Vowel Clustering Teaches Handwriting Part 1

by Elaine Clanton Harpine, Ph. D

Part 1: Handwriting Helps Children Learn to Read

This will be a two-part article on the importance of teaching handwriting at the same time as teaching reading. Handwriting and reading are connected. They work together.

We assume that because a child has been shown both capital and lowercase letters that they have learned them. This is not the case, and this is one of the first big mistakes often made in teaching reading. Just because a child can sing the alphabet song, does not mean that they know the alphabet letters and their sounds. Vowel clustering stresses letter sounds.

It is also important to teach handwriting to older students. I have worked with 4th and 6th graders who did not know their lower-case alphabet. Everyone assumed that they did, but they did not.

lowercase letters. Rearrange the alphabet letters so that the student is looking at the letter and identifying the letter, not just remembering it from the song or a chart.

We read predominantly with the lower-case alphabet. So, when teaching reading, start with the alphabet. Teach both the capital letters and lowercase letters. Teach them separately. Then mix the capital and lowercase letters together, not in alphabetical order and not in pairs, to make sure that students can identify both capitals and

Teach the alphabet first. Then, you will have a much stronger foundation for teaching reading later.

This is the kind of foundation that vowel clustering is built upon. Once the child has letter identity, letter shape, and letter sounds, then you are ready to introduce simple words, but not before. It’s like building a house. Build the foundation before you try to add the roof.

With vowel clustering, children learn to break words down into letter sounds or sound clusters.

Handwriting and reading work together, so, if you want to teach a child to read, you must also teach a child to write. Improving a child’s handwriting is one of the first steps in helping a child learn to read. It is not enough to just be able to sing the alphabet song; although, the alphabet song is very helpful in learning to alphabetize. To read, the student must also be able to identify and say the name of each alphabet letter. Then, the student must be able to write the letters correctly.

After a child can identify the alphabet letters and write each upper and lowercase letter correctly, then teach that letters represent oral sounds. Vowel clustering teaches students to work with letter sounds. Start with the consonants. Save the vowels for later. Just say, “This is a letter a; it’s a vowel. We’ll talk about that later. For now, we’ll just use its letter name.”

Students can arrange words matched to their vowel sounds.

If you would like more research on the importance of teaching letter sounds, go to my reading blog: https://www.groupcentered.com/reading-blog/ tutoring-hint-10-how-can-we-best-use-scientificresearch-when-teaching-reading-part-1-the-orallanguage-system

If you have questions, I am always happy to help. Contact me: clantonharpine@hotmail.com

Elaine Clanton Harpine, Ph. D.

If you are looking for creative activities with alphabet letters and correct pronunciation of letter sounds, I devote an entire chapter on teaching consonant sounds in my new book:

Why Can’t We Teach Children to Read? Oh, but Wait, We Can.