Between the Lines

Thanks to a dramatic shift in thinking, the days of “wait and fail” in early education are ending. Response to Intervention (RtI) is reshaping classroom learning and providing a model for helping all students. In fact, RtI strategies are now used from preschool through high school.

What does this mean for you and your students?

With the Handwriting Without Tears Curriculum in your classroom, you already have the basis for RtI, including the tools to evaluate students early in the year, help them build important skills, and monitor their progress regularly. The curriculum has built-in approaches for checking teaching and learning, identifying handwriting difficulties, and providing extra remediation when necessary. Here are some strategies to use in the classroom to address different stages of learning and intervention.  

Core Curriculum Instruction

HWT teacher guides include exercises, lesson plans, and review activities that help you teach fundamental skills. With these tools, you can determine where students need more help.

Instructional Stages

Prior to handwriting instruction, prepare students. At the preschool and kindergarten levels, children participate in activities to develop handwriting readiness. When children are ready to write, help them prepare their posture, paper placement, and pencil grips.

During handwriting instruction, make sure that all students are facing the board for direct demonstration. That’s the first stage of handwriting instruction—showing children how to form the letters, words, and sentences. Facing the board makes it easy for them to move their eyes directly from the demonstration down to the workbook page. Copying is the next stage of handwriting instruction. Supervise while students complete workbook and worksheet lessons. If a child has any difficulty with this, show the child what to do quickly and directly. You should readily go back to demonstration to help any child learn to copy well. Independent writing is the last stage and should grow in proportion to a child’s mastery of handwriting skill. Work at the earlier two stages enables children to write easily and well.

Student Check – “Learn and Check”

Teach in small, easy steps and show and tell students exactly what to do. Letter, number, word, and sentence skills will be at the heart of your handwriting lessons. Here’s an easy way to help students check their own work:

• Letters: Start at the top, do steps in the right order, bump the lines
• Words: Use correct letter size, placement, and closeness
• Sentences: Start with a capital, use appropriate spacing between words and correct ending punctuation

Teacher Check – “Check Your Teaching”

Handwriting instruction is direct, so you can easily check your teaching with mini tests. Although you can do these mini tests with the whole class, you’ll have better results if you administer them to small groups or one-on-one.

1. Draw a single line on a blank sheet of paper
2. Ask students to write the word for the letter group you are checking (such as thumbprint to check letters p r n m h b)
3. Spell the word(s)
4. Check for correct letter start, strokes, and placement
5. If there are problems, review the letters with students

Targeted Intervention

For those who are struggling, the HWT curriculum includes numerous remediation techniques for the classroom. Most students respond well to these and, with a little extra attention, they can catch up to their peers without special education. Try these intervention techniques in the classroom:

• Identify where a child needs help using Check Your Teaching or Learn and Check.
• Keep your intervention short (10-15 minutes) so the child doesn’t lose interest.
• Use imitation activities/lessons to give students the opportunity to watch you and then do it themselves. Students will learn correct motor habits and have the best chance to write a letter, word, or number.
• Communicate with parents and other educators. Send home mini homework assignments when necessary and use worksheets that encourage demonstration and imitation.
• Be consistent and follow through. When you identify problems with a child’s handwriting, set up a help team and then follow up.

Using a consistent, developmentally based approach to handwriting instruction—following the RtI model—ensures that all students progress. It also helps you use your time in the classroom more effectively and keep more students in general education where they belong.