By: Maia Richardson, OTR/L
& Nancy Shepherd, COTA
• Occupational therapy (OT) in the school setting is very different than in the
clinical setting. OT is concerned with a student's ability to perform in 3 areas
(1) Self-care (2) Play/leisure (3) Work productivity as they occur in the
school environments. Examples include, but are not limited to, donning a coat
and zipping it up, accessing the cafeteria line, feeding oneself, participating
in classroom games, playground, and gym activities, and legibly writing,
using the computer, manipulating classroom materials, and completing an art
project. OT can help a student who has difficulty performing in any of these
areas by analyzing and breaking down tasks, developing a new way of
doing the task, adapting or modifying the task or environment, and/or
practicing elements of the skill with the student.
• As you can see, HWT/handwriting is only one aspect of OT
• OTs also consult and collaborate with general education teachers to develop
approaches to improve motor development within their classroom.
• Developed by Occupational Therapist Jan Z. Olsen
• Handwriting is learned best 15 minutes/day for 5 days/week
• Multisensory approach to learning to write
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Songs & words
Manipulatives
Posture
Grip
Hand dominance too
• Developmental sequence
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Build it first
Write it later
Work on pencil grip separately
Easiest way to learn letters is not ABC order
• sequence of similar movements
• capitals to lower case to cursive
• Imitation (Demonstration)
• Ex: Teacher prints letter while student watches, then student tries
• Copying
• Ex: Student copies letters from a model without demonstration
• Independent Work
• Ex: Student prints letter without model
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9-12 month
Grabs crayons in fist
Uses both hands and begins to show preference for one
12-18 months
Builds tower of 2 or more blocks
Marks with crayon or pencil
Marks a piece of paper with a crayon and scribbles imitatively
18-24 months
Starts using fingers and thumb to grasp crayons
Imitates vertical, horizontal, and circular scribbles
Copy vertical line
3-4 years
Copy horizontal line
Draws or copies a complete circle
4-5 years
Copying cross, diagonal lines, square, and X
Prints first name (four letters)
5 and above
Draws a person that has at least 3 parts- head, eyes, nose, etc.
Copy triangle and complex shapes
Draws recognizable pictures
Focus for students not developmentally ready to write letters
• Coloring big to small spaces (big spaces use larger muscle
groups, small uses smaller muscles)
• Fine motor activities
• Hand dominance (watch for what hand they use to grasp
objects/food when placed at midline)
• Copying simple shapes
• Build letters with wood pieces
• Focus writing their name in all capitals (use grey block paper)
• Finger paint or shaving cream building lines, people or letters.
• Write letters on the sidewalk with chalk.
• Trace letters in the snow or in the sand.
• Forms letters out of dough or clay.
• Make cookie letters. Having your child form the letters by rolling the dough and putting the pieces
together.
• Form letters out of French fries.
• Make letters with pipe cleaners.
• Draw letters on the carpet with your fingers.
• Decorate a letter collage using glitter, puffy paint, and markers.
• Use different types of pencils for writing practice (gel pens, colored pencils, scented markers,
crayons, etc.).
• Use a flashlight and make letters on the wall. You or your child has to guess the letter that was
made.
You can also cut out letter templates to place in front of the flashlight.
• Put letters on a die. Have your child roll the die and write a word that starts with the letter.
• Fish for words. Place cut-out fish in a shoebox. Write words or letters on the fish. Attach paper
clips
to the fish and adapt a small pole with a magnet. Ask your child to come up with a word or
sentence
using the letter or word on the fish that is caught.
• Have your child write with icing tubes.
• This activity helps children build strength in their fingers and hands while
learning capital letter recognition.
• Directions:
• Teacher shows how to rolls dough (like making a rope or snake.)
• Children imitate.
• Teachers shows how to cut and place pieces of dough to form a letter (use the tray
card or just the tray.)
• Children imitate.
• You can use the Roll-A-Dough tray for a more sensory experience with letters. Put
shaving cream, sane, pudding, or finger paint in the tray. Then have the child “write”
the capital letter with a finger.
• Use songs for big ideas – “Where do you start your letters?”
• Build it then make it
• Basic shapes for ‘building’ and writing capital letters are…
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Big line
Little line
Big curve and
Little curve
• Say phrases during initial pencil/paper writing (next slide)
• Place the F card in front of the child.
• Point to the Letter Card. Say, “ this is F. F starts at the . This word is FISH. FISH begins
with F.”
• Describe each step as you place the Wood Pieces on the F. “I/m getting a big line to
start he F. I’m putting the big line right here, under the . Now, I’m getting a little line to
put at the top. There it is. Now I’m getting another little line to put at the middle. I made
F.”
• Remove the pieces.
• Children Imitate.
• After the letter card, could try to blue mat.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cioBT3DbWTI&feature=player_embedded
• Children learn best when engaging in fun, repetitive activities. Repetition builds
memory. With the Slate and Blackboard, you can get several repetitions of correct
letter formation using the Wet-Dry-Try process.
• Teacher’s Part: demonstrates the correct letter formation.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuFWD-Rddyk&feature=player_embedded
• WET
• Wet little sponge cube
• Squeeze it out.
• Trace the letter with the sponge.
• Wet your finger and trace 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.
• Make sure the child is sitting with feet flat on the floor. Knees
and hips flexed at 90 degrees. Writing surface should be 2”
above students bent elbow.
• Look for the child’s hands to be positioned below the writing
line where they are writing on.
• Student should be using “helper hand” to stabilize the paper.
The paper should be angled approximately 45 degrees to
right if right handed or the left if left handed.
• Adaptations could include slant board, small pencil or pencil
grip, foot rest or block so feet don’t ‘dangle.’
• To promote dynamic tripod grasp, encourage child to flex ring
and little finger in toward palm. May cue by saying “tuck your
fingers into bed” before writing. Or give child a small piece of
paper, cotton ball, sponge or other item to hold in those fingers
as he or she writes.
• Name the fingers: “thumb,” “pointer,” “tall man.” The thumb is
bent, pointer points to the tip, tall man uses his side. I tuck my
last two fingers in, and take them for a ride.
• Mark the child’s pencil with a dot or sticker on each side for
placement or rubberband. Thumb goes on one dot and index
finger on the other. Cue by saying “pinch the pencil” “make an
O shape”.
• Small writing instruments encourage the correct grasp. Try golf
pencils, broken pieces of chalk or crayons, or pip squeak
markers.
• The Handwriting Without Tears® developmental teaching order is
planned to help children learn handwriting skills in the easiest, most
efficient way. As a result, children can transition quickly from learning
the mechanics of handwriting to focusing on content and meaning—in
all subjects. We teach printing first. After printing is mastered, we
add the cursive connections.
• Capitals to Lowercase
• Developmentally, capitals are easier so we teach them first. The
capital teaching order helps teach correct formation and orientation
while eliminating reversals.
• We teach lowercase c o s v w first because they are exactly the
same as their capital partners, only smaller.
• Placement & size on double lined paper
• Use phrases
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Magic c
Slide down
Bump the line
Up like a helicopter
• Teach in Groups:
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Same as the capital: c o s v w t
Magic c : a d g
Transition Group: u i e l k y j
Diver Letters: p r n m h b
Final Group: f q x z
• Letter Stories for tricky letters
• Dive down
• Swim up and over
• Use a highlighter or grey crayon to make letters.
• Stay away from dots! Dots are visually confusion and some
children will even take the time to connect one dot to the next.
• Clearly indicate where the child should start the stroke. (star,
arrow, dot)
• Provide tracing tips and activities for children to use at home.
• Simplified cursive: no slant, fewer loops
• Start with high frequency letters that look like print letters
• Use phrases
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Magic C
bump the line
travel away
up like a helicopter
slide up and over
• practice connections, especially “tow truck” connections
• Capitals last
• Online Tools http://www.hwtears.com/hwt
• A+ worksheet Maker
• Sign up for free account
• Make sight word worksheets
• A Click Away
• Sign up with code in Teacher’s Guide
• Teaching tips, song lyrics
• Parent handouts
• Screener of Handwriting proficiency
• If you ever have any questions don’t hesitate
to ask!
• The Occupational Therapist at your school
should be able to give guidance for your
classroom.
• Maia Richardson, OTR/L
mrichardson@issaquah.wednet.edu
• Nancy Shepherd, COTA
nshepherd@issaquah.wednet.edu
Introduction to using a mouse on the computer.
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Give a introduction on how to hold the mouse. Show them what it looks like and how it is to be
handled carefully.
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Practice holding the mouse and clicking with index finger.
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I put a star sticker on the left for younger students to remind them where to left-click. Also
introduce the terms click, double click and drag.
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Starfall has great theme related activities where students can practice click and drag. They can
make a jack-o-lantern or snowman, for example.
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ABCmouse.com is a free program to help students learn to use the mouse. It may be too basic
for some, depending on their computer experience. This is great resource for students to get
mouse practice and practice in the concepts they are learning in class.
Introduction to using a keyboard
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To start, teach them to know where the letters are on a keyboard. Show them a poster size
keyboard that is enlarged on a poster maker (or this can be done at an office store) and laminate
it. Show them where the letters, numbers, backspace and enter keys are on the poster.
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Warm up by saying the ABC's and touching each letter on the keyboard.
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Next laminate a photocopy of a small version of the keyboard.
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Write each students' user name at the bottom of the small version and practice typing user name
on the paper (laminated) keyboard. If desired, scaffold the learning by providing them with a
copy that has the keys highlighted of their user name, then give them a blank copy once they have
learned it.
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After several practices, put the laminated keyboards into a pocket folder next to the computers.
Students find their user name and login.
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Let them practice keyboarding skills at this website: Literacy Education I love the computer activities
for beginners on this web site. It teaches students to use capital letters, lowercase letters and
numbers on the keyboard. First they have to click on the letter, and then find it on the keyboard.
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Play typing games. Lots of free typing games online.
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Use play dough for pinching and rolling small pieces to strengthen the thumb and index fingers. Use the thumb pad and the pad of the
index finger. You an also make letters out of it.
Squeeze eye dropper or medicine dropper (with thumb and pad of index finger) filled with colored water or paint to make a picture on
paper of coffee filters.
Practice making and “O” shape with the thumb and index finger. Practice picking up small items with our “O” keeping the finger and little
fingers tucked into palm. If child is unable to do this give them something small to hold with their ring and little finger to remind them.
Make a game by timing them as they pick up items and place in container.
Clothespin activities. Try to keep all finger joints rounded or flexed when using clothespins.
Tear pieces of construction paper into small piece to glue onto a picture of shape.
Use tweezers to pick up items. (try to use only thump and index and/or middle finger with ring and little finger tucked in) Games like
operation, bedbugs, feed the dog, and zoo sticks are great.
Light Brite.
Use an elevated surface to encourage wrist extension. Writing, drawing, or painting on an easel of taping paper to a wall or window.
Cut a slit in the middle of a tennis ball, and have the child feed the tennis ball. You can add eyes, hair, etc. The child paces the thumb on
one end of the mouth, and middle finger on the other end to squeeze open the mouth. Then the other hand can feed the hungry tennis ball
things like dried beans, coins, marbles, cotton balls, etc.
Make things with beads: necklaces, key chains, bookmarks.
Draw on Magnadoodle boards.
Make things out of pop beads
Play with bubbles, and let the child hold the want themselves.
Play with wind up toys, have the child wind up themselves.
Play card games like go fish, the smaller the better.
Use finger paints, have each finger be a different color.
Use squirt bottles to water plants, or fill with food coloring for art project.
Use thumb and index finger to pop bubble wrap.
Have the child help seal zip lock bags. Use the pads of thumb and fingers.
Have the child build something with Legos.
Lacing board activities.
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Shifting weight between two hands, such as when swinging between monkey bars or trapezes, or wheelbarrow walking, crab-walking,
bear-walking, doing the "inchworm" (walk hands forward, then hands stay still and feet walk up to hands, repeat), etc.
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Positioning-plus-activity to elicit crossing midline. For example: have the child sit backwards on a chair, straddle a bench or bolster, or sit on
a hippity-hop. Or just tell them that their feet have to stay "glued in place" to the floor while standing. Now have them throw beanbags at
targets located far to the sides. Or bat at balloons hung to each side, roll balls in bowling game with pins located to the side, etc. You are
looking for rotation through the body and needing to switch objects between hands.
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In a group, have children sit in a circle cross-legged or on chairs. Pass a ball around with two hands by twisting the body to the right and
left to take the ball and then pass it. This can be elicited through positioning the players just right. Make it more interesting by speeding up
the pace or pairing it with having to count down by 3's as you take the ball, or spelling words out loud one letter per person as you pass
the ball, etc.
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Make circles and shapes in front of body with streamers
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Anything hand-over-hand to pull a rope (pull something to self, or pull self along a rope while on scooterboard, or while on a swing, or
climb rope, etc)
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Wear a catcher's mitt or velcro mitt while playing catch; child has to catch with mitted hand, then transfer to other hand to throw or roll it
back
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Fishing games where the child needs to pull the "fish" off the "line" with one hand while holding the line with the other hand.
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Drumming with both hands. Try to listen and copy each others' rhythm patterns.
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Pull-apart and push-together building materials and toys (Duplos, zoob/accordion tubes, toy accordion, zoom ball)
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Stringing beads - match the size of beads and string to ability level of child: easiest is pipe cleaners and large square wooden beads,
hardest is thread and tiny beads.
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Penny flipping! Line up a row of pennies from left to right so that the row reaches from in front of left shoulder to in front of right shoulder.
Cross midline by using one hand to flip them all over in line without leaning to right or left. Try using both hands at once by starting
simultaneously at left and right ends of row and flipping pennies until hands meet at the middle. Or make an oval race track and race
around it by flipping pennies in turn.
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Any toy that has to be held in one hand while the other manipulates! Just arrange the situation so that the toy can't be stabilized by leaning
against it or some such, but that other hand is really actively holding it.