Handwriting: Instruction that Works! 1st and 2nd grade - HWT Style Font

Proven multi-sensory methods to teach printing supported by research-based high-quality practice pages, lesson plans, letter posters and teacher’s guide.

Do you want your children to use legible and automatic handwriting in their everyday work? Are you tired of giving your students worksheets that they hate and that do not help them write correctly or efficiently in their daily writing? Upgrade your teaching to include research-based best practices. Legible and automatic handwriting is not old-fashioned; two decades of research has found that handwriting is the single most important factor accounting for success in written language skills (Connelly, 2005 & 2006; Graham, 1997; Jones 1999: Medwell 2007 & 2009; Puranik 2012). In fact, it has been found that interventions addressing handwriting are more effective in improving compositional fluency than those addressing phonological awareness (Graham, Harris & Fink, 2000). Research using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) finds that the act of learning to print letters aids in the acquisition of letter identification and reading skills (James and Engelhardt 2012).

Engaging lesson plans, multi-sensory whole group activities, and practice sheets are specifically designed to incorporate best teaching practices that promote positive outcomes:

*Legibility skills include differentiating between the placement of tall, short, & tail letters.

*Automaticity skills free up students to compose rather than think about how to write the letters and words. Automaticity is vitally linked to writing language skills and progress monitor tool for automaticity skills is built into Winged Writers instructional sequence (practice sheets). A corresponding motivational student graph is included.

*Letters starting at the top promote fast and fluid handwriting that is legible throughout the student’s life. Print Path’s instructional program aligns with motor learning principles, and letters are specifically sequenced to help children use skills they already have to learn new letters.

*Words and sentences are ‘blocked’ to teach motor memory in functional chunks.

*The path of movement language is used to teach and to help your children recall difficult letter formations as they write. Group names assist in the memory of difficult or frequently reversed formations.

*Reinforces CCSS skills and provides positive social and emotional messages. (see Preview)

*Illustrations provide phonics and reading connections and are culturally inclusive.

*A self-directed goal helps your children take responsibility for their own learning by choosing and working towards their own handwriting goals.

*The teacher’s guide assists with use of best practices including tips for differentiation and response to intervention.

This Bundle includes: Practice Book, Lesson Plans, Teacher’s Guide, and Letter Group Posters.

Lesson Plans: 6 pages, 20 weeks of instruction [see preview]

• Multisensory group activities including lyrics to songs that help teach scope elements.

• Directions for teaching specific scope elements such as: three sizes of letters, top to bottom formations, student self-awareness, and goal setting.

• Instructional VIDEO for teachers to watch: use of path language, verbal rehearsal, and imitation.

• Illustrations describing specific directions for how to use and get the most value from practice pages.

Teacher’s Guide: 20 pages [see preview]

Effective handwriting instruction involves more than providing dashed-line alphabetical-order worksheets to your students. Currently, most teachers do not enjoy teaching handwriting and many avoid it. If you are not consistently teaching printing skills, it may be that you do not yet have the materials and skills you need to be effective. With these practice sheets, teacher’s guide, and lesson plans, you and your children can find satisfaction and joy in handwriting practice! If you want your children to use legible and automatic handwriting in their everyday work, make learning handwriting fun with Winged Writers.

Page 2 Quick users guide: Practice pages show use of: gray boxes, go dots, stop signs, and teaching tips.

Page 3 Table of contents for Winged Writers Practice pages/book.

Page 4 Beginning handwriting skill instruction.

Page 5 Advancing the handwriting skills of students.

Page 6 Teaching automaticity skills.

Page 7 Differentiation: meeting the needs of all.

Page 8 Response to Intervention. Core instruction and when to extend instruction.

Page 9 -11 Path of Movement Language. Sequence of instruction.

Page 12 The impact of poor physical writing on written language development.

First and Second grade learning objectives.

Page 13-14 Relationship of teaching printing relates to CCSS Common Core Sate Standards in First Grade.

Page 15 Positive social & emotional skill messages.

Research-based best practices to teach handwriting.

Page 16 Explicit Instruction

Page 17 Teacher Support of small group – Pencil practice on structured practice sheets, and Use of feedback to optimize skill acquisition when students use a pencil to print in practice books.

Page 18 Seven Critical Components of Effective Feedback Reflected in Print Path handwriting instruction.

Page 19 Use of Theory of Motor Learning to Teach Printing.

Page 20 License agreement and acknowledgments.

Winged Writers Book: 40 pages [see preview]

1-4 Review of Uppercase Letters. Objectives:

*Reinforces starting at the top; capitals are made with lines and curves, and tall letters fit in the top two spaces of writing.

*Recall of upper case formations without a model.

*Preparation for lowercase pre-assessment.

5 Personal goal page.

6 ALPM (Alphabet Letters Per Minute) Objectives:

*Alphabetic awareness.

*Automaticity practice.

*Progress monitor tool.

7-13 ‘C-starts’ group practice pages.

14 ALPM (Alphabet Letters Per Minute) progress monitor.

15-20 ‘re-tracing rules’ group practice pages.

21 ALPM (Alphabet Letters Per Minute) progress monitor.

22-26 ‘little fly-up’ group

23, 25, 30, 33 Tall, short, tail letter discrimination practice.

26 Review of handwriting goal.

27 ALPM (Alphabet Letters Per Minute) progress monitor.

28-34 ‘sliding - slanting’ group practice pages.

30, 33 Writing prompt, tall and tail letter review, & formation review.

35 Practice of three sizes of letters on pre-notebook paper with a disappearing middle line.

36 Visual memory of letter formations without a model.

37 ALPM (Alphabet Letters Per Minute) progress monitor.

38 ALPM progress graph

39-40 Lined paper to finish writing prompts, to practice ALPM, or for extra formation practice.

Group Posters [see preview]

Lowercase letter formation guides with go-dots that are organized by instructional groups. Posters can be printed on either four pieces of 11”x17” or eight pieces of 8.5” x 11” card-stock.

PrintPath uses its own font that more closely resembles Handwriting Without Tears than Zaner-Bloser or D'Nealian. Letters have a vertical alignment, they do not push off the writing line, and it is visually evident that lowercase letters are mostly made with single strokes. Print Path has its own distinct curriculum with scope, sequence, visual cues, verbal path of movement language, and multisensory methods. If you are looking for the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum follow this link. Many teachers, therapists, and school districts use PrintPath products as their primary stand-alone handwriting curriculum. Some teachers and therapists purchase PrintPath products to extend instruction after using either a Zaner-Bloser style or a HWT curriculum. Other teachers and therapists use PrintPath to help transition children from using the HWT two-lined paper to a more standard three-line primary paper. If you have any questions please feel free to email me! info@printpath.org

Winged Writiers can be purchased at a discount in

Occupational Therapy & Special Education Handwriting MegaBundle .

If you think it is important to TEACH handwriting, you will love these products!

Capitals First!: Book One [PreSchool / Kindergarten]

Capitals First!: Book Two [PreSchool / Kindergarten]

Numbers Next Bundle [PreSchool]

Numbers Next Practice Book [Kindergarten]

Lowercase at Last!: Book One [Kindergarten/ First Grade]

Lowercase at Last!: Book Two [Kindergarten/ First Grade]

Winged Writers [First Grade / Second Grade]

Second Grade Scores or Handwriting Superstars [Second - Third Grade]

Raise the Roof [Third – Fifth Grade]

***************** Customer Feedback *******************

✔︎ I have used this for the past 2 school years. It's wonderful. The dotted lines are so necessary for guiding proper letter formation. This is exactly what was needed for HWT to be complete. There is just the right amount of repetition, and the sentences make it meaningful. I can do it daily in that 15 minute window that is often filled with extras. I can use it for content. I am so thankful for this resource.

✔︎ This has improved my student's handwriting so much. Will be using this year after year.

✔︎ My students really loved these activities!

✔︎ This is an incredible product. Great lesson plans. I love the you-tube and my students will love the worksheets! This will help me so much!

✔︎ Fantastic product! I was looking for something to replace the HWT curriculum I used at my previous school, and this fit the bill nicely. :D

✔︎ Great. I have been desperately looking for something like this for my sped class.

✔︎ I am loving this fun and easy way of teaching my students manuscript handwriting. Thank you for putting this together. I especially have a digraphic student who is enjoying the process and is achieving legible, successful handwriting goals.

✔︎ I love the thoroughness of this product. The teacher pack is helpful, and the student book is divided up in a way that I can spend just a short amount of productive time on handwriting.

✔︎ Love, love, love this product! I especially like that it includes multisensory instruction!

✔︎ We have been using these in small group with the students. They really help. We cannot give up on handwriting! It is too important.

✔︎ I really like the language used in this program.

✔︎ Such a thorough book. Well organized. I look forward to using it next year with my 1st graders since they changed to ball stick in K this year. I love how reading and goals are incorporated into it.

✔︎ Very easy to implement

✔︎ I love how this is organized.I just love the creative ways to write the letters and all! It really is helping with improving my child's handwriting.

✔︎ This was great with helping my son narrow his writing.

✔︎ There are a few features I really like: The gray boxes, sentence practice, and the where-to-start dots. Thank you!

Freebies and Discounts!

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Comments... Love 'Em!!

Your feedback brightens my day and helps me to continually improve PrintPath products. If you download this product, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a comment. If you are not entirely satisfied with a resource that you have purchased, please email me, info@PrintPath.org. Thanks!!

Product License

You can print unlimited copies for you and your students. However, you may not distribute copies to friends or fellow teachers.