“Alphabet Soup Stations”
Strategies to increase Fine Motor
and Visual Motor skills in
At Risk Kindergarten students
Today’s Kindergarten Students
Different home and preschool experiences
Different English language skills
Range from 4 – 7 years in age!
Some late bloomers
Different physical and cognitive skills
These factors make teaching handwriting a challenge for Kindergarten
teachers!
“Alphabet Soup Stations”
Your school has been selected to receive funding from a PIE grant, to create an “Alphabet Soup
Station” in each of your Kindergarten classrooms.
As the classroom teacher, you need to decide where to place this station, and how to use it.
Each “Alphabet Soup Station” will be equipped with:
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One Doll-A-Dough tray and one set of Roll-A-Dough Letter Cards
One Stamp and See Screen (with magnetic stamps)
One HWT chalk slate
Each school will receive:
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One Rock, Rap, Tap and Learn CD
One set of wooden dowels (for you to use to make your foam/card dowels)
One set of capital number cards (for you to use to make replicas)
One Kindergarten teacher’s guide
One “Letters and Numbers for Me” Kindergarten workbook
One pack of gray block paper (104 sheets)
Your school will need to provide:
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Play dough
Little chalk pieces
Little sponge cubes
Each Kindergarten classroom with a set of foam/card dowels
Each Kindergarten classroom with a set of Capital letter and number cards
Any additional paper/workbooks should your team decide to incorporate HWT teaching strategies
(mentioned in this in-service) in your lesson plans 
Table of contents
☺The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
HWT activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting : capital letters and numbers
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Alphabet Soup Station activities
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Activities to do with your class
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting: lowercase letters
The developmental sequence of visualmotor skills: grasp on writing utensil
Control over writing utensil:
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Fisted
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“Pronated” (thumb pointing down towards paper)
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Finger-thumb
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Tripod/quadruped static
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Tripod/quadruped dynamic
Writing utensils:
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Markers (little resistance)
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Crayons (more resistance)
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Pencils
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Pens
The developmental sequence of
visual-motor skills: grasp on scissors
Control over scissors
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“Pronated” grasping pattern (thumb pointing down)
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Thumb-up (mature) grasping pattern
Types of scissors
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Self-opening (loop scissors)
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Regular
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NB: Left hand friendly scissors (e.g. Fiskars)
The developmental sequence of
visual-motor skills: handwriting sequence
Handwriting sequence:
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Pre-strokes
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Shapes
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Capitals/Numbers
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Lowercase letters
Stages of learning:
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Imitation
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Copying
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Independent writing
The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills:
Primary and Secondary handwriting legibility skills
Primary Skills:
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Memory
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Orientation
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Start
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Sequence
Secondary Skills:
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Placement
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Size
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Spacing
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Control
Kindergarten children are sometimes “taught” to write by being encouraged to copy letters over
and over again, with little regard to start and sequence of letter strokes. This results in the
student practicing poor letter formation habits. When letters are formed starting in the wrong
place and when subsequent strokes are sequenced out of order, frequent reversals are observed,
and handwriting is laborious and difficult to read (even in higher grades).
Kindergarten children need to be taught, and have opportunity to practice, CORRECT letter
orientation, start and sequence in order to develop good letter formation habits. As they practice
the correct way of forming letters, they will develop good motor memory habits, and their
handwriting will become automatic and fluent. They will then be able to focus their brain power on
the content of their writing, rather than the formation of the letters themselves.
Contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
☺ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
HWT activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting :
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Alphabet Soup Station activities
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Activities to do with your class
Activities to develop memory of
how letters look
Websites and educational software: www.starfall.com
Visual cues (Mneuphonics posted on wall)
Mneuphonic powerpoint (demonstrate)
Incorporate letters into centers e.g. puzzles, stencils, sorting, matching,
alphabet stamps (play dough stamps, ink stamps), etc.
Table of contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
√ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
☺Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
HWT activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting :
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Alphabet Soup Station activities
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Activities to do with your class
Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor
control: Upper body strength
Activities to develop upper body strength:
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Seat pushups
Wheelbarrow walking
Door holder
Easel painting
Clothespins/tongs activities:
Have clothespins and tong activities
at a center (sorting, matching, counting, etc.)
Coloring
Activities and strategies to help develop
fine motor control: Finger dexterity
Finger dexterity / In-hand manipulation skills suggested activities:
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Squirreling away items
Translating items
Rolling balls and hot dog shapes between 2 hands
Rolling ball and hot dog shapes between thumb and 2 fingers
Marching fingers up and down the pencil
Rotating the pencil in one hand
Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor
control: Mature grasp on pencil and scissors
“Mature” Grasp:
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Do upper body strengthening and finger dexterity activities on a daily basis.
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To demonstrate a Tripod/quadruped grasp on pencil/crayon:
“Quack, quack”
“A OK, drop fingers and pinch pencil”
“Pick up the pencil and flip”
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Allow the children to use short, golf ball size crayons/pencils: When they use an
appropriate grasp on these, you can allow them to use longer pencils/crayons.
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“Thumb up” grasp on scissors and paper.
Table of contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
√ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
√ Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
☺HWT Activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting capital letters and numbers:
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Alphabet Soup Station activities
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Activities to do with your class
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting: Lowercase letters
Activities to help develop body
awareness and directionality
Shake hands as children enter the room (say “we shake with our right hand” and put
a sticker, lotion, or scent on the child’s right hand).
Songs:
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Head, shoulders, knees and toes..
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Hokey Pokey
Activities to help develop body
awareness and directionality using
HWT wooden/foam dowels
Introducing wooden pieces: big line, little line, big curve, little curve.
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This is a big line, can you show me a big line?
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Polish, stack, sort and trade wooden pieces.
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“Simon Says” or “Teacher Says”, e.g. “touch the big line to your nose”.
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Positions in space and Body parts.
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Curves and circles (apart, together, zero, rainbow, smile, squiggle-wiggle).
Activities to help develop body
awareness and directionality using
HWT wooden/foam dowels continued…
Mat Man:
Children sit on the floor in a circle. Teacher builds the Mat man on the floor.
Teacher then lets children have a turn, giving them a curve or line, and tells the
students what to do (e.g. “Amy, use your big line to make an arm”).
Table of Contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
√ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
√ Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
√ HWT Activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
☺ HWT Approach to teaching handwriting capital letters and
numbers:
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Alphabet Soup Station activities
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Activities to do with your class
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting:
Lowercase letters
HWT Approach to teaching
handwriting: Capital Letters
HWT teaches capital letters and numbers first, because these letters/numbers are all
the same size, and all consist of big lines, little lines, big curves and little curves.
HWT encourages using mulitmedia approaches to teaching and reinforcing these
letters and numbers: they use the Roll-A-Dough, Magnetic Letters, Wooden dowels,
and Slate boards.
HWT encourage the use of terms such as “big curve”, “little curve”, “big line” and
“little line”, when modeling letter and number formation for the child.
HWT approach to teaching
capital letters continued…
Each letter is formed in a top-down, left-right fashion.
Use words like “big line”, “little line”, “big curve” and “little curve”.
Frog jump Corner Starting capitals
F E D P B R N M (Start in the starting corner, Big line down, Frog jump to the starting corner,
Now make ___ )
When the first line is on the left, the next part is on the right side. This prevents reversals, while
teaching good stroke habits.
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Starting Corner Capitals
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HKL
(All start at the top left corner, now make a big line down, now make a __)
UVWXYZ
Center Starting Capitals
COQG
(Start at the top center, Make a Magic C, Now make ___)
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SAITJ
(Start at the top center, Now make ____)
Learning to print these letters correctly makes learning c o s t and j much easier.
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HWT Approach to teaching
handwriting: Numbers
Teaching numbers free of reversals…
HWT teachers numbers in numerical order.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 begin in the top left (starting corner).
8 starts at the top, but in the center.
9 starts at the top, but on the right.
10 is made with a 1 0 (Number 0 and letter O are made the same way)
Table of Contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
√ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
√ Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
√ HWT Activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
√ HWT Approach to teaching Handwriting: Capital letters and Numbers
☺ Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter play
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Activities to do with your class
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting
Alphabet Soup Stations:
Letter/number play
Letter play develops confidence and rote memory.
Alphabet Soup Stations:
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Letter of the day or letter of the week
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Peer helpers at station
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Each station will include:
Roll Letters with play dough
Stamp and See Screen
Wet-Dry-Try (chalk board, sponge pieces,
chalk pieces)
Capitals/numbers with capital/number cards
and wooden pieces
Alphabet Soup Stations:
letter/number play using playdoh
Roll Letter with Me!
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This activity helps children build strength in their fingers and hands while learning
capital letter recognition.
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It incorporates the Roll-A-Dough Tray, Dough, and Roll-A-Dough Letter Cards.
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Peer helper shows how to roll dough (making a rope or snake), student imitates.
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Peer helper shows how to cut and place dough pieces to form a letter (use the
letter card or just the tray). Student imitates.
Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter/number play using
Stamp and Screen
Making Letters on the Stamp and See Screen
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Children learn how to make the capital letters step by step.
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Peer helper stamps the complete letter, step-by-step and then erases it. Student
imitates.
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Student uses the magnetic chalk to trace the letter and then erases it.
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Students make letter from memory using the pieces or the magnetic chalk.
Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter/number play using
chalk boards
HWT Slate Chalk Board – teach “bumping” the lines using the wooden framed
blackboards.
Wet-Dry-Try:
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Teacher or peer helper prepares the Slate Chalkboard with the letter(s) of the
week.
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Student
Wet:
 Wets a sponge cube
 Squeezes it out
 Traces the letter with the sponge.
 Wets his/her finger and traces it again.
Dry:
 Crumple a little paper towel.
 Dry the letter a few times
 Gently blow for final drying.
Try:
 Take a little chalk bit.
 Use it to write the letter.
Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter/number play using
wooden dowels
Capitals/Numbers with Wooden Dowels on Letter Cards:
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Display the letter(s) of the day.
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Peer helper demonstrates how to start at the , get the appropriate wooden
pieces, and then match the pieces to the letter/number card, going in numerical
order.
Alphabet Stations: Letter/number
play using wooden pieces
Capitals/Numbers with the Mat:
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Display the letter(s) of the day.
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Peer helper models how to create the
letter/number, using a top-down,
left to right approach.
Other Wood Piece Activities:
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Boss of the Mat: The children take turns
being the Boss, and they instruct the
others how to form the letter.
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Show the students a lowercase letter and
have them the capital partner on their mat.
Alphabet Stations: Use a variety of
media!!!
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Shaving cream
Finger paint
Wikki-Stix
Sand play
Bingo dobbers (to trace in template, etc.)
HWT approach to Capital Letters
and numbers: Workbook and paper
To teach capital letters HWT starts
teaching letters in groups on Gray Blocks
(Gray Blocks are an easy transition from
the slate board as they as “tiny pictures of
the Slate”).
Table of Contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
√ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
√ Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
√ HWT Activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
√ HWT Approach to teaching Handwriting: Capital letters and Numbers:
Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter play
☺ Activities to do with your class
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HWT Approach to teaching handwriting: Lowercase letters
Activities to do with your class to
reinforce capitals and numbers
Door Tracing
Place a laminated large smiley face on the door and use your door frame to model letter and
number formation for your students.
Imaginary Writing
To review a number or letter…. Trace it in the air in front of your class, giving directions. Have
students hold a pencil correctly in the air. Everyone checks their pencil grips. Retrace the letter
or number again with your students. If you are facing your students, make the letter backwards in
relation to you so the letter will be correct from your students’ perspective.
Follow the ball
Similar to the above activity, but everyone follow the ball with their pencils.
Laser Letters
Similar to the above activity, but the teacher first writes the letter on the chalkboard, and then uses
the laser light to trace it while everyone follows the laser light with their pencils (in the air).
Gym or outside play:
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Relay races
Chalk play
Table of Contents
√ The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
√ Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
√ Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
√ HWT Activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
√ HWT Approach to teaching Handwriting: Capital letters and
Numbers:
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Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter play
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Activities to do with your class
☺ HWT Approach to teaching handwriting: Lowercase letters
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting:
Lowercase letter sizes
Letter sizes and places: The hand activity
Teaching children the correct size and placement of letters is one of the most important things you
can do to help make their printing neat and fast. The simple hand activity below is fun, gets the
students attention, and is a great way to help children learn the concepts of letter sizes and
places. Students will develop a sense for how letters fit relative to one another, enabling them to
write letters the correct size and put them in the correct vertical place.
Capital letters – left hand: Make a flat hand for all the capitals.
Lowercase letters – right hand:
Make a fisted hand for small letters (a c e i m n o r s u v w x z )
Point the index finger up for tall letters ( b d f h k l t )
Point the thumb down for descending letters ( g j y p q )
Write the lower case letter on the double lined paper or on the board, and ask the students if it is
small, tall or descending… students use their right hands to show whether the letter is small, tall
or descending.
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting:
Lowercase letter formation
cosvwt
The first five letters are exactly like their capitals, but just smaller.
What an easy start! Just bring your good habits from capitals.
Lowercase t is made like T, it’s just crossed lower.
adgc
These high frequency letters begin with the familiar “Magic C”.
Starting with c placed correctly helps children make and place the d
tall and g descending.
uielkyf
Here are the rest of the vowels: u i e. Letters u k y j are familiar
from capitals. The focus will be on careful placement and size.
prnmhb
They dive! They start with the same pattern: dive down, come up,
swim over! We avoid b – d confusion by separating the letters and
teaching them in different groups.
fqxz
Finally f! The letter f has a tricky start. Letter q is taught here to
avoid g – q confusion. Letters x and z are familiar, but infrequently
used.
The benefits of the HWT Approach to teaching
lowercase letter formation
Good habits for letter formation: All lowercase letters (except d and e) begin at the
top;
Correct placement: The tall, small, and descending letters are in proportion and
placed correctly.
Correct orientation: No b – d confusion, no g – q confusion, no reversed letters!
Lowercase letters are taught using double lined black boards and paper. With just 2
lines, children understand quickly how to place letters. Small letters fit in the middle
space. Tall letters go into the top space. Descending letters go into the bottom
space. Later students can apply that philosophy to other styles of paper they’ll get in
school.
Table of Contents:
Today we have discussed:
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The developmental sequence of visual-motor skills
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Activities to develop memory of how the letters look
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Activities and strategies to help develop fine motor control
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HWT Activities to help develop body awareness and directionality
√
HWT Approach to teaching Handwriting: Capital letters and Numbers:
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Alphabet Soup Stations: Letter play
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Activities to do with your class
√
HWT Approach to teaching handwriting: Lowercase letters
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your school’s O.T.
You can also look at www.HWT.com for teacher and student workbooks, etc.
If you have any questions about the Alphabet Soup grant, please feel free to contact
me at roxanne.ank@craven.k12.nc.us
Thank you for your time!