Letter Formation for Little People – Foundation Font – Step 1 (Subscription)

Year Level: School Licences, Early Years
$225.01 (inc. $20.46 GST)

This is a PLD Whole School Licence resource.

By purchasing this licence, this program will be accessible as a digital flipbook that will be stored in your secure account on the PLD website. The program will be accessible as a digital flipbook that teachers can access on any device for as long as the licence is active. A School Licence is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and can be shared with all staff employed at the school.

We highly recommend that either the Principal, Deputy Principal or a member of the admin team purchase the School Licence in order to manage the account and its users. For more information, visit our Whole School Licence FAQ.

An early childhood approach to instructing letter formation in FOUNDATION FONT.

Handwriting is fundamental to literacy. Once children have mastered the essential pre-writing patterns, they are ready to start learning correct letter formation. Getting body posture right, whether in a standing or seated position, is essential prior to commencing any drawing or writing activity. This posture should also be monitored throughout the activity to ensure a child has sufficient core strength to maintain their position for the length of the task. With a stable body young children are more likely to progress to using an efficient pencil grasp, which will allow their hand to produce the movements necessary for good letter formation and handwriting. The most recent research shows that using a ‘cognitive’ approach (saying cue words out loud) incorporated with writing the actual letter, is the most effective way to learn and retain correct letter formation.

In Letter Formation for Little People – Step 1, each letter shape, with corresponding verbal cue words, is presented and learned in the same PLD groupings as the letter sounds. This will reinforce the acquisition of both of these vital skills simultaneously.

This early childhood approach, with both standing and seated activities, presents activities in four sequential levels for each letter. This developmental approach allows for differentiation between children in the classroom, with the scope to cater for a wide range of abilities. It is important that the core skills required for correct letter formation are a strong focus in the early years of schooling, to avoid the development of ‘bad habits’, such as an inefficient pencil grip, letter reversals, or incorrect direction of letters, which may affect academic progress in future years.

Letter formation and subsequently, fluent handwriting, must become an automatic skill so that the child can process their ideas as they write, without having to think about the construction of each letter they produce. Letter Formation for Little People provides a research-based program for introducing children to the early stages of handwriting, providing them with the fundamental skills they need to achieve literacy goals. Developed by an Occupational Therapist, this easy-to-use resource contains an early childhood approach to developing positive letter formation skills.

The process commences by targeting letter formation in a ‘big way’ on A3 sheets, then progresses to A4 sized letter formation before mini letters.
Each activity provides scripted instructions for the supporting adult.
Additional information on pencil grip, posture, positioning of paper etc.
Foundation Font, also available in Cursive font here

Includes:
Instruction manual (264 pages)

Step 1 has been created for use in the Early Years – Kindergarten (WA, QLD, SA, TAS) and Preschool (ACT, NT, NSW, VIC). Click here to view Step 2 for the Foundation Year – Pre-Primary (WA), Prep. (QLD, VIC, TAS), Reception (SA), Transition (NT).

This product is mentioned in the Early Years Teaching Sequence Manual on page 6 & 7.

The programs within the range include:

Letter Formation for Little People – Step 1
Letter Formation for Little People – Step 2
Letter Formation for Little People – Step 3 (Year 1 – Coming Soon)