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Writing numbers and letters at the correct starting points and with the correct strokes is very important. To help students with this, I have sayings for how to do the correct strokes for letters and numbers. In most of the number formations (not 4 and 5), they are not to lift the pencil until the number is completely formed.
0 – Curve from the top, be a hero! Close the loop and make a zero!
1 – Top to bottom, then you’re done. You just wrote the number 1.
2 – Half a moon, there’s more to do, slide to the right, now that’s a 2,
3 – Backward c, backward c, and that is how you make a 3.
4 – Down and over, back at the top and down some more, that is how you make a four.
5 – Down straight back, big fat belly, with a hat on top! Writing 5 won’t make you flop!
6 – Monkeys tail needs a fix. Close the loop for number 6.
7 – Across the sky and down from Heaven. That’s the way to make a 7.
8 – Make an S and shut the gate. That’s the way to make an 8.
9 – Around magic c, up, and down with a line. That’s the way to make a 9.
In correctly forming letters, there aren't any letters that start their formation at the bottom. It will either start formation at the middle of the line (at the dotted line) or at the top line. Also, it is most often that the pencil is NOT lifted during the letter formation, it is all done as one stroke - doing this and reinforcing this aids with muscle memory and makes the fine motor much easier to do, to not require "thought" about which way a b or a d goes, as it is "ingrained" with the starting point and formation.
Lowercase Letter Formation:
a - around magic c, up and down
b - start up at the top, down,back up to the middle, and around
c - curve to the left in a magic c
d - around magic c, up up up to the top and back down
e - out and curve around
f - curve up, down to the bottom, lift pencil, across at the middle
g - around magic c, up, and down under water with a fish hook
h - start at the top, down, up over the hill
i - down from the middle, lift, dot at top
j - down from the middle, under water with a fish hook, lift, dot at top
k - start at the top, down, lift pencil, out a bit at the middle, slant in and slant out
l - start at the top, down to the bottom
m - start at the middle, down, up over the hill, up over the hill
n - start at the middle, down up over the hill
o - start at the middle, magic c all the way around
p - start at the middle, down under water, back up and around
q - around magic c, up, and down under the water with a backwards fish hook
r - start at the middle, down to the bottom, back up to middle and out a bit
s - curve left, curve right, curve left
t - start at the top, down, lift, across at the middle
u - start at the middle, curve down, curve up, and back down
v - start at the middle, slant down, slant up
w - start at the middle, curve down and up to the middle, down and up to the middle
x - start at the middle, slant across to the bottom, lift to the middle, slant across to the bottom
y - start at the middle - short line slant down, lift, long line slant down under the water
z - start at the middle, slide right, slant down to the bottom, slide right
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