Move Write Programme - Prepare to Write

Move Write

A whole-body sensorimotor approach to handwriting

PrepareWrite

this book belongs to:

Dr Sinéad McCauley Lambe

Just Rewards Publications

Business Park Rd, Lisnenan, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

www.justrewards.ie

© Just Rewards 2024

ISBN: 978-1-913137-72-4

Author: Dr Sinéad McCauley Lambe

Design: Audrey Kavanagh

Images:

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publishers or else under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Irish Copyright Licensing Association.

How to Use This Book

Spatial awareness is a key prerequisite of handwriting development, enabling children to first experience shape and space through their own movement and through their own bodies. Through early mark making and scribbling, children explore a range of movements and shapes, with patterns and dots and zig-zag lines. This early stage of mark making is essential in laying the foundations for handwriting development as the child develops a growing awareness of space and their place within it.

Providing children with opportunities to develop structured drawing skills, is therefore key in enabling them to develop a sense of space and shape that will support them when it later comes to formal letter formation.

The ability to copy geometric forms is recognised across the literature as an indication of writing readiness in the young child and requires integration of motor skills and visual processing skills (Beery, 1992). Prepare to Write presents 20 stepby-step drawings that are based on these nine geometric shapes - a vertical line, a horizontal line, a circle, a cross, a right oblique line, a square, a left oblique line, an oblique cross and a triangle. Each drawing is broken down into four clear and simple steps, supporting children’s developing understanding of shape and space. The orientation of the Prepare to Write book provides ample blank space for the young child to practice their drawing, without being confined by borders. In this way, Prepare to Write aims to provide teachers with developmentally appropriate, structured drawing activities for young children, before they move to formal letter formation.

Suggestions for Use:

• Explicit Teaching: The teacher should explicitly teach the learners how to draw the geometric shapes and lines that make up each drawing. The learner should only ‘give it a go’ following explicit instruction from the teacher.

• Teacher Modelling: If the classroom has access to a visualiser – it would be

beneficial for the learners to see the drawing being modelled on a large screen. If this is not possible, the teacher should model the drawing using a flipchart or whiteboard.

• Directional Language: The teacher should use directional language that will help the learners to develop an understanding of shape and space. For example, ‘I am going to draw a square to form the shape of a house. It goes: down, across to the right, up and across to the left, or I could draw it like this – up, across to the right, down and across to the left’.

• Active Learning: As the teacher models drawing and using directional language, the learners should be encouraged to mimic the drawing action by drawing in the air with their pointer finger, or on the table, or on the back of a partner.

• Consolidation: While the book provides ample blank space for the learner to practice drawing each shape, its is suggested that further playful opportunities should be provided to consolidate learning. For example, A4 versions of the completed drawings (available to download), could be placed at a free-writing station where learners could be encouraged to practice the drawings again using a range of novel writing instruments. Similarly, learners could practice the drawings (supported by visual aids) at a sand / rice / shaving foam table. Chalk could be provided for outside play, and children could be encouraged to practice the drawing that they did in class during outside play time.

• Differentiation: For reluctant writers, or for those learners seeking sensory input, it might be helpful to put a piece of sandpaper under the page (or any another textured paper that will provide sensory feedback). Alternatively, provide more sensory rich experiences (sand / rice / lentils / shaving foam) prior to attempting the paper and pencil version of the drawing. If a learner is using First/Next/ Then schedule, it may be helpful to incorporate this language into the drawing activities. For example: ‘First we are going to draw a triangle, next we are going to draw a square, then we are going to draw a rectangle’. It may be necessary to cover one or two of the steps for some learners, or to complete the first step to encourage them into the activity. Alternatively, the drawing could be completed as a turn-taking activity between the teacher and learner.

Draw a house

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a pencil

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

First Next Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw an aeroplane

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a car

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a present

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a christmas tree

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a clock

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a lighthouse

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a rocket

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a snowman

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a snail

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a penguin

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a cat

First

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a flower

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a dog

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a fish

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a face

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a person

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?

Draw a robot

Trace over the shapes in each box using your pencil

First Next

Trace over the shapes in each box using your finger

Then

Give it a Go - use the blank space to draw each shape and to complete the full picture!

How did you do?