Help with ELS Programme - is it suitable in this situation ?

[Jackalee]

Hi everybody. I am a newbie and this is my first post.

My DS is in Yr1 and started on the ELS after the Christmas hols. I have read a few of the discussions that have already been posted on this subject so I don't see the programme as a negative thing, but is it the right programme for my DS.

I have been told that he has been put on the programme purely for his handwriting. Basically he doesn't like writing, I think he is frustrated that he can't write as quick as he reads. He is confidently reading and understanding ORT book band 10. He reads at every opportunity. He is a very confident child.

My concern is that from what I have seen so far the work is really basic. I am struggling to make the home tasks interesting and have seen very little writing practice. Is it right to have him on a programme for this many weeks when it is designed mainly for reading - not writing?
Will it work or would some other programme / method benefit him more ?

Any help / opinions would help a great deal.

PS. The teacher who put him forward for this left for New Zealand 2 days after she told me about it !!! Don't really want to put the new teacher on the spot while she is still getting to know the class.

I think this sounds like it would be worth popping in to school and clarifying with the teacher.

I do literacy intervention in secondary and don't specifically know details of ELS.

But the situation you describe does sound rather odd. Being frustrated at not being able to write quickly is not unusual at this age, and not enjoying writing is common too.

It's great that he is reading so well and loving that.

To encourage him to see the benefits of writing, you could get him to tell you a story and you write (or type) for him.

Also, at this age he is old enough to start learning to touch-type for himself.

Thanks for your reply Roisin. He is a perfectionist - good and bad at times. If he can't do a task first time he doesn't want to know. He is a quick learner in most things. This is the problem with his writing.

I am tying to encourage his writing by making it fun. eg. making crosswords out of keywords (he loves these), worksheets using footballers names etc.

The ELS seems so basic I am struggling to use the keywords, its difficult to make 'and' 'to' and 'the' interesting at his level - any ideas anyone ?

Roisin, he knows his way around a keyboard but this is not encouraging him to write to enable him to complete his class work.

Hi, I would be questioning the need for this at all at this age.
My dd is well beyond level 10 but the writing they are asked to do is very basic...write out a list of your toys, take a photo of your family and label family members.
They are just starting formal writing of cvc words (mad and sad last week)and that is all that is expected at this stage
This whole forum is very interesting in that it reveals a massive disparity at Year 1 level
Our class has no spelling to learn to be tested . They are encouraged to look, cover say key words e.g. look say like
I was amazed to see in the HW post on here that someone has leather, transparent, waterproof etc to learn.
Whsmith do some nice quick revision booklets so we are doing Year 2 spelling as I have the same problem that she wants to write at her reading level but as the NC spelling levels go sooooooooooo slowly, she gets very upset at not being able to be accurate.
I feel I know nothing about primary stuff except what I pick up from you guys here but to me I would think that this ELS is maybe not the way forward
Can you see the Head and ask for 'advice'
Sounds like you are doing really well with all your ideas

Thanks vickyconfused.

DS is in year 1/2. Last week they were asked to write out a poem, but the paper they were given was half plain paper with 4 lines at the bottom of the page. He completed 1 line - badly. The laminated card they have been given for the ELS does not have a base line to write on either, just boxes. I am going to try and ask about this today, how can they expect him to learn to write in a straight line on plain paper !!

Regards the head - hmm !! She is also quite new (first head position). I have only had one experience with her so far and that was to complain about a TA who had literally dragged my ds on his knees into school one morning in front of me. I could then hear him crying in the cloakroom for ages. So I complained, but I ended up blubbing (had a death in the family)and made a complete fool of myself and she has not spoken to me since and has actually walked away from me when I have tried to speak to her.

I agree with you, there seems to be a wide range of expections / needs for year 1. Its great that they identify these needs, but then they should be helped for that specific need. I don't know enough about this programme to know if this will fulfill his needs. Does it get more intense towards the end? I can only go off what he has had so far.

Thanks for the tip regarding WHSmith, I will take a look.

Incidentally, you mentioned my ideas. The cross word generator is online and is great, you can input up to 20 words and generates the crossword, I then add the clues myself. Here is the link :

www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/create.html

ELS gives extra practice in phonic blends, to help with both reading and writing. If your ds is reluctant to write, it may be that the old teacher had problems assessing his writing at all.
I wouldn't have said it was appropriate to have your ds on this programme purely for handwriting, though. It might be worth asking how they they screened and selected children for ELS this time, particularly since the old teacher has gone. Who is overseeing this strategy, then? If it is the Literacy co-ordinator (like me), he/she will be able to explain this.

Thanks Feenie. There are 2 TA's handling the sessions on alternate days. They specifically told me when I questioned whether it would be too easy "......... is different, he is on this just for his handwriting". I think I will ask a few more questions.

The poem I mentioned previously that he didn't finish in class was sent home to complete that night. I have since asked his new teacher for something I can work on at home, nothing heavy, some ideas to make it fun but not had anything back yet.

Feenie - being a Literacy co-ordinator, are there any websites, books to help with his handwriting that you can recommend?

Anything handwriting-y from WHSmiths would give extra practice.

This is good for handwriting practice; the earlier ones have patterns which are helpful for developing motor control to help with letter formation. (Don't be put off by the name sen teacher - I use it all the time in the classroom for extra practice.)

My laptop at school has some other websites on it - can let you know later. Am at home looking after my poorly toddler today!

Thank you very much Feenie. I like the look of the SEN shapes, we can have fun with those, different colours, different medium etc.

Vickyconfused also recommended the WHSmith ones - will definately take a look.

If you have any others that would be brilliant.

Hope your LO feels better soon.

Kind regards

Thanks. You are very welcome!

More here:

interactive letter writing demo (scroll down)

this one - costs 20 pounds to print, but you can view the animations for free.

and another

Hi, I often deliver ELS as part of my remit. The main reason for being part of an ELS group is to boost spelling/reading. However, it can be useful to boost self esteem if the child needs a little nudge to consolidate knowledge. I can see how it would help a great deal with handwriting, as it involves daily practice in a small group and the TA/teacher involved will be able to focus on letter formation.

Most of our lesson 'starters' are based on letter formation on individual whiteboards. Where I am aware that an extra focus on handwriting is needed (and it may only be certain letter shapes) I am able to provide extra guidance and 'positives' for the child concerned.

It all must come down to a talk to the teacher - a 'savvy' delivery of ELS can boost the child's achievement in a variety of areas.

I also think that the handwriting practice described in posts above will be invaluable in getting fine motor skills and motor memory in place.

Feenie - thank you very, very much. The sites you gave are wonderful for a lot of things, not just the writing.

My apologies I haven't replied, my PC crashed last week and its taken a while !!!

To Bramblebooks and all who replied, I spoke to ds' literacy teacher last week, she was great. She explained it all in a lot more detail and together we worked on ideas for me to include more writing at home.

THE DIFFERENCE IT HAS MADE IS UNBELIEVABLE ! Ds is concentrating in class instead of being bored, getting more involved in his lesson. His homework has been a dream to complete instead of an uphill slog. His teacher says he loves the 'Pip Club' and at home he has a framed photo of him and PIP at the side of his bed - what more can I say, its worked. Hats off to ELS

My initial reservation was the length of the programme and if it was just for his handwriting, could we not have worked together in some other way and let another child have the opportunity. I take it all back - leave them to it !

Bramblebooks, you are right, his self esteem has definately been given a boost.

Thankyou all for your support.

Feenie - I hope your little one has fully recovered and is now back to full throttle LOL