1. Curriculum Planning:
Language

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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