Oak Tree Elementary School

For all handwriting practice and visual motor activities, encourage a 3-4 finger grasp by using small pieces of crayons, a gripper (if one was provided) or by simply repositioning your child’s fingers on the marker/pencil.

If your child has a goal to work on complex rotation (roating the pencil over to erase and resume writing using the fingers of their doinant hand to hold the pencil), please remind them at the beginning of a writing assignment for all paper and pencil tasks.  

Handwriting

• Use the "Handwriting" hyperlink to watch the videos of how to properly form letters and best prompt your child
  • Magic C Letters- c, o, a, d, g, s
  • Diver Letters- r, n, m, h, b, p
  • u, i, e
  • v, w, t
  • l, k, y, j
  • f, q, x, z

• Developmentally, capital letters are easier and introduced first.
  • HWT Capital Letters Formation and Language

• Use these sensory ideas to introduce a new letter or to practice a letter that your child is having a difficult time recalling letter formation.
  • Shaving cream/pudding in a cookie sheet
  • Rice and/or beans in a cookie sheet or paper plate
  • Chalk board or dry erase board

• Use the Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) paper (or other paper recommended by your OT) to practice 1-2 letters per session; use the lower case (LC) progression attachment to check off letters that your child has practiced and forms correctly.   
  • LC Letter Progression

• Modified Paper
  • HWT wide
  • HWT slim
  • Foundations
  • Dotted Lines Large
  • Dotted Lines Medium
  • Dotted Lines small
  • Highlighted Lower Line 3/4
  • Highlighted Lower Line 5/8
  • Loose Leaf

• Here is a simple reference sheet for letter formation and line usage as well:
  • How to form lower-case letters

• Prompting may require:
  • Hand over Hand
  • Tracing over a letter you have demonstrated for them
  • Providing only a demonstration and then having them try
  • Providing them dots so they know where to begin/stop
  • Showing them a picture of it and providing verbal cues
  • Showing them a picture only
  • Verbally telling them the letter

• General Reminders:
  • Letters begin from the top-down
  • Writing begins from left, to right
  • Make tall letters begin on the top line and short letters begin on the dotted line (approximately half the size of a tall letter).
  • Highlight the bottom line to make sure letters do not sink below, with the exception of the following letters: g, j, y, p and q.
  • Leave a space between each word
  • Keep letters within a word close to one another.