ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors bring together education and paediatric occupational therapy qualifications and experience to explore how children actually record their writing on a page or a screen. This has, in recent times, become a ‘hot topic’ and source of confusion for many Early Childhood (EC) educators and Early Years (EY) school teachers. Twenty or perhaps only ten years ago, learning to write by hand was an important milestone associated with starting school. Handwriting instruction began with pencils and printing (manuscript), with children graduating to pen and cursive script as they moved into the fourth year of school. According to the Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, ACARA, 2016a) this is still the expectation of Australian schools. However, in the last five or so years things have changed rapidly, as tablets and smart phones have become commonplace in many homes, computers more visible in EC settings and EY classrooms, and the curriculum increasingly crowded. The accountability agenda that has resulted from high stakes testing has also impacted what teachers in schools prioritise. However, to be literate in twenty-first-century society requires the ability to flexibly create and interpret both print and digital texts. Most people use both keyboarding and handwriting at some stage throughout their day – as well as texting on their phone and/or using a touchscreen on a digital tablet. We provide a case for explicit instruction in both handwriting and keyboarding, as a means to support effective writing. Slow or awkward handwriting or keyboarding can hamper a writer’s ability to record their messages efficiently. We acknowledge that handwriting and keyboarding are secretarial/editorial elements of writing and encourage the reader to consider this chapter alongside Chapters 6 (authorial skills) and 7 (spelling).
