Ideas to help an older child learn to write

iammumtoone

I need some fun ideas/suggestions to help my child write. He is 8 so tracing letters is not going to work (too repetitive and boring), he hates writing (he knows he can't do it and gets frustrated when he makes mistakes). I need something that is fun and that doesn't seem like to him he is actually learning/practicing ifsyim. Its the forming of the letters he struggles with he writes a lot of the letters back to front.

I don't like English myself hence finding it difficult to come up with ideas, I can think of load of ideas for maths!

Thanks

Lily-Rose_3

iammumtoone wrote: »

I need some fun ideas/suggestions to help my child write. He is 8 so tracing letters is not going to work (too repetitive and boring), he hates writing (he knows he can't do it and gets frustrated when he makes mistakes). I need something that is fun and that doesn't seem like to him he is actually learning/practicing ifsyim. Its the forming of the letters he struggles with he writes a lot of the letters back to front.

I don't like English myself hence finding it difficult to come up with ideas, I can think of load of ideas for maths!

Thanks

What about getting him to write song lyrics, (from songs he knows and likes,) or make up some poetry or limericks with him. Or get him to think of, and write down 3 boys names beginning with each letter of the alphabet, and then girls names, and then different types of animals and different countries and so on.... We used to do stuff like that, and my daughter loved it, and learned loads.

Cuilean

With my teacher and "regular human being" hats on, you have my sympathy. Boys are reluctant writers at the best of times, and if he's not confident with his letter formation, your son will likely be reluctant to show his handwriting.

Is it the actual formation of letters he's struggling with? If so, have a look at this document for some excellent ideas: http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/helping_pupils_with_letter_formation.pdf

The last school I worked at used "Roll & Write"
http://www.smartkids.co.uk/details.asp?pid=2765&category=4&subcat=174&age_range=
You drop the ball into a "mould" and it runs around the letter in the way you should be writing it. School might have one to loan you.

In terms of equipment, try a whiteboard. Kids like the smooth texture of them, plus it's easier to hide anything they don't like by just rubbish it out.

Octobergirl

If he were younger, I would suggest practicing in sand/gloup for sensory input. unfortunately letter formation is pretty dull. Maybe a small incentive system would work? my 6 year old is forming all his letters wrong. Im teaching him cursive with lead in strokes so he doesn't have to think where to start (okayed with teacher first). Teaching small groups of formation, I.e. C,o,a,d with similar formation. He is doing 5 of each. Taking 15 mins a day. Bought a sticker album, he gets a sticker each time he does it.

Rummer

There are loads of fun ways for children to practice letter formation however it is more about getting him on board. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas, just type in letter formation.

As others have mentioned you can practice in different mediums such as sand, shaving foam, gloop, chalk (on the ground), coffee grounds etc It is also good to paint them in water on the ground or for you to write them in chalk and for him to paint them off. printed petters can be traced by cars/figures etc

There are loads of ways to get him involved and it may be worth using his interests as part of it.

Fen1

Writing letters back to front can be a sign of dyslexia. Has he been thoroughly assessed? Mild dyslexia can be easily missed, so I would push for a proper review rather than relying on his teachers. I'm sure there are posters on here who know how to get this done and offer sound advice on dyslexia.
Tactile learning may also be useful. Use a rope to form letters. Again, look up tactile learning as other posters have suggested.

May I also enquire as to why you are frightened of English? Is your son picking up his reluctance from you? Have you had proper adult learning support? You getting help may well help your son. If you are confident for yourself, then you will be confident for your son.

sooty&sweep

Hi
Why is he reluctant to write ? As he been able to give you any clues ?
My son was & is a reluctant writer. He's 14 now. He was tested during primary school & he was diagnosed as having specific learning with dyslexic tendancies. He struggled with spelling etc & knew it so tried to avoid writing.
If you have any concerns then speak to the school & ask that they test him for specific learning difficulties.

iammumtoone

thanks all

I knew everyone on here would come up with some great ideas. Those roll and write letters look really good, I don't think they have anything like that at his school, we might try to make some out of air drying clay. I also like the idea of using a dry wipe board so he can rub out mistakes easily.

Fen1 - I am sure you are correct in saying his English is effected as I don't like it (I never have) I don't think it is a coincidence that he is much better at maths, like myself. I don't think I need an adult literacy course, I do have a grade C GCSE in English (just lol). I am confident enough in my ability to teach an eight year old. I just don't like it, whereas I enjoy doing maths, unfortunately that is never going to change no matter how many English courses I attend.

He has been screened for dyslexia it came out as a definite no. His reading ability is above his age level. He has been diagnosed as having meares irlen however I am not convinced this is the problem. The suggestion was he started to write on coloured paper which he has been doing for the last 6 months, however this has not made any difference or helped him at all. However the school are satisfied as they now have a 'reason' why his writing is so bad!

Corelli

Peggy Kaye's Games for Writing is a really good book. All her books are. There are some of her games for free download on her website: http://www.peggykaye.com/target.php?ct=welcome

Owain_Moneysaver

Rather than just tracing letters, make up (or copy from internet) some texts on subjects that interest him. You can download various 'dotty' fonts for the purpose, or just use a handwriting font and print it in pale grey.

theoretica

How about a family rule that all requests from him need to be in writing - from fishfingers for dinner to a trip to the beach?

Time and repetition is really necessary when trying to develop muscle memory. Could he listen to music while doing it? Is he arty? Would calligraphy help embed which way round letters go?

How is his typing? I didn't get along with English that well because it just took so long, I was not the fastest writer and once I had thought what I wanted to say it was a pain to get down. If he has access to a computer, teaching him proper touch typing with the right fingers and everything will be really, really useful. It is much harder to learn later when habits are set. There are tutor programs available.