Why the 1ST letter a child makes should not be a Capital “A.”

How “Practice makes Perfect” falls apart when teaching kids how to make their letters and numbers.

Handwriting sheets that teach a child to make a capital A as their first letter are blatantly unfair. The

opposing inclined left and right slant lines of a capital “A” require a skill level that is far beyond most children’s

beginning skill set. It's like teaching a child the multiplication tables out of order. As if that's not unfair enough, to

introduce the uppercase “B” next, with its complex set of directional cues and new shape control cues, children

see no relatedness to the skills they just tried to master with the uppercase “A.” Since the letters are not

directionally related, learning one letter does not help the child make the next letter or build their confidence. By

the time the “C” is practiced, with its unique "under the top" start, most kids are justifiably confused and

frustrated. Sadly most children get the idea that learning to print is a very difficult, frustrating process and they

seek to avoid it. Unfortunately, for the last hundred years, most teachers have blamed their students for “not

trying hard enough.”. If we want children to be enthusiastic about literacy, shouldn't we give them a learning to

print experience that is fair and respects their budding skills so they can embrace it and eagerly want to do more

by succeeding? The Teacher’s Alphabet solves this curriculum problem by providing a letter teaching system that

builds skills and confidence by teaching the letters in progressive directional groups—from easiest to hardest –

that ensure early mastery and eager students.

One of the question we frequently get is: "Why are the normal three lines – Top Line, Bottom-Line, and

dashed Middle Line – not enough to teach beginning printers how to make their letters and numbers?" The

answer is: Of the 52 upper and lower case letters, 26 do not start, or and, on the line – making their proper

formation a matter of guesswork. In other words, the lines don't help a child who is anxiously looking to master

this very difficult task. In educational terms, these letters required the "skill of approximation," which is the ability

to abstract the amount a letter is drawn above or below a line. Unfortunately, children don't develop this skill

until they are 3 or 4 years older than 5. Pre-K and Kindergarten children are concrete thinkers – what they can

see, feel, and touch they know. The more a learning process involves them, the more success they have. Figuring

out fractional pieces of space and consistently making their pencils go there is rudely beyond their skill set. Show

them a line where a letter starts and they can do that consistently. Tell them about a place that isn't marked and,

unless they are artistically gifted, they will not be able to find it reliably-- and that will frustrate them. Or, as most

adults will tell you, they make up their own place, and, if no one corrects them, they will have sloppy handwriting

for the rest of their lives.

How would you show someone how to make a capital “O”? Would you tell them to place their pencil

below the Top Line? If you don't, their “O” will look like an egg. We have found that over 26 of the 52 upper and

lower case letters start and/or end between the usual 3 lines. Just look at all the adults who have sloppy

handwriting, they all learned how to print as Kindergartners and first grades and they never got any better

because the curriculum wasn't any better. Practice will not make you perfect, if you are practicing the wrong

things.

The Teacher’s Alphabet solves these problems by teaching the easier to make letters first in 11

progressive Directional Groups, and uses a 5-Line paper instead of the usual 3-- so “no one will have to guess

again where the curved letters start or end.”

EZrABCs Handwriting Sheets and downloadable handwriting teaching printing products are available online