# Helping the Older Student From writing lesson to c

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Teachers and parents frequently ask the question: “How is it that a student can learn to write well in a handwriting lesson but does not transfer that skill into class work?”

## The problem:

Writing involves many processes such as generating and developing ideas, planning how to express thoughts and structuring sentences, as well as spelling, punctuation and legible writing.

This puts great demands on the memory.

## A solution:

It will help the student if the transcriptional skills (handwriting – and also spelling and punctuation) are as automatic as possible, enabling him/her to concentrate on the demanding compositional skills.

A possible strategy is to first help him to write legibly and then to undertake a series of tasks of gradually increasing difficulty that will move him towards writing automatically in a series of short ‘hops’.

This has better chance of success than expecting him to transfer improved handwriting skills to class work in one leap.

## Hop 1 Assessing the product

Together with the student, assess a sample of the student’s normal handwriting using seven ‘S’ Rules as a guide. (See below) (Tips for Teaching: ‘S’ Rules for quick assessment gives more detail)

Specific aspects of the script which need to be improved can then be addressed in 4-6 targeted sessions.

Assessing the product: 7 ‘S’s — rated Excellent, Good, OK, Not so Good, Poor:

- Shape/legibility
- Size
- Spacing
- Sitting on line
- Slant
- Speed
- Style

## Hop 2 Assessing the process

It is important to consider how the student writes. The four ‘P’s: posture, paper position, pen grasp and pressure are a useful guide. (See below) Tips for Teaching: Writing Difficulties and Writing Grip give more detail

Anything that is making the writing process painful or uncomfortable should be addressed.

Assessing the process: 4 ‘P’s — Some Common Faults:

- **Posture** — Lack of core stability. Not keeping the body still when writing. Leaning on the table/writing hand
- **Paper Position** — Not centred in front of the body. Turned too much to left or right.
- **Pen Grasp** — Gripping too tightly. Wrapping the thumb round the pen. Using an unstable pen grasp. Extreme ‘hook’ of the hand.
- **Pressure** — Pressing too hard or not enough.

> **Tip** Remember that changing long-established habits is difficult and requires attention and repetition. Support and encouragement are important.

Once the specific errors of the handwriting have been corrected at single letter level, begin a series of tasks of graded difficulty.

## Hop 3 Bi-and Tri-grams

The student should practice the bi- and then tri-grams, if possible repeating them for short, frequent periods.

Most Common Bi-grams (in order)

th he in en nt ew er an ti is on at se nd or ar al te co de to ra et ed it sa em

Most Common Tri-grams (in order)

the and tha ent ing ion tio or nde has nce edt tis oft sth men

> **Tip** At each stage make sure that the correct handwriting is used and only move on to the next ‘hop’ when the letters are written correctly with confidence.

## Hop 4 Using whole words

100 most common words

the and a to in is you that it he Was for on are as with his they I at Be this have from or one had by word but Not what all were we when your can said there Use an each which she do how their if will up other about out many then them these so some her would make like him into time has look two more write go see number no way could people my than first water been call who oil its now find long down day did get come made may part

> **Tip** Preferably use dictation rather than copying as it is a half-way stage to self-generated writing (the ultimate aim)

## Hop 5 Single words to sentences

The student writes short dictated sentences well below his level of spelling ability i.e. c-v-c words only. A good source is Alpha to Omega (Hornsby & Shear 1993) (See right)

1. The pan is hot.
2. The dog can beg.
3. Dan got a gun.
4. Mum has a wig.
5. A rat bit Tom.
6. Len hit the box.
7. Rex has a big mug
8. Tom ran to the red van.
9. Ron met Ted on the bus.
10. Mum hid the pot of jam.
11. Meg and Pam can fit Sam in.
12. Fat Dan cannot get in the van.
13. Ben hid the map in the hut.
14. Pam can get me a pot of jam.
15. Sam sat in the sun and got a tan.

## Hop 6 From dictation to self-generated text

The student generates sentences of his own in this format and at this level of simplicity. For example: “The dog has a wig” (humour will always help!). First he says the sentence out loud, the teacher repeats it and then he writes it down. This is the next step towards free writing.

## Hop 7 Introducing narrative writing

7A The student is given a story using a simple text presented in cloze form, i.e. certain key words are omitted and the child chooses appropriate words to give meaning.

> **Tip** Choose a text that interests the student but the reading, vocabulary and sentence construction levels should be kept below his general language and intellectual ability.

7B Rule a wide margin down the right side of the page and ask the student to supply the missing words, indicated by the numbers. As he does, you write the words he selects in a numbered column down the page (see right). These words, chosen by him, will serve as memory cues when retelling the story.

An example of cloze format - taken from the Headwork series, Book 2, (Walters & Culshaw, 1990)

Jo had a radio. She got it in a car boot sale. It was a very strange radio. One day when Jo was listening to the six o’ clock 1 a very strange thing happened. A hand came 2 of the radio and got hold of Jo’s face. Jo was very 3 . She 4 the comic she was reading and 5 her cup of tea off the arm of her chair. Jo picked up the 6 . She stared at it. Then the 7 came out again. This time it got hold of Jo’s left 8 . Jo jumped back. Jo got very upset. She grabbed the radio and ran into the kitchen. She put the radio in the sink and turned on 9 taps. The water filled the sink. Jo heard a voice coming out of the radio. It said: “Help me! Help me! Please help me! I’m 10 .

7B Ask him to retell the story orally from memory, showing him the list of cue words to aid him. Be sure he includes the selected words in the order in which you have written them.

7D The student then writes the story, ticking each cue word as it is used.

## Hop 8 Creating and writing a story

The student creates a short story of his own, orally at first and the teacher writes it out. The student then selects the key words to be the memory cues (to be written in the right-hand margin on the page as before). This list is used as in Hop 7 to help the child write the story.

This exercise reduces the load on the memory for generating the narrative and the word list will also provide support by acting as memory cues. An additional advantage in this method is that a short story with a good structure is a model for future narrative writing.

> **Tip** Older students (GCSE/A level) might prefer to write a factual account rather than fiction but the same method could be used.

## Timing

This will very according to the individual student and the length and frequency of the teaching and practice sessions. The ideal would be a session every day for eight weeks but this could well be impractical. If practice can be time-tabled for at least twice a week, an average re-integration period would be around 3-4 months.

There are no shortcuts – the greatest success demands both time and intensity – but once the skill properly established, it will be there for life.

Adapted from an article ‘Handwriting to class-writing: one leap or several hops?’ by Dr Angela Webb in Handwriting Today 2014, the journal of the National Handwriting Association.

Publications referred to in the text: NHA Tips for Teaching: ‘S’ Rules, Handwriting Difficulties, Writing Grip, Speeding Up Hornsby, B. & Shear, F. (1993). Alpha to Omega: The A-Z of Teaching Reading, Writing and Spelling. Heinemann. Walters, D. & Culshaw, C. (1990). Headwork, Book 2. Oxford University Press.

Tips for Teaching Published by the National Handwriting Association Helping the older student www.nha-handwriting.org.uk 2014