FREE A-Z Handwriting Prompts

FREE GEM LITERACY A4 A-Z handwriting prompts for upper and lowercase letters to use during explicit whole or small group instruction. These handwriting prompts have been developed to support the explicit teaching of handwriting.

• Clear and legible handwriting is a crucial life skill needed for everyday life
• Learners need direct and explicit handwriting instruction on a daily basis e.g. whole class for 10-15 minutes and also during small group explicit instruction (if needed). 
• It is important to model the correct order of strokes for each letter from the outset of explicit handwriting instruction. If learners are left to “invent” letter formation, they can quickly develop habits and muscle memory which will then interfere with their handwriting fluency.
• The act of forming letters correctly greatly improves the learner’s memory of those letters. These “motor patterns” help learners to link the way the letter looks to the sound it represents.
• Writing by hand to spell words helps improve memory for those letters and words, therefore facilitating faster word recognition.
• When learners automatize correct letter formation within their first year at school, often their spelling improves and their writing compositions become longer and of a higher quality.
• Automatising letter formation also allows learners to focus their cognitive load on their writing composition.