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KL

 

The main aim of this thread within the Kinetic Letters lessons is to develop "strategies for learning, self-correcting and maintaining an optimal pencil hold for comfortable, fluent and legible writing" (Margaret Williamson)

The ultimate function of a pencil hold is that it allows the writer to write at a good pace for a long period of time, without pain or discomfort. (Margaret Williamson)

Kinetic Letters teaches a way of holding the pencil that is comfortable and allows children to write fast and legibly. 

Optimal Pencil Hold

The strong lower half of the hand and the 'Resting Fingers', create a stable base of support on which the more dextrous fingers, 'The Three Friends', can manipulate the pencil.

 Hand

Picking up the pencil

Picking up the pencil

The children are encouraged to complete 'pencil checks' including;

1. Are my 'Holding Fingers' level with each other?

2. Can I see a little pencil colour between my 'Holding Fingers'?

3. Is my 'Pillow Finger' underneath?

4. Is my pencil laying across my hand?

Left and Right Handed Optimal Pencil Hold

Left and Right Handed Optimal Pencil Hold

Right and left-handed children use the same routine for picking up a pencil and placing their fingers around it.  Left-handed children need to hold the pencil further from the tip than right-handed children to help them see what is being written.

Aid for 'Holding the Pencil' - Curly the Caterpillar

A 'blu-tac' caterpillar helps maintain the gap between the fingers as no one wants to squash Curly the caterpillar! 

squash a caterpillar

KL

The main aim of this thread within the Kinetic Letters lessons are to "build physical strength to help with concentration and the ability to hold and manoeuvre the writing tool for extended periods of time without tiring" (Margaret Williamson) 

Through a series of different activities, the children will develop their;

  • pelvic girdle strength
  • shoulder girdle strength
  • forearm and wrist strength
  • hand and finger strength

The Animal Positions

These 'animal' positions are used throughout the School day e.g. sitting in the Gorilla position for the Teacher's input, waiting in line for Assembly in the Penguin position, answering the register in the Meerkat position. 

The children can also be encouraged to use these positions at home e.g. watching the television or using their tablet whilst in the Lizard position, listening to a story in the Lion position, reading their reading book in the Gorilla position.

We are very lucky to have a brand new 'Reading Shed' on our Playground.  The Reading Shed was purchased using funding received.

The Reading Shed was launched on World Book Day 2018 and has been filled with lots of wonderful resources to enhance children's reading experiences including story stones, masks and puppets.

The Reading Shed also contains a set of amazing 'Story Sacks' made and donated by Staff members as part of our World Book Day Celebrations.  Story Sacks include 'Owl Babies', 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea', 'Six Dinner Sid' and lots, lots more.

TheReadingShed

KL

At Raunds Park, we use a whole school approach to improving letter formation and handwriting. The scheme that we use is called Kinetic Letters. It is based on ensuring the children have the strength in their bodies, arms, wrists, hands and fingers to prepare them for the skill of handwriting. 

The underlying principles of Kinetic Letters

  • Building physical strength underpins handwriting, as poor writing may be due to poor strength.
  • Children are not expected to do anything before they are developmentally ready for it.
  • The different components of writing are mastered individually before being used in combination.
  • Letters are learnt as movements not as visual shapes and movement remains central to developing flow and accuracy.
  • When handwriting is automatic, the brain can concentrate on content.
  • Reading and writing are a reciprocal process and so strengthening handwriting skills will support reading and writing development as a whole.

The Kinetic Letters font covers all the letters in the alphabet, as well as each number, and is based on a set of rules that have been made as simple as possible to enable fast learning.  The order in which the letters are taught recognises the cognitive development of children. (Margaret Williamson 2017).

The Four Threads of Kinetic Letters

  1. Making Bodies Stronger
  2. Holding the Pencil
  3. Learning the Letters
  4. Flow and Fluency

Visit the Kinetic Letters website

Each month children can earn 'Golden Tickets' for effort and achievement with their reading.  They can also earn them for regular reading at home. 

Children use their 'Golden Ticket' to vote for a book that they would like the chance to win. The books that the children can win are on display in their classroom as an incentive.  At the end of each month, a draw takes place in each class.  A 'Golden Ticket' is chosen at random from the box.  The lucky winner keeps the book.  The book has a sticker inside the front cover to indicate that it has been won during the 'Golden Ticket' draw.

 

GT4