Letter Formation Handwriting Without Tears Interactive SMART Board smartboard

This is a great way to teach letter and number formation to Kindergarten, First and Second Grade students. I use this in conjunction with Handwriting Without Tears. The writing lines in the file are the same as the Handwriting Without Tears writing lines. Using the SMARTBoard this year with letter formation, a lot of reversals and incorrect letter formation has been eliminated. Students are having fun with handwriting! Also important to note, my students are showing much improved letter naming and letter sound fluency!

I conduct this type of lesson everyday for about 15-20 minutes total, from beginning to end. I gather my class in front of the Smart Board and show them how to correctly form the letter we are working on using interesting pens and colors. We also make the sound of the letter (A...apple...a). Next, the students, pretending they have laser pointer fingers, follow my formation of the letter once again. After a few times of doing this, I have a few students come up to the SMARTBoard and make the letters on the lower line. Then we go back to our writing areas and practice using paper (I have included) or the Handwriting Without Tears book. I then monitor the children and make sure they are forming the letters correctly.

Using the same paper we use in Writers Workshop to work on letter formation, has helped their stories become much neater and easier to read! These are first graders! Trust me, they will love this and you will see great improvement!

Practice! Practice! Practice! Engaging fun handwriting practice, utilizing the SMARTBoard, is a great intervention that has improved the handwriting of my students.