Are you looking for ways to teach students to correctly form letters while writing? If so, keep reading.
1. To enable appropriate holding of a pencil, put colored tape on portions of the pencil to correspond to finger positions. Then put colored tape on the student’s fingernails and have the student match colors.
2. Give the student an alphabet strip attached to their desk in either printed or written form to serve as a model for correct letter formations.
3. Praise the student for making correct letters: (a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).
4. Get the student to practice forming letters correctly by using writing learning activities that are most likely to cause the student to want to be successful (e.g., writing a letter to a friend, rock star, famous athlete; filling out a job application, contest form, etc.).
5. Inspect the student’s handwritten work at several points throughout a handwriting learning experience to make sure that the student is forming letters correctly.
6. Acknowledge quality work (e.g., display the student’s work, congratulate the student, etc.).
7. Give the student the appropriate learning materials to finish the task (e.g., pencil with eraser, paper, handwriting sample, etc.). Make sure that the student has only those appropriate learning materials on the desk.
8. Do not require the student to learn more information than they are capable of learning at any time.
9. Make the student proofread all written work. Praise the student for each correction made.
10. Teach the student handwriting skills at each level before introducing a new skill level.
11. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the student to hurry and fail to form letters correctly.
12. Give tactile stimulation for the child (e.g., sand, fur, clay, wood, etc.).
13. Utilize specific manipulatives (strings, toothpicks, etc.) to form letters for visual models.
14. Select a peer to model working daily on drills involving letter formation, ending, and connecting strokes, spacing, and slant for the student.
15. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:
The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources
Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills
10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners
11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners
10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners
