15 Ways to Teach Students to Correctly Form Letters While Writing

Are you looking for ways to teach students to correctly form letters while writing? If so, keep reading.
1. To enable appropriate holding of a pencil, put colored tape on portions of the pencil to correspond to finger positions. Then put colored tape on the learner’s fingernails and have the learner match colors.
2. Give the learner an alphabet strip attached to their desk in either printed or written form to serve as a model for correct letter formations.
3. Praise the learner for making correct letters: (a) give the learner a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the learner an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).
4. Get the learner to practice forming letters correctly by using writing learning activities that are most likely to cause the learner to want to be successful (e.g., writing a letter to a friend, rock star, famous athlete; filling out a job application, contest form, etc.).
5. Inspect the learner’s handwritten work at several points throughout a handwriting learning experience to make sure that the learner is forming letters correctly.
6. Acknowledge quality work (e.g., display the learner’s work, congratulate the learner, etc.).
7. Give the learner the appropriate learning materials to finish the task (e.g., pencil with eraser, paper, handwriting sample, etc.). Make sure that the learner has only those appropriate learning materials on the desk.
8. Do not require the learner to learn more information than they are capable of learning at any time.
9. Make the learner proofread all written work. Praise the learner for each correction made.
10. Teach the learner handwriting skills at each level before introducing a new skill level.
11. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the learner to hurry and fail to form letters correctly.
12. Give tactile stimulation for the child (e.g., sand, fur, clay, wood, etc.).
13. Utilize specific manipulatives (strings, toothpicks, etc.) to form letters for visual models.
14. Select a peer to model working daily on drills involving letter formation, ending, and connecting strokes, spacing, and slant for the learner.
15. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:
The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources
Ten Apps to Help Students Develop Writing Skills
10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Students
11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Students
10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Students