OT Advice - Handwriting wins ! Thanks for all your comments about my future discussion topics. There were many great suggestions however the topic with most votes was ... handwriting. I will start my posts with a 10 week program for developing letter recognition and formation. This will fit nicely into the 10 weeks of a school term (in Australia). This is a generic program aimed at most children with letter formation difficulties however some children may benefit from a different approach. With letter formation I would start by drawing them large on a vertical surface in order of the groups shown below. Once this is 100% correctly then draw them smaller on a vertical surface. Next draw large on a horizontal surface and then small on a horizontal surface. This is because the direction of up (on vertical surface) is actually away from the child on a horizontal surface. Letter Builders These activities are designed specifically for recognising and forming the alphabet letters correctly. They involve visual perceptual and organisation skills. Correct letter formation improves handwriting speed and legibility. It also helps the acquisition of link or cursive scripts. The letters are grouped according to similar movement patterns and sequences. Week 1: ‘Fishing for Letters’ Game Using either magnetic letters or letters drawn on fish (attached with paper clips), students catch a letter and label it. This activity focuses on letter recognition. Week 2: ‘Letters in Rice Box’ Game Hide letter shapes in a box of rice. Have students guess the letter by feeling it i.e. without vision. This activity focuses on letter recognition and discrimination. Week 3: ‘Make a Letter’ Game You will need to precut letter parts, i.e. ascenders, descenders and letter bodies. Like a puzzle, students have to build the letter choosing the correct parts. This activity focuses on part-to-whole relationships as well as construction and organisational skills. You can have a model of the letter that they copy or, to make it harder, have to construct letter from memory. Week 4: ‘Down’ Letters The letters f i j l t can be formed by starting at the top and going straight down. Note that f & j has hooks. A pencil lift is needed to add extra strokes for f i j t. Week 5: ‘Bouncing’ Letters The letters h m n r p b can be formed by bouncing from the top and returning back up the descender. Week 6: ‘Zig-Zag’ Letters The letters k v w x y z can be formed by diagonal lines. A pencil lift is needed to add extra strokes for k x y. Week 7: Magic ‘c’ Letters The letters c a d g o q s can be formed by starting to draw the ‘c’ part first. Week 8: ‘Other’ Letters The letters u e y do not fit into any of the other letter groups. The letters u y are similar and can be worked on together this week. Note the two different styles of ‘y’. Week 9: ‘Put the letters in its family’ Game After practicing the letter families, it’s now time for the students to recall the groups and try to write them within their groups. Use the magnetic letters and board as a visual cue if needed. Week 10: Practice the Letter Groups Repeat previous week’s session.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 09:43:16 +0000
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