How to Practice Preschool Letter and Name Writing.
Children’s names and the names of other important people in their lives (such as “Mom”) are usually the first words that they try to write because they see and hear them a lot. Children’s names are usually the first word they “read” and “write” in their own way and that helps them feel powerful and interested in what more they can do and learn.
Learn Easy Strategies for Elementary Writing. Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer, authors of The Well-Trained Mind, talk about the two-step writing process for elementary students.The first step is to practice oral composition. First, encourage your child to talk about what he is going to write.
Name some objects in a book. Talk about characters in books. Look at pictures in books and realize they are symbols of real things. Listen to stories. Ask or demand that adults read or write with them. Begin to pay attention to specific print such as the first letters of their names. Scribble with a purpose (trying to write or draw something).
Not only do these name activities teach kids to recognize and write their name, but they do it in a way that is fun and uses a variety of manipulatives and supplies. Kids will use things like play dough, dot markers, art supplies, blocks, dry-erase markers and more while learning their name.
Certain handwriting programs focus on introducing children ONLY to uppercase letters first because, from a developmental standpoint, they are much easier for young children to write. But what handwriting programs do not take into account is the decades of research around emergent literacy and how young children learn to see, recognize, identify, and name letters.
In large introductory courses, TAs who learn names help to reduce the feelings of anonymity and isolation that many students experience. Use name tents. Ask students to write their names in large letters on both sides of a folded 5 x 8 index card and to keep this card on their desks for the first few classes. Annotate your class roster.
Some kids are still learning to hold down a piece of paper with one hand while writing with the other. Using an easel can eliminate this problem and also help improve overall technique.