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     for Some Good Education Conversation

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Dropping the Preposition...Sound Illiterate or Sound Sweet?

6/5/2016

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I struggle with this Modern, Techno-Driven Phenomenon every time I correct a student who drops a preposition, and I subsequently hear a parent or teacher do the same.  HELP!

 "I'm done my work!"  (with???)

​ "Are you finished your project?"   (with???)


"He walked out the classroom."  (of???)

The concept is very confusing to me, and I cannot find any solid resources on the internet regarding the subject, simply blogs with opinions and often foul language.  So,  I  am posting my observations and thoughts here, hoping for some intellectual and creative input.  I am wide open thoughts and suggestions. (for???)

There is a part of me that wants to jump the band wagon (on???) as I would have, quite quickly no doubt, when I was an ever-s0-"with it" teenager who loved new language fads.  However, my adult good sense and teaching commitment tell me that communicating this way in both speech and writing (be it text, email, blog, tweet, or publication manuscript) may lead to speaking and writing in this manner in situations where sounding as though I did make it through 7th grade English class may be important.   

Now, now, mind you, I intend to insult no one here.  I am a Native New Yawka, and there was a time where I played bawl and drank wata and soder.  After spending a few years in a professional business position in California, where every letter sound is articulated quite clearly and some exaggerated to prove you live in the Valley, I learned to hear the illiterate sound of New Yawk Tawk.  Needless to say, due to communication difficulties in business in different parts of the country, my accent has faded.  I find the prep drop to ring as illiterate to the ear as the New York accent does outside of the five boroughs and surrounding burbs.

However, when I analyze the use, I first (in all fairness) note that I have always dropped "of" when walking out the door or climbing out the window.  Walking out of the door? Climbing out of the window?  They surely sound awkward to me.  So then I comment to self, " Self,  you do this, too.  There is just more of it, and it is popping up in places you never imagined it could fit."  My research has also led me to the completely unimaginable Because Preposition.  

"What is the Because Preposition?"  you ask.  Well, maybe it's an attempt to add a new one, making up for all of those dropped prepositions that are no longer in use.  Apparently it is another new phenomenon in technology talk that has permeated our spoken language.  I get that we take shortcuts and use faddish, ever-so-cool lingo in WiFi situations, but this groovy new shortcut utilizes the ellipsis without the three dots to indicate that the pause and thought are there.  Hence, the pause is eliminated.  Basically, we are just dropping words deemed by the speaker/writer to be an unnecessary waste of his or her time in order to have the receiving party understand the thought being expressed. Because catchy.  It's advertising in speech: because billboard.  This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because the ellipsis and the pause in both spoken and written language add so much to the context in which we are expressing ourselves.  I suppose I could say, " This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because expression. " I am a HUGE fan of the ellipsis, and I know it must be used correctly to be effective.  It is a component of the art of language use; pauses are dramatic and ear-catching, even deeply engaging!  The ellipsis is a privilege, not trash to throw out!

Are we compromising the art of language for teen fads?  I am shocked every time I hear an adult drop with or for in a spoken sentence.  Will they soon utilize the because preposition, because sweet?  Are they trying to be cool for their children and students?  Have they fallen victim to the permeation of shortcut, technology language in our culture? Are they from a part of the country where their accent causes them to sound illiterate by dropping prepositions, similar to my NYC dropped R's and inserted R's making me sound illiterate?  


Again, I plead...HELP!!!  
Fight it or Get with it?



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Teaching with Intentionality: Fun and Successful! 

12/23/2015

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This is a great example of the concept communicated via a recent Buzz Word in Education: "Intentionality".  Although the word itself has been around longer than you can imagine, it has, in the last decade, become a term to reckon with in the classroom.  More on the concept, after we see just how fun it can be in early childhood!
The children were "Intentionally" taught some basic cookie decorating skills to ensure they could: produce beautiful cookie gifts; keep the mess to a minimum; plan and execute a project; and exercise some fine motor coordination techniques.   A lesson taught with Intentionality, which, in turn, taught the children to approach the project with Intentionality.  They were required to think ahead about colors and design, and we used demonstration and hand-over-hand practice to understand the skills...the technique and the outcome of using the techniques.  There were No Mounds of Icing, there were No Big Spills, there were No Sprinkle-Doused Cookies!  There were a lot of little fingers working hard for the correct positioning, there were many thoughtful pauses prior to taking the next step, and there were happy, proud faces enjoying the holiday music and their own Edible Christmas Masterpieces!
Be enlightened!  Click HERE for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's definition and explanation of "Intentionality".    And make it FUN!! :)
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Thinking about Thinking...

11/25/2015

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Keys to Motivation: Ownership

11/25/2015

 
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Teach the children the framework within which they can "own" the classroom.  My kindergarten children run our entire morning and afternoon meetings by the beginning of November.  They know their jobs and they know the routine.  I sit back and watch, enjoying the new ways they learn by working with each other and not depending on me to guide every detail, answer every question or solve every problem.  Independence, critical thinking, coooperation and collaboration, excitement!  LEARNING!!!  My morning students asked me this week for the keys to the building and offered for me to sleep in while they run the class!  I'm considering it. LOL - JK

Along the same empowering lines of thinking, let them "own" the work.  Teach the concept, not the details.  Demonstrate and explain when it is absolutely necessary to stay within the lines, but let them "color outside the lines" or "think out of the box" on their own, putting their own spin on the work, based on their own prior knowledge or curiosity.  It's never wrong if they are learning something...even when it's not what we expected them to be learning.  The thinking is what really matters!  Provoke the inquisitive nature and the desire to create that children are blessed with!  They naturally come equipped to learn...let them go for it.  Don't get hung up on "doing it right" and stop giving them the answers!  Let them read their writing to you, let them explain their process to you...allow them to share what is going on in their minds as they explore, and allow them to change it to fit how they perceive it should be - you may learn something new!
​                                                                  It's their process and their outcome...Let Them Feel It!

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation - What Educators MUST Know

11/9/2015

 

Be A Responsible Educator:  Know the Difference and Choose the One that is In The Best Interest of Your Students, Long-Term

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Still using:
  • Marble Jars?
  • Prize Words?
  • Traffic Light Charts?
  • Clip Charts?
It's Time To Throw Them in the Trash!
(IF you are serious about supporting
positive changes for your students.)

What is an Extrinsic Motivator?

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If Jimmy gets a good report card, Dad gives Jimmy $20.
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When Kevin has a great week at school, as indicated by more than three stickers on his good behavior chart, Mom takes him out for ice cream.
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Anyone who stays on green every day this week gets a ticket to go to the teacher's prize box on Friday.

Yes, Even the Grade is an Extrinsic Motivator!

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Suzie is working hard to get an A+ on her book report.
What does all of this mean?  Well, we have been using extrinsic motivators in the classroom (and at work and at home) for many, many years...ever since behavior theories in education were based on animal behaviors in the lab - without the more current knowledge of human behavior and neurological functions.   This is the motivation that we are used to and have been comfortable with..."dangle the carrot;" "offer a reward;" "give a bonus;" "incent them"...
This is also the behavior that creates the response, "What will you give me if I get an A on my report card?"

It starts at a very young age, when, like a puppy in the house-training stage, we incentivize our children with a reward for all of those kind person/good citizen behaviors we expect them to strive for.  "Sit puppy!  Good girl, have a dog biscuit!"  Similar to:  "Your teacher told me that you are so polite in school and that your behavior clip never moves down.  Let's go out for pizza and celebrate!"

What is an Intrinsic Motivator?

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Jenny can't wait to practice riding without her training wheels.
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Shawn reads the pictures in the giraffe book with great enthusiasm.
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Leslie was beaming with pride after shopping with Mom and using the shopping list she wrote all by herself.
Intrinsic Motivation is the simple one!  What is it?  
  • Curiosity
  • Interest
  • Desire
  • Passion
  • Achievement
  • Fulfillment
  • Pride
Intrinsic Motivation is the motivator that comes from within.  It's the "feel good about myself" motivator.  Remember the song, "It's the Climb"?  Intrinsic motivation involves enjoying the process, the experience, and not waiting for an outcome in order to be happy about what we are doing.  This is performing acts of kindness, this is doing a job or a school assignment because you are interested in it and excited to be participating in it; this is finding something that captures you about a content area you aren't generally interested in and embracing the work for the enjoyment of pursuing that  interest.

The Rub:  Extrinsic Motivators Extinguish Intrinsic Motivation
​

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Like using a Fire Extinguisher to Put It Out
or ​Being Squished by an Elephant!

Providing external motivators stops the internal motivation.  The sticker given to a child for a kind act teaches the child to use the positive behavior as a means to get a reward.  The good feeling the child experiences comes from someone else recognizing the act and providing proof of such with a prize.  The child is not aware of feeling good inside for being a good friend or a good citizen... or for learning! 

Doing the work for the purpose of getting the A takes all of the excitement out of the learning it takes to get to the A and creates a mindset of pushing through the work to get to the desired outcome.  It's about the A, not about the learning  that could be happening.  I wonder how many different ways students may find to get to the A if they are  not embracing the learning process?  ...food for thought.

​The positive emotions that we experience, which build self-esteem and confidence, are not recognized with extrinsic motivators.  A pat on the back and a comment such as, "Wow!  You must feel so good about yourself having done something so nice for a friend!  I'll bet you are really proud of yourself," is the best choice for encouraging positive behaviors and building a solid foundation of confidence.    This encourages the child to recognize the intrinsic motivator; the response directs them to recognize the feeling within and eventually eliminates the need to find the reward on the outside.  Self-Regulation in the Works.

And if you are reluctant to give up the reward system, couple the sticker or prize with a comment such as the Wow statement above.  Provide the child with guidance to find and recognize the internal feelings while recognizing the child with a reward.  This is not optimal, but full resistance to the concept is more harmful.

What about the Publicly Shared Behavior Chart?

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How damaging to a child's self-esteem do you think it could be to have her name clipped to this public announcement that she engaged in a behavior at school that warrants a discussion with her parents to remedy?  


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Would you want your name clipped to a sign in the Faculty Room that indicates you  will need additional training for an expectation that you are struggling to meet?  Hmmm...

How Do We Make The Change to Motivate Appropriately?

Check in periodically for evidence-based Keys to Motivation!
Comments on this posting are encouraged in the interim. :)

Letter Identification, Engage and Excite Them!

11/8/2015

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Don't Let Those 3s and 4s Get Bored or Lost...

Change it up for the little ones!  Letter ID skills can be fun and exciting.  It doesn't have to be all charts, posters, and magenetic letters.  

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Book Search
Send pairs of children/letter detectives to the classroom library to each find a book. Have the pairs sit down and find the desired letter in the words within the book and instruct them to show each other what they find. They can then tell each other (or help each other recall) if it is an upper- or lowercase version of the letter.  Once pairs have helped each other to confirm that they both found the correct letter, and they think they know which case it is, they can bring the book to the teacher or the assistant to show they found it.  Trust me when I say they will want to go back and find lots more!  You will be amazed at the excitement (and sometimes organized chaos in learning) that goes on with this activity.  The more buzz among the children about what they are learning, the more learning you will find happening. You are also teaching that words are made up of letters. :)

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Letter Swat
Hang a wide piece of poster or bulletin board paper on the wall.  Write in wide marker or tape prefabricated large upper and lower case letters on the paper randomly.  Provide a child with a fly swatter and set him or her off to the poster to swat the uppercase letter "k".  Have children take turns swatting letters they've learned, or have a "Letter Swatter" job for a student at your morning meeting!
Create side-by-side posters and have a letter-swatting relay race!  Children can swat-spell their names, their friends' and pets' names, etc.  This activity can also be done with letter sounds or sight words.

A Few More Interactive, Tactile Activities...
Go to PreKinders.com to find Letter Basketball, Candy  Letter Match, and Alpha-Band! These are can't miss activities to engage those little ones in recognizing the letters of the alphabet!


Share Your Favorite Interactive Letter Identification Activities with Us! :)

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The Benefits of Sign Language for Speaking/Hearing Children

2/23/2015

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Sign Language Serves Several Purposes in the Classroom...

  1. Sign Language increases vocabulary and communication, and it relieves frustration due to communication issues.
  2. Sign Language activates additional parts of the brain during learning, and the rule of thumb is that the more parts of the brain we engage during learning, the deeper the learning goes! 
  3. Sign Language provides similar benefits to a child's developing brain as when learning other foreign languages.
  4. Sign Language exposes children to the world of the deaf and hard of hearing, contributing to their cultural competence and understanding of disabilities.

Give American Sign Language a Try in Your Classroom

You can simply begin with Obie Leff's video of The Sounds of the Alphabet, which we use daily in our classroom!  If you would like more information on Sign Language in the Classroom or Classroom Tools for incorporating signing into your lessons, contact us!  We will be happy to assist you and your staff!   Colleen@BeyondTheStandards.com 
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Sign Language Research at Sign2Me
Colleen Mantell is a Certified Sign2Me Instructor
Visit the Sign2Me site for Sign Language Research Articles and
 Contact Colleen at www.BeyondTheStandards.com for Sign2Me Workshops and Materials!
We will have Sign2Me Products Available at our Exhibit Space during the DVAEYC Conference in March!
DVAEYC Registration

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Kindergarten Enrichment S.T.E.A.M. +  Project ... Amazing!

2/13/2015

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The Great Barrier Reef in our own KE Classroom

Kindergarten Enrichment STEAM+ Project
Children Researched and Created: Hard and Soft Coral, including Brain Coral, Staghorn Coral, Finger Coral, Tube Coral, Fan Coral and Flower Coral, as well as Sea Animals including the Octopus, Parrot Fish, Clown Fish, Crab, Eel, Sting Ray, Whale Shark, Dolphin, and more. Why is the sand white?
Puffer Fish
Why is the sand white?  Is the coral a rock?  Does coral eat?  How did the coral move and get the sand off of the top of itself in that video?  What color should my turtle be if it lives in Australia?  What is the weather in Australia?  Where is the book I put that book mark in to go back to the puffer fish page?  How big can a coral reef grow? 

Coral Reef
These and so many other inquiries from our students drove the research and learning involved in our Great Barrier Reef project.  Preparing for a new project, wondering if we could find anything more fun and exciting than our recent North Pole and Santa's Workshop, we laughed about needing a little beach time with all of these "too cold to play" days.  That thought, coupled with a recent obsession with magnets, led our group to a debate over whether we should create a beach or a science laboratory.  Let the voting begin!  

The beach was the winner, and all of the students whole-heartedly embraced our virtual trip to the Coral Sea.  The students' brainstorming eventually led us to exploring the land down under, a beach on Australia's East Coast called Lizard Island, and finally, The Great Barrier Reef.  Students were attracted like their magnets (opposite poles, they will tell you) to the incredible world that exists under the sea.

The learning involved the globe and discovery of the land down under being south of the equator, the location of the Reef along the northeastern coast of the country, the name of the country and its not-as-well-known name as a continent, and then it was on to the science with trying to figure out just what a reef actually is and how it forms and grows.  We studied a variety of types of coral, and then the sea animals that make their home in and around the coral reef.  We hit the books, a few  YouTube vids and some great Kindle Books on the iPad.
STEAM+ ResearchResearching and Creating Sea Animals of the Coral Sea
As we began working with our art teacher, using techniques with water color, resistance, pastels, etc., math skills became evident in our art work and soon we were pulling out yard sticks and rulers to measure 8-foot streamers for the windows, counting out 8 tentacles for our Octopi...yes, we went from Octopuses to Octopies to Octopi!  And, with ensuring that I am spelling this correctly here, I just learned and must share with my class that it is truly supposed to be Octopodes! Octopi developed as the plural out of a mistaken assumption that the word is of Latin origin which would require the "i" plural, whereas it truly is of Greek origin and should be Octopodes! They now say that for American English, Octopuses should be acceptable, as it is the easiest.  Everything I need to know a learned from a kindergartener...didn't we just come full circle with that plural? Can you see how the learning just never ends...for all of us?  Back to the project...The engineering came in with the planning, designing and building of the reef base, and the reading and writing are ever-present; however, we also created "Sticker Stories" with this project.  Children selected ocean-themed stickers and set them in a scene to tell a story.  They then used their best Kid Writing to write the story of their illustration.  These were edited and the final copies were read to our parents at The Great Barrier Reef!  

Sticker Story Kid Writing
Sticker Story
STEAM+ Great Barrier Reef
Whale Shark
STEAM+ Great Barrier Reef
"Octopodes" on the Great Barrier Reef
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Writing and Assessment, Beginning at Age Two...                                     Yes! You Heard Me Correctly, T-W-O, Two (2)!!!

11/8/2014

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Writing at Two
Wonderful two-year old "scribble writing"! It's a Great Story!

Recently there have been many, many questions 
posed to me about young children and writing. 
  • Can they do it?  
  • Should we encourage them to do it?  
  • So we just lower our expectations, right?  
  • Why in the world would we concern ourselves with 2s and 3s writing??!!
  • Isn't this more of the "pushing down" pressure that children are experiencing academically?

Remember, reading and writing go hand-in-hand.   

This means that we learn to read by writing, and we learn to write by reading!   

Reading with young children promotes vocabulary, speaking and listening skills, communication in general, and pre-reading skills including the basic understanding that the words we say and the ideas we express can be written down and later read aloud and shared.

Just as we expose young children to reading by reading stories to them, which eventually results in them imitating this behavior, we also must expose young children to writing by modeling and sharing our writing.  They will, inevitably, mimic this behavior as well.  If I write a grocery list and read the first three items to my two-year-old, asking if he wants me to add anything to the list of items we will pick up at the grocery store today, he might very well say, "nana" (bananas).  I will write the word bananas and read it back to him.  Making this a fun game between us, he may eventually choose to sit next to me and make his own grocery list while I make mine each week, and we might read them to each other before we leave and as we shop.  

Early on, before children can regulate gross and fine motor skills to the extent that they can practice writing letters, writing is all about the scribble!  Scribble can represent a picture and a picture tells a story just as words do.  The scribble can represent the words that describe a picture, and the scribble-words can be read aloud to tell the story, with reference to the picture for visual details.   

A very important facet of this early scribble is that writing is an individual's opportunity to tell his or her story.   Therefore, the scribble, whether a drawing or an attempt to imitate writing, is documenting the toddler's story!  Hence, the key component needed in order to reach the outcome is to have the child "read" aloud his or her story from the illustration and/or scribble-words he or she created. This is ever so exciting!  This is the beginning of a person's ability to share or express his or her thoughts by authoring those thoughts.  WOW!  Powerful play!!!  We can ask a child to draw and write about her favorite place, favorite toy, trip to the zoo, etc., and she can read us her story!  We can even work on advanced reading skills such as reading with expression, because when telling her own story, this lesson is a natural one and can be an opportunity for learning through play.  "Show us your sad face so we know what you looked like when you fell  off the swing in your story.  Can you read it with your sad voice?"

Once children reach three years old, assuming developmentally appropriate fine and gross motor play has been happening up until this point, they can begin to make attempts at controlling a marker, crayon or even a pencil, in order to work toward writing letters.  This is the stage where we may have some actual letters or scribbles similar to letters that are "read" to us when the child tells the story of his illustration.  

Assessing pre-writing skills is important.  The purpose of assessment is to inform instruction.  This means that we monitor the development of the skills in order to determine what it is that each individual child needs from us at this point.  Assessment does not have to be and should not be - particularly in early childhood - formalized testing.  During the early years, children learn through play, and they demonstrate their skills in the same manner.  Therefore, the same fun that we have with them when we are exposing them to writing and encouraging them to be the young authors that they are, is the same fun we must plan and engage, in order to assess skills.

I have found that Scholastic's Easy Assessments for Pre-Kindergarten, by Laurie B. Fyke, is a wonderful resource for developmentally-appropriate assessment activities.   Fyke includes a Language Arts Reading Assessment that makes a must-have tool for checking in with early readers and writers.  She lists objectives for the assessment, the materials needed, the directions, and she provides a student form as well as a teacher form.  How does it work?  The child receives a page that has a large box on it with a title, "I can draw a picture and tell about my story." Sound familiar?  The teacher form is a check-off grid with space for notes and four assessment times, each corresponding with a list of skills to assess.  The skills range from retelling their own story orally to reading with expression.  This covers skills that range from toddlers to first grade!  

Another assessment of Fyke's asks the student to draw a picture of him- or herself.  This writing assessment pertains to organizing information and the skills assessed range from age-appropriate development of the figure in the drawing to demonstrating a correct pencil grip.  Once again, she offers a wide range of skills to assess.  The checklists, forms, and details make these assessments a breeze for teachers and easy to complete one-on-one with students, without stress or tears.  It's easy to keep it fun and see what's going on!

Such assessments allow teachers to easily observe and record where a student is with (pre-)reading and writing skills at a particular point in time.  This enables the educator to build upon the current skills, and just as important, to celebrate achievement with students, no matter how minor, because the milestones will be observed.    Progress is the goal, at the rate at which it fits each individual student's development. 

Below is Fyke's book and also some resource articles pertaining to the information discussed in this post. Happy Writing...and Reading, naturally!


Fyke, L. B. (2007). Easy assessments for pre-kindergarten. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Toddlers and reading: Describe but don't drill. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014, from
http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/reading-writing/toddler-reading

Early writing: Why squiggles are important. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014, from Learning
Disabilities Association of America website: http://ldaamerica.org/
early-writing-why-squiggles-are-important/


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Developmental Writing Process and Pencil Grasp

11/4/2014

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Today I had the joy of spending my morning with the staff at the Upper Dublin Christian Nursery School. I have never seen such an energetic group so early in the morning!  The energy of the staff spoke volumes to me about the enthusiasm, care, and professional commitment that the families served here must experience.  Needless to say, our professional development session was of high quality, as the interest level and desire to gain insight was outstanding...not to mention the range of talent in the room! 

My purpose here is to follow up and share one issue from our discussion during the PD session, Writing:  A Developmental Skills Approach, that  I felt was left dangling. With the use of some wonderful resources, which I will list below, we visited the topic of pencil grip/grasp: the good and the bad.  Actually the bad were labeled by our OT experts as "poor" and "awkward" pencil grips.  We also looked at the developmental spectrum of pencil grasp.  This is important for teachers of writing, particularly in early childhood education, to be aware of.   I will also throw out the thought to those who teach reading to consider the grip as a clue when issues with reading comprehension are a concern; however, I stop there, because the relationship   between pencil grip and reading is a topic for a PD session, too deep for a blog post. :)

Attendees learned today that along with the traditional "tripod" pencil grip, the "D'Nealian" pencil grip is completely acceptable/functional (see photo above).  In our area, schools generally teach Zaner-Bloser style print, and this grip is named for another style of print, D'Nealian, which I have seen taught in other areas.  This left me with concerns about crossing grasps with writing styles and wondering if there is a specific reason for this pencil grip to be used with D'Nealian style writing.   

I consulted one of my OT resources, and there was a blog post with advice regarding the use of this D'Nealian grasp versus the conventional grasp, which gives some clarity.



OT Mom Link
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Occupational Therapy web sites that can be trusted and 
are used with permission in my professional development 
sessions can be accessed via the above links.
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    Colleen T. Mantell, M.S., Ed.
    Founder, President

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