Handwriting is More Than Paper and Pencils

1. Handwriting is MoreThan Paper and Pencils Presented by: Tamara Rhomberg, National Literacy Consultant tammy.rhomberg@zaner-bloser.com Nancy Matthews, Educational Sales Representative nancy.matthews@zaner-bloser.com

2. How important is legible handwriting? 1._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.__________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 4._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why is Handwriting Instruction Important? 1 __________ still need to know how to ______ by ______. Good ________________ makes a good ___________________. Handwriting is a __________________ skill for ____________. __________________ handwriting boosts _________ and _________________ proficiency. Students with ______________ ____________ score ________ on tests. Handwriting is closely linked to academic achievement, especially composition and literacy skills.

3. 1._________________________________________________________________________________________________1._________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2._________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3._________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Why We Write…. ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Key Skills • _____________ motor • _____________ motor • Spatial ___________ • Print _______________ • Letter _____________ • _______-_________ Relationship • _______________skills The Goal of Handwriting is_____________________________.

5. What Impacts Legible Handwriting? _______ _______ _______ NOTES ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Keys to Legibility • 1.__________________ • 2_Keys to Legibility • 1.___________________ • 2.___________________ • 3.___________________ • 4.___________________ • __________ • 3.___________________ • 4.___________________ Tweezers and Tongs Wrist and Fingers Position the tweezers and tongs in the dominate hand with the thumb on one side and the fingers on the other side. Retrieve objects and place them into identified categories or locations. A content connection can be made by incorporating sorting tasks that include numeracy, alphabet letters, colors, etc. Scrunch the Towel Longitudinal Arches Place both palms and forearms on a table surface with the towel draped over the far edge. Using all eight fingertips, gather the material into the palms. As the material is gathered into the palm, the hands have to arch more and wrists extend farther to encompass the material.

7. Drop by Drop Wrist and Fingers Use the eyedropper to release one drop of colored water at a time to create a pattern on a coffee filter. This develops control of graded movements of the thumb and index finger. Off to the Races Wrist and Fingers Using the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand, wind up your toy. Line up your figure on the baseline and race with your table partners. Chart the distance of each figure and/ or tally the number of wins for your character to add numeracy skills. Roll and Cut Diagonal Arch Development The four diagonal arches are made up of the thumb as it opposes each of the four fingertips. These arches are active in holding, stabilizing, and directing tools as an extension of the hand. Form the clay into a snake shape about the diameter of a large pencil or small finger. Using the pizza wheel or small plastic knife, slice the coil into small segments. The index finer should be placed on the finger rest of the pizza cutter or on the top of the blade of the knife to provide forward and downward pressure during the cutting action. Maze Activities Gross Motor/ Spatial Relationship Use the miniature cars/objects to follow the maze patterns. Use verbal cueing (vertical, horizontal, circle, slant) as you trace the pathway. Build It Your Way Wrist and Fingers Holding the tweezers with a tripod grip ,use the tweezers to build the sandwich of your choice . This develops graded movements of thumb and index finger.

8. Handwriting is important because it influences both the reader and the writer. Self-Evaluation Checklist ___ I teach children how to write each letter by … ___ I help children become more fluent handwriters by… ___ I promote handwriting development by … ___ I assist students who experience difficulty by…