Developing writing skills — Laser Learning Awards Other Life Skills Qualification Foundations for Learning Revision
This element focuses on the earliest stages of written communication, enabling learners to grasp that marks, symbols, signs, or words carry meaning. It pro
Topic Synopsis
This element focuses on the earliest stages of written communication, enabling learners to grasp that marks, symbols, signs, or words carry meaning. It provides a foundation for personal expression and interaction, often using sensory and repetitive activities to build recognition and intentional mark-making. Practical application includes using these skills to convey needs, preferences, or basic information in everyday contexts.
Key Concepts & Core Principles
- Personal Development: Understanding one's own strengths, weaknesses, and goals. This includes self-reflection and setting achievable targets for improvement.
- Communication Skills: Developing the ability to express needs, listen to others, and engage in simple conversations. This covers both verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Numeracy Basics: Applying basic number skills in everyday contexts, such as counting, recognizing numbers, and handling money.
- Daily Living Skills: Managing personal care, following routines, and making choices about health and safety.
- Social Interaction: Building relationships, working with others, and understanding social norms in different settings.
Exam Tips & Revision Strategies
- In portfolio-based assessment, provide multiple examples of the learner using marks or symbols across different contexts to show consistent understanding rather than a one-off instance.
- Use a multi-sensory approach during learning and assessment, such as tracing letters in sand or matching symbols to real objects, to reinforce the connection between marks and meaning.
- For non-verbal learners, accept a range of communication methods (e.g., pointing, eye gaze, or using symbol cards) as valid evidence of intentional mark/symbol use.
- For portfolio-based assessment, include dated samples of mark-making that show development from unstructured to deliberate attempts to convey meaning.
- Use real-life scenarios to demonstrate writing skills, such as 'writing' a shopping list with symbols or 'signing' a greeting card, to show functional application.
- Build a portfolio of evidence by dating and annotating examples of mark-making, showing progression from random marks to deliberate communication.
- Use a variety of writing materials (pencils, markers, paint, digital apps) to find what works best for the learner's motor skills.
- Encourage learners to label drawings or objects with symbols, single words, or initial sounds; these can be used as assessment evidence.
Common Misconceptions & Mistakes to Avoid
- Believing that all marks are random and have no communicative intent, leading to undirected scribbling without connection to meaning.
- Confusing similar-looking symbols or signs (e.g., mixing up a ‘smiley face’ with a ‘sad face’) and consequently misinterpreting basic emotional cues.
- Over-reliance on adult interpretation without developing personal ownership of the marks, expecting others to assign meaning rather than producing deliberate communication.
- Learners may believe that any mark on paper is 'writing' without intentionality, failing to differentiate between random scribbling and communicative marks.
- Often confuse drawing a picture as equivalent to writing words, not understanding that symbols and letters represent specific sounds or concepts.
- Believing that only perfect letter formation counts as writing, which can discourage early attempts at mark-making.
Examiner Marking Points
- Award credit for demonstrating awareness that a specific symbol or word represents a known object or action (e.g., pointing to a ‘toilet’ sign when asked).
- Look for evidence of intentional mark-making with a clear purpose, such as drawing a line under a desired item or scribbling to represent a message.
- Assess the ability to use at least one symbol, sign, or word consistently in a familiar setting to communicate a simple need or choice.
- Award credit for demonstrating awareness that marks convey meaning by pointing to a written word or symbol and indicating its purpose (e.g., 'That says exit').
- Provide evidence of intentional mark-making to communicate a simple message, such as a vertical line for '1' or a drawn circle for 'ball'.
- Show progression from random scribbling to controlled, purpose-driven marks that an observer can interpret with context.
- Award credit for demonstrating recognition that specific symbols or pictures represent objects or ideas (e.g., matching a picture of a cup to a real cup).
- Award credit for producing controlled marks (e.g., lines, circles, scribbles) to represent a thought or object.