Printing words for some students is very difficult. They have trouble forming the letters, often reversing them, simply because they don't 'see' the sections that make-up a single letter.

I like to compare letters like b, d, p, q to a chair.
Some students see a chair as a chair, whether the chair front is facing them or they are looking at the back of the chair. The chair no matter what position it is in is still a chair.
In the same way, they see the letters b, d, p, and q as the same letter. Their brain doesn't seem to see the separate lines and curves that make up each letter.

In order to help students see the letters of the alphabet as a series of lines and curves that form different letters, have the students do dot patterns.
I can stress enough how important these dot patterns are. Tracing letters is also a helpful technique. Drawing letters in sand; using an easel with large sheets of paper; putting ketchup in a ziplock bag and using their fingers to print letter are other great ways to practice printing.

See the Dot Patterns section for more information. (example of a dot pattern)

See our Teaching Resources for Reading for worksheets, lesson plans, etc.

See the Reading Skills section for more information.

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