Penmanship

Letter Size Differentiation

When a student whose lowercase letters are as large as the uppercase letters or their “descending” letters don’t drop below the line; their writing is difficult to read.  This is referred to as “letter-size differentiation”.  Students need to be taught that tall letters are “tall” and reach the top line (e.g. b, d, f, h, k), small letters are “small” and are printed in the middle of the line (e.g. a, c, e) and descending letters drop below the bottom line (e.g. p, g).  To help cue students into the correct formation of the letters, they will practice writing letters on highlighted paper and/or using the highlighted paper for writing assignments which can be beneficial.

 Spacing Between Words 

Another issue that affects legibility is not putting spaces between words.  If students space between words and use correct letter size differentiation (using tall, short and below the line letters) despite spelling errors, you can typically read and understand what was written.  Although there are several strategies that can be used to teach and remind students to space between words, a preferred method is the one which includes using small stickers. This method is best because it doesn’t take the student “out of the writing process.” The sticker strategy goes something like this:

1.  The student is told that the spaces between words must be wide enough to fit a small sticker.  Small smiley face stickers work best.

2. A visual reminder is placed on the student’s desk during the writing process which shows a small sticker placed between the words.

3.  After the student finishes his/her writing, the paper is given to the teacher and a small sticker is placed between words where the sticker will fit.  If the space between the words is too small, a sticker is not put in that area.

Of course not all students in the classroom will need this intervention.  This strategy will only be used with those who have difficulty with word spacing.  Once the student is consistently spacing between words, the intervention can be faded to occasionally placing stickers between words on writing samples (e.g. once a week).

Letter Formation

Students who are not forming letters correctly will need re-teaching of the correct stroke sequence.  Using multi-sensory strategies such as writing letters in sand or shaving cream will help.  Writing letters in the air prior to writing on the paper is a great strategy because it involves whole body movements (this is known as “air writing”). In general, students need practice in writing the letters correctly.  This will involve direct supervision when practicing writing as we do not want them practicing incorrect strokes (remember: only perfect practice makes perfect).  It will take repeated practice writing letters correctly to reverse an old habit.

Morning Work

Handwriting still needs to be center-stage in our K-2 classrooms because study after study shows that handwriting trains the brain differently than just typing. Copy work of poems is an ideal fit for new writers because the amount of text is minimal. Our morning work will first begin with practice our alphabet writing, This is something that all first graders have been introduced to in Kindergarten but it is vitally important that they are consistent when forming each letter. Once we move on from the alphabet, they will begin our daily copy work. We will use our monthly themes to guide the poems that will be used for their copy work. These will be graded at the end of the week in order to endure that each student is using  the proper formation.