: 'my dog is big'. Improve it with the child: My dog is big. Add a capital and a full stop. Common mistakes: letters of different sizes, starting letters from the bottom, writing words with no spaces and reversing letters. Use a finger as a spacer, and use lined paper with a dotted midline for letter height.
Check your understanding: model answers
1. Only the first letter is a capital, for example Zoe. 2. I like ice cream. (capital I, spaces and a full stop). 3. Check there is a capital letter at the start, spaces between the words and a full stop at the end.
✨ Key Takeaways
- Strong hands and good posture help writing.
- Say the sentence before writing it.
- A sentence needs a capital, spaces and a full stop.
- Practise little and often.
💬 Questions for Discussion & Reflection
- Write your name with a capital letter at the start.
- Write 'I like ice cream' correctly.
- Draw a picture and write a sentence about it.
Print lined paper for handwriting →