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Observation Checklist for Hand Preference
Help your students establish a dominant hand.
Research suggests that the majority of children show a hand preference by 3 years of age, however, some children actually establish dominance as late as
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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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Am I ready to handwrite? A3 Poster
Am I ready to handwrite is a poster providing solid introduction to the beginning of handwriting
Ideal for student and teacher reference, this poster is designed to provide explicit instruction on the following: Letter formation and size Letter placement Reminders of
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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
Tips for Helping Left-Handed Writers
Approximately ten percent of students are left-handed – slightly more boys than girls. If these 10 simple strategies are put in place, then there is no need for left-handed children to be disadvantaged when writing.
- Arrange classroom seating so that left-handed students always sit on the left of right-handed children. This will avoid writing hand ‘elbow bumps’. It is also important to group left-handed students together during handwriting lessons.
- Remind students to maintain a good posture with their feet flat on the floor, bottom back in chair, and helper hand on the desk.
- The writing page should be moved to the left of the student’s midline and slanted correctly – tilt the page (left corner up) keeping the page parallel to the forearm.
- The right hand should be used to stabilise the paper at all times, and the right index finger should be used for finger spacing when required.
- Correct tripod pencil grip should be encouraged at all times to allow for good control of the pencil. Providing a visual prompt can help. Ensure the pencil rests back in the web space (at the join of the thumb and index finger) – not pointing straight up. Writing on a vertical surface helps to encourage a functional pencil grasp.
- The pencil should be held 2cm above the tip so that writing is more visible and smudging of work is avoided. Provide pencils that are not slippery, so that the fingers do not slide down towards the tip.
- Softer lead pencils are ideal as they do not require too much friction on the page for lefthanders, who are pushing instead of pulling the pencil from left to right across the page.
- To avoid developing a hooked wrist, the writing hand should always be below the writing line, with the left arm kept close to the body.
- Place a green dot for ‘go’ at the left margin to remind students to write from left to right. This can also assist with correcting letter and word reversals.
- Ensure all left-handed students have access to left-handed scissors because cutting with scissors builds strength in the writing hand.
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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