Before introducing alphabet letters, start your child’s writing journey with our free, prewriting worksheets series!
This set of prewriting worksheets is the second in an extensive prewriting series! Get the first set (plus our ‘Pencil Safety” and “How to Hold a Pencil” guides) in our series here. The upcoming sets in this series will take your child through various straight and curved lines, first by tracing and then by writing. Keep your eyes peeled for the next set in this series! (You can now find set #3 here.)
What is Prewriting?
For older children and adults, prewriting is the process in which one would prepare to write something, such as brainstorming various ideas on a particular essay topic. For younger children, prewriting is the process in which a child begins to develop the skills needed for writing. This involves skills such as learning how to hold a pencil, how to use a pencil, and slowly learning how to make shapes and strokes necessary for writing complex letters.
Why is Prewriting Important?
Although a child could definitely begin tracing alphabet letters from day one, prewriting can make this overwhelming task much easier! As adults, we know that doing things step by step is more helpful than doing everything all at once, right?
This is what prewriting is all about: establishing a helpful, step-by-step foundation for writing.
In prewriting a child first learns how to hold a pencil. Mastering a proper pencil grip is crucial to obtaining good writing skills. I have seen firsthand how a poor pencil grip can result in slow writing and poor handwriting. It can literally impact the rest of a child’s life! If your young learner needs help with this skill, be sure to check out our “How to Hold a Pencil” guide.
Once a child has learned how to properly hold a pencil, prewriting takes him/her through various strokes, one at a time. For example, instead of making two slanted lines and one horizontal line (capital letter A) all at one time, he/she would first learn how to make a vertical line, then a horizontal line, and finally a slanted line–all on different days! Learning step by step always takes the level of overwhelm down to much more manageable levels!
Tips on Getting Started with Prewriting
Before jumping into prewriting, you can talk to your child about writing. Take the time to show him/her what you can do with writing: write your name, write a note to someone, write a story, etc. Help your child understand that writing is very special and helpful for everyday life. You may even want to pull out a book and read it together, explaining that someone wrote this book so families can read it together!
Another thing to keep in mind is setting the tone for an interesting and light-hearted learning experience. It’s easy to find yourself stressed about your child’s performance. Don’t let yourself do this! Maintain patience, perseverance, and a cheerful attitude! Your child will learn at his/her own pace–and that’s okay!
Once both you and your child have mentally prepared for writing, make sure your little one has secured a nice pencil grip. You can find more details about that here. If all is good there, it’s time to grab your worksheets!
At the beginning of each set in this prewriting series, it would be helpful to show your child how to do one or two lines as an example. As your little one is tracing, make sure to observe his/her posture. Is he/she relaxed? Does he/she have a comfortable pencil grip? If you find that your young learner may be slipping into poor habits, it might be a good idea to revisit our pencil guides. If your he/she is tense and isn’t able to relax, it may be time to examine what’s going on. Ask your child how he/she is feeling and find out if something is troubling him/her. Sometimes it could be us! Are we giving our child enough room to breathe and relax? Or hovering over him/her and micro-managing on too intense of a level?
Another thing to observe is the direction of your child’s stroke. In this set each line should be traced from left to right. If a child ends up forming the habit of drawing lines in the wrong direction, he/she will most likely end up writing more slowly than other children.
Above all, encourage your new learner and remember to keep things fun and light-hearted!
Beyond Prewriting
Stay tuned for the next prewriting set coming out next week! (You can now find set #3 here.)
If you’re wondering where you’ll start after your prewriting journey ends, take the time to check out these free capital-uppercase letters tracing worksheets and small-lowercase letters tracing worksheets. If you’re looking for something a little more comprehensive, check out my capital-uppercase letters workbook and my small-lowercase letters workbook!
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