Handwriting

Week 1: The Basics- Grip, Posture and Paper Placement + Name Practice

This week in class we are learning about the basics of handwriting. Grip, posture, and paper placement are important basic skills that will help students set themselves up for their best handwriting.

Grip:

Having a functional grip for handwriting is important for early writers. Writers should be able to move the pencil easily using their fingers while resting the larger muscles of their arm. This comes with time, but we should support young writers with the placement of their fingers to help them develop.

1. Watch the "Get a Grip!" video to see a proper grip on the pencil.

Video: Get A Grip!: https://youtu.be/K1v4wVaEGqA

2. Look at the Picking Up My Pencil sheet for more pencil grip tips.

Posture:

Writing doesn't just involve the fingers. Appropriate posture helps support the body, arm, elbow, and wrist to allow the fingers to do their job. Feet should be supported on the floor or on a footrest. Knees and hips should be at 90 degrees and the arm should rest comfortably on the desk.

Paper Placement:

The paper should tilt up on the side of the dominant hand. This is especially important for left-handed students who may hook their wrist to complete the left to right handwriting. Proper paper placement can help with wrist positioning.

1. See left-handed paper placement below for more tips on how to set up left-handed students for successful handwriting.

File attachments: (These files require a CVUSD e-mail to access, you can print them and send home, or download the file and attach them for parents)

Picking Up My Pencil: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HI3szPPZYABeyvve0wB3uR7BrJVhVQFT/view?usp=sharing

Left Handed Paper Placement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Aj8UxoUpZcLg2ML_YH7lcR5BGiqIvOh/view?usp=sharing

Week 2: Review of Frog Jump Capitals

This week in class we are reviewing letter formation for capital letters.

It is important to learn proper formation early on so that as students learn and grow they can build muscle memory for neat and quick writing. We will learn and review letters in groups that help us practice similar formation and make it so we can get good at that formation.

One way to reinforce proper formation is Wet-Dry Try. Wet dry try uses a chalkboard build early success with fading tracing cues. Using small pieces of chalk supports good grip habits, and chalk has increased drag on the chalkboard to increase sensory information for better learning. Check out the Intro to Wet-Dry-Try video to learn more about how you can use this. https://youtu.be/K3s612fR90U You can also look at WET-DRY-TRY Explanation for written instructions.

Bringing handwriting practice beyond a pencil and paper is the best way to help writers learn quickly and efficiently. Some of my other favorite multisensory activities for handwriting are on the choice board. These activities can be used to reinforce any capital letter.

Formation is the most important aspect of early writing. Lines will become smoother and more refined with practice, but proper formation must be relearned if bad habits form early. It is OK if you do not form all of the letters using this formation, but top-down left-right formation in the most efficient way to form letters, and the best practice for teaching new writers. There is a capital letter formation sheet below to guide you with formation and language to use while cuing your student to write capital letters. You can also help your students to sing this catchy tune to remember to start all of their letters at the top: https://youtu.be/kpNFyXiMV7k

A quick tip on tracing: Tracing is a great way for struggling writers to find success. You can make a model in highlighter for students to trace. Avoid making dots for students to connect as we want them to approach each stroke as a whole smooth line. Often early writing is a bit shaky, and that is increased and prolonged with a dotted model for students to trace.

File attachments: (These files require a CVUSD e-mail to access, you can print them and send home, or download the file and attach for parents)

Wet Dry Try Explanation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kw3n0s9TO9cJcuZzsqpcHB_X_15-PTBK/view?usp=sharing

HWT Capital Letter Formation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oI8eZoDN2qtV-0MT0A32jl7VL6JPRWVk/view?usp=sharing

Multisensory Choice Board: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q448z_HuHWUMtTnHYJ5BKVO4psZnFmEo/view?usp=sharing

Week 3: Review of Starting Corner Capitals

This week in class we are reviewing letter formation for capital letters.

It is important to learn proper formation early on so that as students learn and grow they can build muscle memory for neat and quick writing. We will learn and review letters in groups that help us practice similar formation and make it so we can get good at that formation.

One way to reinforce proper formation is Wet-Dry Try. Wet dry try uses a chalkboard build early success with fading tracing cues. Using small pieces of chalk supports good grip habits, and chalk has increased drag on the chalkboard to increase sensory information for better learning. Check out the Intro to Wet-Dry-Try video to learn more about how you can use this. https://youtu.be/K3s612fR90U You can also look at WET-DRY-TRY Explanation for written instructions.

Bringing handwriting practice beyond a pencil and paper is the best way to help writers learn quickly and efficiently. Some of my other favorite multisensory activities for handwriting are on the choice board. These activities can be used to reinforce any capital letter.

Formation is the most important aspect of early writing. Lines will become smoother and more refined with practice, but proper formation must be relearned if bad habits form early. It is OK if you do not form all of the letters using this formation, but top-down left-right formation in the most efficient way to form letters, and the best practice for teaching new writers. There is a capital letter formation sheet below to guide you with formation and language to use while cuing your student to write capital letters. You can also help your students to sing this catchy tune to remember to start all of their letters at the top: https://youtu.be/kpNFyXiMV7k

A quick tip on tracing: Tracing is a great way for struggling writers to find success. You can make a model in highlighter for students to trace. Avoid making dots for students to connect as we want them to approach each stroke as a whole smooth line. Often early writing is a bit shaky, and that is increased and prolonged with a dotted model for students to trace.

File attachments: (These files require a CVUSD e-mail to access, you can print them and send home, or download the file and attach for parents)

Wet Dry Try Explanation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kw3n0s9TO9cJcuZzsqpcHB_X_15-PTBK/view?usp=sharing

HWT Capital Letter Formation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oI8eZoDN2qtV-0MT0A32jl7VL6JPRWVk/view?usp=sharing

Multisensory Choice Board: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q448z_HuHWUMtTnHYJ5BKVO4psZnFmEo/view?usp=sharing