Help with 10yr old slow writer

[Guest maimelusi]

My son  is a slow slow writer and his handwrting is pretty poor. FYI - he is left handed. To be honest i am not sure what the problem is. He seems to get distracted easily when writing. Even in a queit room he'll start daydreaming or singing to himself. His end of year report mentioned also that his writing needs a great deal of self editing.

 

We have 6 weeks holidays and i really want to work on this. I have no idea where to start and need you good people to point me to curriculum, ideas, tools, games, etc we can do that will

1) improve his handwriting slightly

2) improve the speed at which he writes

3) imorove the quality of his work - make him able to self edit his work.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Edited December 13, 2015 by maimelusi

[Miss Tick]

I am no expert, and we are struggling with some of those issues here, also. That said, I feel like addressing 1) will also address 2), with a bit of a lag. Can you focus on just a few aspects of his handwriting? For instance, I would start with making "l" the correct height, and leaving space between words. I would have him write something everyday and re-read it, then the next day re-read it again. You may need to offer specific guidance on what to look for when he re-reads, e.g. capitalization rules.

 

For handwriting remediation I am planning to start my ds on Getty-Dubay book D.

 

For self-editing you might look at the Editor-in-Chief books from Critical Thinking Press.

[wapiti]

I'd consider teaching cursive if you haven't already.  Not having to pick up the pencil from the paper as frequently as with printing can be a great benefit to a struggling writer.

 

Mostly, though, I'd teach typing.  Will he be able to type next year in middle school?  All the middle schools in my area allow - really, require - a personal electronic device (laptop or tablet).

[Guest maimelusi]

I am no expert, and we are struggling with some of those issues here, also. That said, I feel like addressing 1) will also address 2), with a bit of a lag. Can you focus on just a few aspects of his handwriting? For instance, I would start with making "l" the correct height, and leaving space between words. I would have him write something everyday and re-read it, then the next day re-read it again. You may need to offer specific guidance on what to look for when he re-reads, e.g. capitalization rules.

 

For handwriting remediation I am planning to start my ds on Getty-Dubay book D.

 

For self-editing you might look at the Editor-in-Chief books from Critical Thinking Press.

 

Thank you. I'll check out those books. And i'm definitely going to make sure he practices writing daily.

Edited December 14, 2015 by maimelusi

[Guest maimelusi]

I'd consider teaching cursive if you haven't already.  Not having to pick up the pencil from the paper as frequently as with printing can be a great benefit to a struggling writer.

 

Mostly, though, I'd teach typing.  Will he be able to type next year in middle school?  All the middle schools in my area allow - really, require - a personal electronic device (laptop or tablet).

 

I haven't been as actively involved in his school work and i'm surely regreting that. They have been just printing at school. But maybe moving onto cursive will help with his speed.

His school does use personal ipads which i think has compounded the problem. They have been using them since year 4. His typing is not too bad but surely he should know how to write with a pen and paper or should i not worry to much about that?

Edited December 14, 2015 by maimelusi

[kiwik]

I personally think he should be able to write by hand.  Writing and handwriting can be handled seperately though

[Guest maimelusi]

I agree. Thank you