Parkview kindergarten students hit the ground running this year, working hard each day to become better writers. The first two CKLA Skills units in kindergarten focus primarily on prerequisite writing skills, so that students are adequately prepared when it is time to learn how to write letters, words, and sentences.
Students began by focusing on basic skills, such as differentiating between the left, and right hands, and demonstrating understanding of positional directions. For example, students were given small objects (ball, beanbag, etc), and were tasked with placing the items where the teacher directed, such as on top of your head, in your right hand, or under your foot. Understanding positional directions is critical, as these vocabulary words are used often when describing how to correctly form letters. Kindergarten students also learned how to hold writing utensils using the tripod grip. Each day, students reviewed the finger placement necessary for a proper grip, so that they would be ready to start learning different handwriting strokes.
After mastering the tripod grip, students began learning how to identify, and produce a variety of handwriting strokes, such as vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines, and circles. They practiced these strokes on vertical surfaces to support the shoulder, and wrist movement needed to form these lines/shapes. Students also had the opportunity to create these handwriting lines/shapes with play-doh, to both strengthen their fine motor muscles, and reinforce their understanding of the similarities and differences between each stroke. In the coming weeks, students will have the opportunity to apply these prerequisite writing skills to the task of writing the letters of the alphabet.
