Please distribute to all parents and teachers Parent/Teacher Newsletter Helping Hands - Printing and Writing Created by: SHIP Occupational Therapists SHIP Occupational Therapists give ideas to improve the fit between a student and the tasks they do at home and school. A good match can increase a child’s belief in their abilities. This helps them have success on tasks they feel are important. In this month’s newsletter, we review strategies for printing and writing. • An efficient pencil grasp helps improve pencil control. • Consider teaching the letters in groups instead of alphabetical order. Try groups of letters that share the same formation pattern. This makes it is easier for the child to gain a natural feel for the movements. • Demonstrate the letter formation on a vertical surface such as a chalk board. Children can better understand directions such as up and down on a vertical surface. Talk about how to form the letter as you make it (i.e. start at the top). • Start with big arm movements to form large letters in the air. Try other fun activities, such as writing with a finger in sand, paint or pudding. • Practice forming the letters with eyes open and closed. Forming a letter with eyes closed helps strengthen the motor memory. • Focus on making sure that the letters are formed consistently. Use the same pattern and word description at home and school. Tips for Teaching, Printing and Writing • Posture: Proper posture provides a stable base for writing. Desk height about 2” above elbow. Feet flat on floor. Sit to the back of the chair. • • Prior to the writing lesson, try a few easy ‘warmups’ to prepare the body. Jumping jacks, chair push-ups, stretching arms up, push palms together. Encourage use of the helper hand (non-printing hand) to hold the paper. Is Your Child Ready for Cursive Writing? • Cursive writing is typically taught in the third grade. At this point, children have better eye-hand coordination and longer attention spans. • The child should have an understanding of spatial concepts (left, right, top and bottom). For more information contact the therapist for your school. 1/2 Allied Health - Edmonton Zone www.albertahealthservices.ca Starting letters at the top, drop the ball down. It bounces straight up; now toss the ball over. Benefits of Cursive Writing • 9 Cursive uses a continuous pattern of movement, instead of the “stops and starts” in printing. Goofy Letters: e, u, f, o, s Letters don’t fit a group and formations are memorized individually. Example of Letter Groupings for CURSIVE WRITING 9 Cursive has more obvious spacing between words. 9 Cursive is a new skill and can appear more “grown-up”. Children often aspire to the new task. • Clockclimbers: c, a, d, g, q Letters start at the writing line, climb up the clock to 1 o’clock and retrace down to 5 o’clock. 9 There is reduced use of letter reversals. • Kite Strings: i, u, w, t, j, p, r, s, o Letters are formed by writing up and back down on a kite string. • • • • Some children may have difficulty recognizing the letters. Children may have a lot of difficulty learning this new visual-motor task. If printing appears to be the most functional, you may wish to have the student continue to print. Cursive will take longer then printing until students have success with forms and connectors. This may make it less appealing. l, e, f, h, k, b Letters start off with a kite string and then loop around. Roadblocks That May Be Encountered • Loop Group: Hills and Valleys: n, m, v, y, x, z Letters in this group contain “hills or valleys”. For more information on letter groupings or words to describe movements, contact the Occupational Therapist for your school. Hopefully this newsletter has given you some tips and strategies to help make printing and cursive writing a successful experience for all children! Example of Letter Groupings for PRINTING • Half Moon: c, a, d, g, q Letters all start by making a half moon shape. • Mountains: v, w, y, x, z Letters start at the middle line and go down the mountain. • Flag Poles: l, t, k, i, j Letters start at the top and slide down the flag pole. Olsen, J. (2004). Handwriting without tears. Cabin John, MD: Jan Z. Olsen. • Bounce Letters: r, n, m, p, h, b Benbow, M. (1990). Loops and other groups: A kinesthetic writing system. USA: Therapy Skill Builders. References For more information contact the therapist for your school. 2/2 Allied Health - Edmonton Zone www.albertahealthservices.ca