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Fine and Gross Motor Developmental Milestones – Age 4
This fine and gross motor development milestone poster/sheet for 4 and 5 year old children outlines tips for home and causes for concern.
Designed by Occupational Therapists this resource promotes awareness of early motor developmental milestones. The sheet outlines: What children be able to do with their body. Tips
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Getting Ready for Writing (Pre-writing patterns) Factsheet
A downloadable factsheet which identifies the six basic (Pre-writing) patterns that form the basis of all alphabet letters.
Throughout the early years, children are encouraged to participate in a range of fine motor activities that develop: their manipulative skills a dominant hand the
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The Development of Appropriate Pencil Grip and Drawing Skills – Ages 1 – 6
These milestone and information sheets identify the age-related milestones for hand function, pencil grip (grasp) and drawing skills in children aged 1 to 6 years. They present images of good and NOT good pencil grip and also outline hints for making a good pencil grip easier.
When children first begin to draw using crayons, pencils or brushes they use a dagger grasp. In a natural developmental sequence, they will hold the
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Which Paper and Pencils to use with Early Writers?
A fact sheet which identifies a methodical stage-based sequence to identifying the types of paper and pencils to use with early writers.
This download includes: Paper choice guide Which pencils to choose 24mm spaced lined paper template 18mm spaced lined paper template 24mm dotted thirds template 24mm
Tips for Dealing with Letter Reversals
Reversing Letters in Early Years, Foundation and early Year 1
Many young children reverse letters because they lack familiarity with the symbols. When learning to write letters in the Early Years, Foundation and early Year 1, this is a common occurrence, ideally, reversals should not be present beyond seven years of age.
Verbal Cues and Starting Points
It is valuable to learn letters as movements rather than as visual shapes. This gives children a mechanism for remembering visually confusing letters. If the letters are taught effectively, with starting points and verbal cues, the motor memory of each letter will be paired with the phoneme and reversals will be minimised.
Tips for Dealing with Reversals
Remember, ongoing practice copying the letter is always preferable to continuing to practice it incorrectly.
- Ample practice is important to enable over-learning of new movements to occur.
- Choose one reversal per session to focus on, demonstrating first, then the child imitates.
- Verbal cues are crucial to reinforce correct letter formation.
- Use starting points and direction arrows.
- Use the non-dominant index finger (as well as the dominant index finger) to trace the direction of the letter.
- Teach ways to discriminate confused letters.
- Use a multi-sensory approach to teach the letters e.g: Students write letters in the air with the pointer finger and large arm movements (try it with eyes open, then eyes closed).
- For students with persistent reversals, the use of a desk template is helpful as it provides a model of the particular letter(s) to copy as required.
Students who Continue to Reverse Letters
Students who continue to reverse letters may experience difficulty with positions-in-space. The confusion relates to the position the parts of the letter(s) occupy in relation to one another (i.e. is the circle to the left or the right of the line?) and the position the symbol occupies in the overall space of the paper (i.e. is the symbol formed above or below the writing line on the paper?).
See our Copyright Terms of Use at https://pld-literacy.org/help-pages/copyright-policy/.
This download outlines how PLD programs link to the ACARA National Curriculum year level content descriptions.
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PLD’s Alignment to the Australian National Curriculum
How does PLD align to the Australian National Curriculum?
In the attached download we have outlined where PLD applies to each year level, the content code and descriptor and the related PLD programs.
Books: PLD’s books may only be used by the Authorised Purchaser, and the Authorised Purchaser’s students, and only in conjunction with classes taken by the Authorised Purchaser. PLD’s books may be photocopied up to 10% per year for use only by the Authorised Purchaser. The Authorised Purchaser is defined as the original purchaser of the PLD materials.
eBooks: PLD’s eBooks may only be used by the Authorised Purchaser, and the Authorised Purchaser’s students, and only in conjunction with classes taken by the Authorised Purchaser. The Authorised Purchaser is defined as the original purchaser of the PLD eBook. Under the ‘Statutory Educational License’ the authorised purchaser can:
- View the eBook as a whole or in part
- Copy the eBook to their personal drive or locally on their device
- Display the eBook on your Interactive Whiteboard, projector or smart TV, for the purpose of teaching the students in their own classroom
- Photocopy or print up to 10% of the eBook per year, for use with the students in their classroom(s).
School Licences: A School Licence is a multi-user subscription to a PLD resource, such as a book or program, in a digital and printable format that is accessible via the ‘My Subscription’ section of the PLD website. A School Licence is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and can be used by an unlimited number of teachers within a school. When bought under a School Licence:
- Resources are accessible in digital, flipbook format, which teachers can access from anywhere, at any time, on any device via the PLD website.
- The resources can be used by any amount of teachers in that school.
- Multiple teachers can access the resources simultaneously.
- The resource is available to print, subject to the standard 10% per year limitation as per Australian Copyright law.
- Updated versions of resources will be automatically accessible to users with a current licence for free, ensuring all users have access to the latest versions of resources.
- Resources are stored centrally and accessed via a secure login account on the PLD website. Thus, all currently subscription resources are accessible in the one convenient place, making resources extremely easy to find. Moreso, the school license offering eradicates the frustration of lost or misplaced resources and programs which happens often with hardback books.
Additional information can be accessed via the following links:
Books: https://support.pld-literacy.org/en-au/article/plds-printed-electronic-materials-how-can-they-be-used-can-i-share-them-with-a-friendcolleague-9lk4y/eBooks: https://support.pld-literacy.org/en-au/article/the-pld-ebooks-how-can-they-be-used-what-is-the-copyright-policy-ptfya8/
PLD’s Copyright Policy: https://support.pld-literacy.org/en-au/article/copyright-and-terms-of-use-of-pld-literacy-15tkcer/
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Letter Formation for Little People – Foundation Font – Step...
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Preparing children for handwriting – Step 2
From $65.00$65.00 incl. GST The range of motor skills that support handwriting.
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 2, 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. Designed by an Occupational Therapist. Provides clear guidelines on getting ready for writing, correct pencil grip and posture. Provides multiple opportunities to rehearse letter recognition and formation skills. Provides verbal cues for each lower case letter. Also includes upper case and number formation prompts and verbal cues. Provides new verbal cues to use when introducing line placement of letters. Foundation Font Step 2 has been created for use in the Foundation Year – Pre-primary (WA), Prep. (QLD, VIC, TAS), Reception (SA), Transition (SA). Click HERE to view Step 1 for the Early Years – Kindergarten (WA, QLD, SA, TAS) and Preschool (ACT, NT, NSW, VIC). This resource is mentioned in the Foundation Teaching Sequence Manual on page 7, 8, 9, 10 & 14. The programs within the range include: Letter Formation for Little People – Step 1 (for the Early Years) Letter Formation for Little People – Step 2 (for Foundation) Letter Formation for Little People – Step 3 (Year 1)
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Letter Formation for Little People – Foundation Font – Step...
From $65.00$65.00 incl. GST 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 2, 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. Designed by an Occupational Therapist. Provides clear guidelines on getting ready for writing, correct pencil grip and posture. Provides multiple opportunities to rehearse letter recognition and formation skills. Provides verbal cues for each lower case letter. Also includes upper case and number formation prompts and verbal cues. Provides new verbal cues to use when introducing line placement of letters. Foundation Font Step 2 has been created for use in the Foundation Year – Pre-primary (WA), Prep. (QLD, VIC, TAS), Reception (SA), Transition (SA). Click HERE to view Step 1 for the Early Years – Kindergarten (WA, QLD, SA, TAS) and Preschool (ACT, NT, NSW, VIC). This resource is mentioned in the Foundation Teaching Sequence Manual on page 7, 8, 9, 10 & 14. The programs within the range include: Letter Formation for Little People – Step 1 (for the Early Years) Letter Formation for Little People – Step 2 (for Foundation) Letter Formation for Little People – Step 3 (Year 1)
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Preparing Children for Handwriting – Step 1
From $65.00$65.00 incl. GST The range of motor skills that support handwriting in Early Years students.
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 2, 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. Designed by an Occupational Therapist. Provides clear guidelines on getting ready for writing, correct pencil grip and posture. Provides multiple opportunities to rehearse letter recognition and formation skills. Provides verbal cues for each lower case letter. Also includes upper case and number formation prompts and verbal cues. Provides new verbal cues to use when introducing line placement of letters. Foundation Font Step 2 has been created for use in the Foundation Year – Pre-primary (WA), Prep. (QLD, VIC, TAS), Reception (SA), Transition (SA). Click HERE to view Step 1 for the Early Years – Kindergarten (WA, QLD, SA, TAS) and Preschool (ACT, NT, NSW, VIC). This resource is mentioned in the Foundation Teaching Sequence Manual on page 7, 8, 9, 10 & 14. The programs within the range include: Letter Formation for Little People – Step 1 (for the Early Years) Letter Formation for Little People – Step 2 (for Foundation) Letter Formation for Little People – Step 3 (Year 1)
