Lower case letters

[kristinannie]

My son is really starting to gain fluency in reading and he is a natural speller. We have been doing some dictation (AAS and First Start Reading) about once a week. He gets super upset that he has to write the letters lowercase. He also refuses to use lowercase letters when writing a letter to someone. I will write it out in lowercase and he will copy it in uppercase.

 

First of all, he is 5.5 and he learned how to write uppercase letters at preschool (this will NOT happen with my other two kids). He will gladly write in lowercase in his handwriting workbook, but wants to write uppercase at all other times. The main problem I see is that when he writes in uppercase, he isn't writing correctly. As long as the letters were legible, his preschool teacher was fine with however he wrote it. His writing doesn't look that good when he writes that way. Also, I don't want him writing in all caps for life. He has to switch over some time. At the same time, I don't want to make this a wedge to him learning to spell. Is it OK to have him write in lowercase during handwriting so he can learn it and give him a break on this? I just don't know what to do.

 

All I know for sure is that my other kids will learn lowercase letters FIRST.

[Carol in Cal.]

It's easier to write upper case letters than lower case. Maybe when he is a little older and his fine motor skills advance he will be more comfortable with lower case writing. In the meantime, make sure he at least does some lower case copywork every day.

 

My mother never did learn lower case writing. She uses upper case letters, half height, instead of lower case. Her education was otherwise really good, and I don't know why this happened, but it is possible to get away without writing that way if you learn cursive and also can read lower case writing really well.

[boscopup]

At my son's school, they didn't worry about it until first grade. My son did all caps in K and easily switched over in 1st, so don't fret yet.

 

I do agree that my other kids are learning lowercase first. My middle son has no trouble physically forming lowercase letters, and many children learn cursive at 5, so I don't buy that argument.

[MeganW]

The uppercase letters are usually taught first b/c they are a lot easier to write (all start at the same point, same height, just a few basic building blocks to all letters, etc. etc.). The lowercase letters are a lot harder - I would be really hesitant to start with those.

 

I feel your pain on the kid who learned them incorrectly. My youngest wanted to write when her older siblings were learning, and I thought she was too young for handwriting lessons so I didn't give them when she asked. She was determined to learn anyway, and figured out letter approximations on her own. After that, she had zero interest in learning from Mommy how to do it correctly as she thought she already knew how. It has been a total thorn in my side! I still haven't quite figured out how to remediate this situation.

 

Not helpful, I know. Sorry!

[Ellie]

He needs to write lower-case letters. Just be gently firm.

 

Shame on his preschool teacher for teaching upper-case first. Many people even on this forum can attest to the fact that their children indiscriminately used upper-case letters for many years after being taught upper-case first.

[Tracy]

To help with the transition to writing lower case letters, you can offer him some fun gross motor writing activities. Have him write with markers on a white board, or chalk on a chalk board. Put some shaving cream on a baking sheet and have him write in it. Sidewalk chalk would also work. You still want to make sure he is doing some copywork each day. But he would benefit from additional gross motor writing.

[beaners]

The lowercase letters are a lot harder - I would be really hesitant to start with those.

 

 

Don't be! If you don't tell the children it should be harder, they will never know. It hasn't been a problem here. :001_smile:

 

 

For the OP, I would personally dictate words by specifying "lowercase c, lowercase a, lowercase t." I'd gently remind him that a lowercase letter starts at a certain point as he begins writing each letter of a word. It means sitting on top of him as he writes and being able to say the same thing a thousand times with a smile on your face.

 

I know that the kindergarten classes here expect a child to write their own name with correct upper and lowercase letters by the middle of the year, but they aren't too picky about everything else until 1st grade. It seems to work out alright, since I haven't met any graduates of the schools here who write in mixed case. ;)

[sweetpea3829]

I'm just curious why it's so terrible for them to learn capital letters first? My DD had an OT eval last year and the OT said that kids her age were not physically developmentally ready to form lowercase letters and to work first on capital letters.

 

Isn't that the same approach HWOT takes?

[Tracy]

I'm just curious why it's so terrible for them to learn capital letters first? My DD had an OT eval last year and the OT said that kids her age were not physically developmentally ready to form lowercase letters and to work first on capital letters.

 

Isn't that the same approach HWOT takes?

 

What one learns first, one learns best. If you are okay with your child writing better and more comfortably in all caps, then there is nothing wrong with it.

 

Some children smoothly make the transition to using all lowercase letters. But many moms on this board relate having spent inordinate amounts of time remediating their dc's writing because they learned all caps first.

[FairProspects]

I'm just curious why it's so terrible for them to learn capital letters first? My DD had an OT eval last year and the OT said that kids her age were not physically developmentally ready to form lowercase letters and to work first on capital letters.

 

Isn't that the same approach HWOT takes?

 

:iagree:Our OT said this was completely developmental depending on fine motor skills. Ds writes just fine now in both upper and lower case with no mixing. It just took time for his fine motor to develop and upper case actually ARE developmentally easier (although you don't have to tell dc that if you don't want). There is less sensory motor planning involved in writing capital letters. I wouldn't worry about it at all, just keep having him practice both and eventually it will click.

[Tracy]

:iagree:Our OT said this was completely developmental depending on fine motor skills. Ds writes just fine now in both upper and lower case with no mixing. It just took time for his fine motor to develop and upper case actually ARE developmentally easier (although you don't have to tell dc that if you don't want). There is less sensory motor planning involved in writing capital letters. I wouldn't worry about it at all, just keep having him practice both and eventually it will click.

 

You can teach lowercase writing using gross motor skills. Teaching lowercase writing first does not require pushing them into fine motor activities that they are not ready for.

[FairProspects]

You can teach lowercase writing using gross motor skills. Teaching lowercase writing first does not require pushing them into fine motor activities that they are not ready for.

 

Very true, but that does not address the sensory-motor planning aspect which is also developmental in the brain. If it is not an issue for dc then great, but there are actual scientific reasons why some young kids tend to write in capitals first. None of which are typically a problem and many of which will resolve with a bit more maturity and practice. :)