Early writing experiences:
Early experiences of writing and drawing will have a significant influence on children’s views and feelings about writing as they get older and learn the necessary skills to become successful writers. Children must be supported in their earliest years to develop a positive view of themselves as writers, develop an interest in the purpose of writing, and begin to recognise the power of writing as a tool for communication.
The early years team at the National Literacy Trust have created this practitioner guidance to support you to nurture and develop a love for writing and mark-making in the early years.
Using our early years writing guidance
This Supporting writing in the early years resource:
- Outlines why writing in the early years is important
- Explores how to prepare early years children to become successful writers
- Includes advice on how to support children to develop a love for writing
- Provides high-quality tips on how to put it into practice
Guidance in practice
To see how this guidance is applied in book-based learning sessions, take a look at our resource Stanley's Stick: imaginative early writing. This dynamic teaching resource uses an everyday object (a stick!) and a high-quality text to explore mark-making and to inspire young children in their early writing.
Supporting learning at home
To enable the families you work with to support their children's early writing at home, our Words for Life website may be useful:
Early years reading guidance
To strengthen literacy practice in your setting you might also find it useful to explore our Supporting reading in the early years: practitioner guidance.