Top 10 Tools to Teach Writing for Children

Top 10 Tools to Teach Writing for Children

This article is mainly focused on generating interest in young children for writing. These tools to teach writing for children can benefit anybody. Especially children who need that extra push to be able to bring out the best potential for writing. 

The reasons can be any neurological deficit or the child is just reluctant to write. However, there’s always a particular way to engage him/her in some fun paperwork. Thanks to all the research and technology. This has led to the understanding of writing in a solution-oriented manner. 

To make the most of these tools to teach writing for children, one must understand the stages of handwriting. They can be listed as follows:

1. Pre-Writing Patterns: It is very important for children to explore and experiment with their tiny hand muscles. These patterns help children to form letters correctly later during writing.
2. Letter Formation: Understanding each letter’s formation is very important for good handwriting. A multi-sensory approach towards learning letter formation is a great way.
3. Connecting letters to make words: Whether the child chooses to write in cursive handwriting or not, joining letters together helps them develop more fluidity and speed in writing. This also enables the child to develop his/her unique handwriting style.

Once legible handwriting is achieved, children can work upon their writing skills to address issues if any. Amongst all the conventional as well as non-conventional techniques used to stimulate better writing skills, here is the top ten list:

1. Activities that help in Developing the hand muscles:

Writing properly does not only depend on the grasp, the pencil, or the motivation of the child. Muscle readiness can only be achieved through various activities, other than writing. Some tested playing materials are playdough, discovery putty, sand, and papercrafts. Children develop dexterity and accuracy in their tiny hand muscles which as a result, later serves in better handling of the pencil.

2. Colored pencils:

There’s no doubt about what colors can do to our lives. And for children who don’t get happy with the dull grey pencil marks, their favorite color pencil is there for the rescue. These colored pencils are not only a substitute for just the color. But they also help in developing the correct pressure required to write with a pencil.

3. Triangle gripped crayons:

There’s something about this shape because of which,  the crayon fit snugly in those tiny fingers. These crayons are a big yes for children who have diverse types of fingers. There are variations in the thickness too.

4. Pencil grips:

There is an increasing number of styles available in the market for this. An occupational therapist is the best person to suggest the right grip needed for a child. It eases out the pressure on the fingers. Sometimes it just clicks with the preferred pencil grasp and works like a charm.

5. Activity books that enhance pressure and endurance for scribbling:

Magic pencil shading books are a tricky way to promote scribbling. The hidden pictures in these sheets get revealed gradually with each stroke of the pencil. The more detailed the picture is, the more curious the child gets to scribble on it.

6. Tracing worksheets:

Tracing promotes confidence, as the work produced, is comparatively flawless. It also allows muscle training due to its repeated patterns. It’s great for both pre-schoolers as well as kindergarteners.

7. Carbon paper trick:

Yes! This not-so-useful piece of dark stained paper has a creative side too. Children who struggle to get the right amount of pressure needed for writing can use it very effectively. Simply using the carbon paper beneath the writing paper in the notebook can provide feedback. Dark impressions mean too much pressure whereas no impression implies inadequate pressure.

8. Stencils:

This is the magic tool for any child who’d love to produce written work, only if they had sufficient control in their hands. Issues such as involuntary movements, insufficient muscle control, or even children with visual deficits can use it easily to produce written responses. They come in various sizes and fonts too.

9. Mechanical pencils:

Managing a pencil can be irritating for some young writers. Getting the tip correct and handling the sharpener can sometimes be tricky. With the mechanical ones, all the fuss goes away. And it’s so cool!

10. Writing clipboard and table wedges:

A little adjustment with the writing surface can improve the writing drastically. Getting that correct angle for the hand position is so crucial to get the most productive range of movement. Stability for the notebook is also something those little hands cannot always provide. Wedges can be custom-made once the angle required is determined. 

Apart from the aforementioned tools to teach writing to children, there are a few basic factors that affect writing. These are the correct posture, placement of the writing surface, and the distance from the eye to the writing surface. These can be different for particular children. These can always be altered suitably to allow the maximum stability and range of hand movements. 

Further Reads:

Tips to Promote Writing in Children with Dyslexia

 

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