Reversals

Reversals

Helping children to read and write letters the right way round.

Some teaching ideas

Using precision teaching

See the PT item on the home page

Examples of precision teaching probe sheets

b/d discrimination (bin,din) (see-say. Later: hear-write.)

reversed numeral (3) (for PT, just say the words) Print from the File menu.

reversed letter (s) Print from the File menu

blank 70-box probe Print from the File menu. For handmade reversal probes.

Do reversals indicate dyslexia?

Not necessarily. Research shows that reversals are part of the normal developmental sequence. Most children having literacy difficulties are still at that earlier stage of development. They need more focused help to get past their confusions, and to learn to discriminate between correct and mirrored symbols.

Learning to discriminate between mirrored and correct letters/numerals:

Some people say that you shouldn’t confuse children by putting b and d next to each other like this. That’s OK for initial teaching. But if a child has got thoroughly muddled about which is which, I believe that he or she needs to practise discriminating between the correct and the mirrored symbol.

Use directional pictograms which have to face the reading direction

I'm suggesting that we fix the direction of a symbol in terms of the reading direction. So b is a boot walking in the reading direction, d is a duck, also moving in the reading direction.

Boot walks in the reading direction

Duck swims in the reading direction

(Dinosaur would be better if you can draw one. )

Directionality of the symbol relates to the reading direction. So ask the child to show you what that direction is: sliding fingers>>>>>.

Before you start any probes for b and d, teach directionality with pictograms e.g. boot and dinosaur moving only in the reading direction, (toe first, or head first)

Make cut-outs of the letter shape with boot pictogram on one side, dinosaur on the other. (One way it's boot, the other way it's dinosaur)

Use cut-outs of the characters to show walking in the reading direction (Yes!) and then flip over to try walking in the wrong direction... (but then dinosaur turns into boot; boot turns into dinosaur)

Most reversed letters are meaningless, e.g. 3, S, g.

For these, make cut-outs with a blank background (or a "Uh-oh" face) So, when you flip over you see that it isn't an S any more.

Suggestions for reversals in writing.

First of all use the see-say probes above, so the child can discriminate between the visual forms.

When the reversed symbol means something else (bd, pq, p9, pb, mw)

Example: b/d discrimination.

Hear-write:

The child writes b or d when you dictate the pictogram names:

Dictate boot or duck in random sequence. the child just writes b or d into the blank probe sheet. (You can use one of the PT sheets to give you a randomish sequence of b and d)

Next step:

The child writes b or d into the sheet when you dictate rhyming CVCs.

You dictate from the bin/din or big/dig sheet, and the child writes b or d into the blank grid. Give immediate Yes! or Uh-oh! for each item. One minute probe and charting.

Then make your own dictation probes with any words with initial b or d (you could use the bin/din sheet to give a randomish sequence of bs and ds).

Use the same idea for other confusions like p/9, p/q, m/w, p/b, when mirroring creates a different meaningful symbol.

When the reversed symbol is meaningless...

E.g. reversals of 2, 4 , 5, 7, 9 ,c, g, s , j ... etc.

Child starts with a see-say sheet for each problem letter or number-- each with a directional pictogram (See the example PT probes for 3 and S.)

(e.g. for 5, create a character shaped like a 5, who is looking in the reading direction, to the right -- big tummy, hat: he walks tummy first. )

Next step: hear-write

You dictate, child writes the symbol.

For numerals,

Start by dictating the pictogram names for each problem numeral

(the child writes the numeral into the blank probe)

Then just dictate the names of the problem numerals. (random sequence).

Child writes the numeral into the blank probe.

For letters,

Start by dictating the pictogram names. child writes the letter into the blank probe sheet.

Next step: dictate easy words randomly starting with the child’s problem letters. The child writes just the initial letter into a blank grid sheet. Give immediate feedback on each item. One minute probes and charting.