The letter formation families The four families are: • • • •
The Curly Caterpillar family: anti-clockwise round, exemplified by the letter c o cadgoq o esf The Long Ladder family: down and off in another direction, exemplified by the letter l o ilt o uyjk The Robot family: down and retrace upwards, exemplified by the letter r o rnm o hbp The Zigzag family: straight, sharp turn, exemplified by the letter z o vwxz
Letter formation for left-handers The formation of some letters is slightly different for some left-handed children, who ‘pull’ the lines right to left, where right handers will ‘push’ lines left to right: the lower-case letters t and f and capital letters A, E, F, H, J and T.
Joining letters in Key Stage 2 In Key Stage 1, Happy Handwriting teaches five main joins between letters: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Diagonal joins to letters without ascenders (for example: ai) Diagonal joins to letters with ascenders (for example: ch) Horizontal joins to letters without ascenders (for example: wa) Horizontal joins to letters with ascenders (for example: wh) Joins to round (anti-clockwise) letters (for example: ad)
Most children learn to produce joins efficiently in upper KS1 and lower KS2, but some children in Year 6 may still be establishing these joins as automatic movements. Happy Handwriting in Years 5 and 6 offers additional practice of the tricky or less frequent joins. All Key Stage 2 writers also need to know which letters not to join for maximum efficiency, and to focus on the size and spacing of letters and joins.
Break letters Happy Handwriting uses a lower-case script where most letters have an exit stroke or ‘flick’, then moves into a mostly joined script where joins are natural and promote fluency and flow in writing. In Happy Handwriting, these letters do not join to letters following them: b, g, j, p, q, x, y, z, s. Most adults use an efficient semi-joined script when they write, and Happy Handwriting prepares children to learn this as early as possible.
Learning the alphabet Knowing the names of the letters helps with phonics and spelling. Call a letter by its name, rather than the sound associated with it. If children learn the letter name when they learn the movement for the lower-case letter, they can then learn the capital letter which has the same name. Alphabetical order of letter names is an easily learned sequence that lasts a lifetime. It enables children to use dictionaries and alphabetical order – and it is one system that is not changing in this digital age! Happy Handwriting encourages you to sing the classic alphabet song – even in Key Stage 2 – to ensure everyone is secure in their alphabet knowledge, and to do the additional alphabet activities on page 77 of this guide. There are even more alphabet activities available in the Happy Handwriting printable resources. Happy Handwriting
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