Issuu

ABC Publications

Business Park Rd, Lisnenan, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

www.abcschoolsupplies.ie

ISBN: 978-1-917517-34-8

Author: Dr Sinéad McCauley Lambe Design: Veronica Moloney

Images:

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publishers or else under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Irish Copyright Licensing Association.

How to use this book - underpinning principles

Move Write Book C (Cursive) is a developmentally designed handwriting practice book that supports the progression of cursive style handwriting.

Move Write Book C (Cursive) includes a lower-case and upper-case checklist that can be implemented before and after learners engage with the practice book. Move Write Book C (Cursive) provides practice opportunities for children to revise the lower-case and upper-case letter formations introduced in Book A and Book B.

The new focus of Book C is on practising letter joins in a meaningful context and in line with Science of Reading and Structured Literacy principles.

Taking into consideration that learners will be introduced to blending in phonics and letter joins around the same time, Move Write Book C (Cursive) aims to provide opportunities to reinforce encoding and decoding using evidence-based practice, while still preserving the motor-pattern progression that is critical for cursive fluency.

The handwriting scope and sequence is preserved as the primary driver (beginning with bottom joins and progressing in complexity), while carefully constrained encoding activities that draw on children’s taught phonics knowledge are integrated into handwriting practice. For example, bottom joins include short encoding tasks using simple CVC words that contain only bottom joins (e.g., man).

Extension activities focus on functional writing activities - providing practice opportunities for learners to write the names of their classmates, to write a poem and a song, and to write cards for special occasions. Lined practice pages are included at the back of the book so that teachers or parents can encourage learners to begin to write words or sentences independently.

With special thanks to Christina Hannify, School of Inclusive and Special Education, DCU for generously sharing her expertise regarding how to best align handwriting and phonics instruction.

An example of possible letter groupings that follow a logical motor sequence could be as follows:

C Curved letters: c, a, d, g, o, s, q, x

Straight line letters: i, j, t, p, n, m, r

Looped letters: e, l, b, f, h, k

Hollowed letters: u, y, v, w, z

Ready to Write?

Checklist for teachers and parents

Check that all children have enough hard space to write on comfortably, and consider individual needs. For example, do some children require vertical writing space? See pages 20-21 of the Move Write Teacher manual.

Make sure that left-handed writers sit at the left-hand end of the desk/table. This will help to prevent their writing hand from bumping into another child and provide them with more space to write comfortably and effectively.

Remind all children of the correct posture for writing, depending on their developmental stage. See pages 20-21 of the Move Write Teacher Manual.

Have you checked that the tables and chairs are the correct height and size for each individual child?

Check the environment for auditory / visual distractions and ensure that all children are supported to stay alert and on-task in the environment.

Can all children see the whiteboard from where they are sitting without having to adjust their position?

Is the lighting in the room appropriate for individual needs? For left-handed writers, try to ensure that there is light coming from the right side of the child.

Check that all children are comfortable with the writing tool that they are using. Consider individual sensory needs. Some children might require additional tactile feedback. For example – placing a piece of sandpaper under the page.

Are the pencils that the children are using sharp? For left-handed writers, ensure that the pencil is not too sharp – as the left-handed writer will push the pencil across the page.

For left-handed writers, ensure that the learner holds the writing tool higher up so that they can see their writing. Hold it between 2 and 3cm (about 2 finger-tips) away from the tip of the writing tool.

For left-handed writers, position the page slightly to the right so that the learner can see what they have written.

Do all children understand what they must do, and how long they have to complete it? Consider the use of a visual schedule here.

Geometric Shape Checklist:

Remember that all letters are made up of lines and shapes. Let’s practice them again.

Capital Letters & Lower-Case Checklists

Assessment of Handwriting

CHARACTERISTIC:

Can form 9 geometric shapes when copying

Can form 9 geometric shapes from memory

Can form all lower-case letters from copying

Can form all lower-case letters from memory

Can form all upper-case letters from copying

Can form all upper-case letters from memory

Can write on the line

Can write in a straight line

Demonstrates consistency with letter sizing

Demonstrates understanding of orientation of letters

Demonstrates appropriate height of ascenders and descenders

Demonstrates appropriate spacing between words

Demonstrates appropriate proprioception

Demonstrates good seating position (see page 5, diagram 2)

Demonstrates functional pencil grip (see page 5, diagram 1)

Demonstrates correct paper position (see page 5, diagram 3)

COMMENT:

Assessment of Handwriting

Diagram 1

Four mature grasp patterns:

Important to remember: While the tripod grasp is generally preferred, other functional grasps, such as the dynamic quadrupod, lateral tripod and lateral quadrupod, are also developmentally appropriate. A functional pencil grasp is one that enables the writer to produce text with speed and fluency that is legible.

Diagram 2

Seating position:

Diagram 3

Paper position:

Left-handed Paper Tilt

Right-handed Paper Tilt

Mid-line Point ➘

Dynamic tripod

Lateral tripod

Dynamic quadrupod

Lateral quadrupod

Drawing Lines

You can draw lines in lots of ways. Lines can be straight or wavy, long or short or curly! Design some lines you think match the descriptions below.

WAVY LIKE THE SEA:

SNAIL TRAIL:

MOUNTAIN TOPS:

CLOUDY SKY:

MEANDERING RIVER:

SPIKY HEDGEHOG:

Getting to Know Me

Trace and Copy - Lower Case

Trace and Copy - Capital Letter

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Trace and Copy

Elkonin Box

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Trace and Copy

TO LET

Trace and Copy

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Elkonin Box

Writing Greeting Cards

Practice writing a poem

Practice writing a song