Move Write Handwriting Book A (Cursive) Set

Just Rewards Publications

Business Park Rd, Lisnenan, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

www.justrewards.ie

© Just Rewards 2024 978-1-913137-74-8

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.

Pre-Writing Checklist (Beery & Beery, 1989)

The Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration was first published in 1989 by Beery & Beery. It is a pencil-andpaper measure that involves 24 geometric forms of increasing complexity that the child being assessed is required to copy. Research in the area suggests therefore that formal handwriting training should be delayed until the child can successfully copy basic geometric shapes, including 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 (O’Connor, 2012).

How to use this book - underpinning principles

Move Write Book A (Cursive) is a developmentally designed handwriting practice book that supports the introduction of cursive style handwriting.

Research suggests that there are a variety of ways to group letters in relation to the of teaching of handwriting. The approach taken in Move Write Book A follows on from the Move Write: A Whole-body Approach to Handwriting programme. It is a child-led, sensory-rich developmental approach that can be used in the whole-class or in one-to-one settings with individual learners.

Learners are invited to look carefully at all the letters on the page and to examine the distinguishing features of each letter. This activity is building on the visual discrimination skills developed in the Move Write: A Wholebody Approach to Handwriting programme. In this way, the children themselves will develop their own ideas about letter characteristics and which letters should be grouped together, which will make them more likely to be able to remember how to form the letters correctly. This method is based on Marie Clay’s (1991) work on teaching of letter formation. Building on the sensorimotor focus of Move Write - A Whole-body Approach to Handwriting, a tactile alphabet is included at the beginning of the book. It is suggested that this page is used as the starting point for learners to decide what letters should go together.

Possible questions / prompts that you could use to facilitate the conversation are as follows:

• Can we try to find all the letters that have a straight line in them? Put a cube on all the short letters.

• Can we try to find all the letters that have a loop near the bottom? Put a cube on all the letters that have a loop near the bottom.

• Now, can you find a letter with a loop near the top? Put a cube on those letters.

• Can we find letters that have a dot on top? Put a cube on those letters.

• Can we try to find letters that have a ‘hollow’ or a ‘hole’ in them? Put a cube on those letters.

• Can we find letters that have a ‘c’ hidden in them?

An example of possible groupings could be as follows:

C Curved letters: c, a, d, g, o, s, q, x Straight line letters: i, j, t, p, n, m, r

Looped letters: e, l, b, f, h, k

Hollowed letters: u, y, v, w, z

As a class-group, as a small-group or in a one-to-one setting, decide what groups or ‘families’ the letters belong to. Decide which letter you are going to begin with, and encourage learners to find the correct practice page. This process promotes the development of critical visual perceptual skills as learners use visual discrimination skills to find the correlating page in the book. The process also supports a child-led, developmentally appropriate approach, as well as the professional judgement of educators.

Move Write Book A (Cursive) provides practice activities for children to develop the movements that they will need to master the formation of joins. Repetition of patterns that include movements that mimic those needed for letter formation are a key to developing confidence and competence at this early stage of development. Letters are then introduced as separate but flowing letters with a lead in and out (in line with guidance from the Primary Language Curriculum).

Trace and copy

Give it a go!

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give it a go!

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give it a go!

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give

Trace and copy

Give it a go!