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Different Strokes: Using differentiation in handwriting for student success

Writing Time 5/9/16

All students are different. Whether the difference lies in their rate of learning, approach to tasks or individual interests, every student will benefit from differentiation in the classroom.

A great place to start is your handwriting lesson. Differentiated handwriting activities lead to success for every student – from the fast finisher to the handwriting rookie.

Extend and engage

Do you dread the words, ‘I’ve finished already’? Instead of subjecting your extension students to more tedious handwriting tasks, turn to Writing Time for creative activities that will keep even the fastest finisher engaged.

Give students’ fine motor skills a workout using the beautifully illustrated art activities in the Writing Time Student Practice Books. Ask students to add intricate patterns to their artwork and turn their handwriting practice into a masterpiece.

Reflection banners in the Writing Time 4–6 Student Practice Books provide space for the critics in the class to reflect on their own and other students’ handwriting. All good writing practice!

Competitive students love a time challenge. Print Blank Line worksheets from Writing Time Online and task fast finishers with transcribing a dictation passage from a spelling lesson. The focus is now on speed and legibility.

Get students to write a letter by hand. Whether they’re writing from the perspective of a favourite fiction character or writing to a grandparent or friend, all they need is a Blank Line worksheet and an active imagination.

Support and develop

Writing Time has plenty of support activities to help struggling students get up to speed with their handwriting.

Start with Writing Time Online worksheets to give students extra practice with letter formations and letter combinations.

Print Slope Cards from Writing Time Online. Placing the card behind their writing pages will have students perfecting their slope in no time.

Tech-savvy students don’t even need a pencil! Students can log in to writingtimekids.com.au on their iPads and have fun practising letter formations using the See & Trace tool.

Finally, don’t forget to focus on gross and fine motor skills. Put aside the paper and pencils, and get little hands moving with activities from our two-part article series Tips for developing your students’ gross motor skills and Tips for developing your students’ fine motor skills.

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