Curriculum Planning: Language

How to Begin Make sure the child is seated comfortably in the chair Both feet should be on the floor Table height should be just above elbow level The piece of paper should be placed directly in front of their body

Teaching the Proper Grip Child’s first grasp will probably be a tightly closed fist By offering the child a broken crayon or a golf pencil, they will instinctively hold it with their fingertips Tripod grasp: pinching the pencil between the thumb and index finger and resting it on the side of the middle finger Quadrapod grasp: using thumb, index and middle finger and resting the pencil on the side of the ring finger

Flip the Pencil Trick Place pencil on the table pointing away from you Pinch the pencil with your thumb and index finger where the paint meets the wood (with your writing hand) Hold the eraser with your other hand and twirl the pencil around for a perfect tripod grasp Pencil grip trick video

Building Writing Skills: Size & Proportion Must always model correct letter size and proportion Lowercase letters are always half the size of uppercase letters First writings are typically large and vary in size and proportion As children’s coordination skills mature, writing size will decrease

Building Writing Skills: Spacing Requires more fine-motor control than most preschoolers have To gain control, have them write the letter “O” between words If this is too difficult, have them place their index finger on the paper after the word and write the letter to the right of their finger

Building Writing Skills: Line Quality Wavering lines Results from immature coordination, writing too slowly, or moving fingers and not the pencil Have children use more arm action and relax their grip Illegible writing Pencil lead is either too fine or too thick

Building Writing Skills: Reversals Letters or entire words may be reversed Guide children with reversal problems by pointing out differences in directions Ex: If the child confuses the letter b and d, say and model “b, line then circle” and “d, circle then line” and have the child repeat directions when writing b and d

The Zaner-Bloser Writing System Activity: On a lined sheet of paper, copy the down the proper method of writing the alphabet, including the directional arrows and numerical order for each stroke