Why do we learn to write?

I was in a class of newly minted year 3s the other day and, as part of our lesson on full stops and capital letters, I asked them why we learned writing. The children had many answers including:

• so that our work is neater
• so we know how to write out letters
• to make our hands stronger

One child suggested it was so they could learn to write letters. That was the only answer that came close to addressing the real purpose of writing - communication! It reminded me of another time when I asked some year 5s why we learned maths (apparently so that they could teach the times tables to their children!)

Experiences like these have reinforced for me the importance of making sure that students know the "why" and not just the "what".