Strategies for Letter / Number Reversals

[SKL]

I know reversals are "normal" for young kids, but are there any strategies to help kids get past this?

 

My dds are both readers (age 5) so they recognize their letters etc. My better reader writes many of her numbers and letters backwards - even when she has a reference to look at. My other kid isn't that bad, but she is starting to mix up "b" and "d" in phonetic reading (which she didn't usually do before).

 

Suggestions?

[blondeviolin]

I used to tell Abby "Baby B runs away and Baby D loves his daddy." Then we would write Bb and Dd so she could SEE it. She would check it occasionally and be fine with that. She still reverses some things, but I don't even comment typically because it is very typical at this age. She'll be learning cursive this year and there's not as much chance for reversals there.

[Tigger]

Bat before the ball for b

Doorknob before the door for d

[Heart_Mom]

I used to tell Abby "Baby B runs away and Baby D loves his daddy." Then we would write Bb and Dd so she could SEE it. She would check it occasionally and be fine with that. She still reverses some things, but I don't even comment typically because it is very typical at this age. She'll be learning cursive this year and there's not as much chance for reversals there.

 

Oooh! I really like this idea. My 5 year old will love it too! :001_smile:

 

Thanks!

[Trilliums]

There is also:

bed

 

The b and d form the outside of the bed.

[KristenR]

Have your kids ever seen the cartoon Word World? I know it used to be available for streaming on Netflix. If not anymore maybe you can find seasons of it at the library. They have fun and educational cartoons that help with a variety of words, issues, etc.

 

They had one episode on b and d and use the bed trick. I just tried looking it up to see if I could find it online. I think the episode was ""Snug as a Bug" but only found a version in spanish.

[Bloggermom]

I also found this is something they outgrow. My daughter did this all the time in 2nd grade and outgrew it in 3rd grade. Don't stress it!

[MerryAtHope]

First, separate the practice time for writing the numbers from math time.

 

For any reversals, I would do this:

 

Have a variety of textile surfaces for your student to choose from. Possibilities include flannel fabric, corrugated cardboard, very fine sandpaper, fluffy fur fabric, a carpet square, and so on. Ask her which surface reminds her of the number (or letter if you are using this for letters).

 

Then cut a large number out of the chosen tactile surface.

 

Work with just one number at a time. Have the child write the number with the pointer finger of her dominant hand right on the tactile surface.

 

Then get the large muscles of the arm involved. Stand next to her to demonstrate how we make the number. Get your whole arm involved, and pretend that your pointer finger is a pen. Write the number in the air, using big motions. Keep it all one fluid motion and repeat several times. I’d also try saying the number as you write it, the way you would say a sound as you wrote a letter.

 

Making a letter with large movements of the arm combined with saying the sound at the same time will help link these two concepts together in the brain, so that’s why I would try saying the number while making it. Brain research shows that two ideas practiced at the same time can permanently bond the ideas together. Not only that, this multisensory activity takes advantage of the fact that the muscles in the shoulder and in the jaw have “muscle memory,†and this makes it easier for your child to recall the shape of the number.

 

Repeat this several times a day. In each session, practice with the textile surface and the large arm movements.

Try making one number a focus of the week, and work on that one every day, a few times a day. Put a poster of the number up, label things around the house, practice making it in different mediums, and so on. Master one trouble number at a time.

 

Then, when she miswrites a number, you can have her draw the number using air writing. Then have your child read the word/number again.

 

If your child reverses multi-digit numbers (for example, reads “19″ as “91″), encourage him to draw an arrow by the numbers. One of my children used to subtract “up†if the number on top in the ones column was smaller than the number on the bottom. Drawing a down arrow by all of the subtraction problems was helpful for that.

 

Handwriting without Tears has wonderful instruction for number formation as well as letters. For kids who struggle a lot with reversals, it might be worth taking a look at the instructions. We used their mini chalk-board for awhile and that helped with number reversals here. That helped especially with 5′s here, though it was hard to break the habit of starting with the “hat†first!

 

Another tip: “6 sits, 9 stands up†for kids who get those 2 confused.

 

Here's an article on b-d reversals. HTH some! Merry :-)

[Rbsmrter]

Have your kids ever seen the cartoon Word World? I know it used to be available for streaming on Netflix. If not anymore maybe you can find seasons of it at the library. They have fun and educational cartoons that help with a variety of words, issues, etc.

 

They had one episode on b and d and use the bed trick. I just tried looking it up to see if I could find it online. I think the episode was ""Snug as a Bug" but only found a version in spanish.

 

That episode of Word World is one of the main reasons my DD doesn't switch her b's and d's :). If she ever forgets she just makes a "bed" with her left hand (pointer finger up, other fingers and thumb make a circle) and a d with her right hand (mirror opposite) and puts them together. It's a quick way for her to remember them without having to ask me or search for an example.