Page 5 - Pony Think Write Teachers Guide to Module 1

Module 4: Writing with Fluency and Control Teacher’s Guide.
Introduction
The objective of Module 4: Writing with Fluency and Control is to ensure that all children have learnt to form their letters correctly and that they are able to accurately join their letters together. Once each child can achieve legible, cursive writing they are more able to develop fully automatic handwriting. In essence, when a child can write without thinking about how to form and join their letters, they are able to ‘free up’ their cognitive energy to fully immerse themselves in the creative academic process. Now they are ready to show you, their teacher, what they have learnt and how they think.
In Module 3: Learning To Write children were taught how to form every letter correctly; the height of each letter and where to position it in relation to the baseline was carefully considered. A key feature of the script used in the Hemispheres Think Write Handwriting Programme® is the presence of the lead-in and lead-out stroke. This ensures that the transition to joining letters for cursive writing is a straightforward one, because, in effect, the decision of which joining stroke to use is simply dictated by the starting stroke of the letter the child wishes to join to.
For many children this transition will occur naturally, with the child deciding for themselves when they feel confident enough to start joining their letters together. Encouraging children to ‘have a go’ at this crucial stage is a great learning tool, as long as it is done using the correct guidance and rules.
Even though most children will, in part, learn to transition into full cursive script of their own volition, there are aspects of this process that require more explicit teaching. The ‘dip’ stroke, used when joining letters o, r, v, w and x, is one that often causes confusion in children. This is because they often become compelled to return to the baseline before starting the next letter. This is an area, therefore, that requires the more precise teaching indicated above. This ensures that children learn to join into the next letter whilst keeping their pencil at the helicopter line, as opposed to going down to the usual grass line. Without this guidance their writing would become muddled and potentially less fluent and speedy.
Equally, during the studies Hemispheres conducted to look at the impact the Hemispheres Think Write Handwriting programme had on the quality of children’s handwriting, it was evident that children find maintaining the correct spatial position for joined up letters challenging. There is a natural period of transition, where children have to consciously learn to integrate legibility, spatial positioning and joining skills together. During this transition period spatial positioning commonly lapses because the child is often preoccupied with the real challenge of learning to join their letters together.
After time and practice, when the child is more confident in their ability to join letters together, the concept of spatial positioning returns, indicating progress and the development of more automaticity and fluidity in writing.
Throughout the Hemispheres Think Write Handwriting Programme we have produced objectives relating to the animal characters and their starting shapes and have provided guidance about using these objectives fluidly, adapting them to the skill levels present in your class. You will see from the chart on page 56 that Hemispheres has continued this tradition and related the joining of the letters in relation to the digraphs and blends commonly seen in the current literature and curriculum. Hemispheres would, therefore, encourage you to use this as a guide for planning your teaching objectives with the same adaptability and knowledge of the children under your care.
Overall Targets for Module 4: Writing with Fluency and Control
1. T be identifying readiness to join letters together
2. To be independently linking and joining all letters together
3. To be integrating the ability to join letters at the helicopter line - independently
4. To be writing with the correct height and spatial placement when joining letters together.
5. To be writing at an age appropriate speed
6. To be writing creative pieces of written work, in cursive script, with correct spatial placement and at
an age appropriate speed
The transition from printed letters to joined letters using the Hemispheres Think Write Handwriting Programme has proven to be smooth and natural. There are always some children who will require a little more support and for these children we would encourage a slower pace, with regular revision of the key areas they find more challenging. That way, all the children you teach can begin to master the art of ‘being a writer’ and expressing themselves and their learning in full.
© 2016 Shelley Birkett-Eyles. Hemispheres Think Write Limited