In the Size Matters Handwriting Program, the intangible is personified and the invisible is rendered in color.
We’re talking Meatball Man and his recipe for spacing.
Uniform spacing is especially difficult for students to master because by its very name… it’s amorphous. It’s not there.
Instead, make it come to life by coloring your children’s empty spaces as though they had just served you a fine platter of Spaghetti and Meatballs.
In between each of the letters in a word, draw a straight strand of Spaghetti. Ideally, there should be room for only one. Use a yellow colored pencil to distinguish your spaghetti lines from the child’s printing. If there is still empty space between the letters, draw another. And another. And another. From above the Top Line to Below the Bottom.
These are the INSIDE spaces. In other words, Spaghetti lines are drawn inside of a word.
To score Inside spaces, count all the potential Spaghetti spaces. There should be one less than the number of letters in the word. That’s your denominator. Star above the places where only one strand of Spaghetti fits. Count the stars. That number is your numerator.
OUTSIDE SPACES are home to Meatballs. Nice, evenly sized meatballs. To start, identify an outside space that appears just right between two words. Or one that is the width of 1-3 letters. That’s your model meatball space. Using a red colored pencil, draw equal sized meatballs in between each word.
Next, count all the potential meatballs. There should be one less than the number of words. If children do not crowd the right margin, or… if their writing continues on the next line but the letters do not trail up or down on the right side… give them a free meatball. That is your denominator.
Star the meatballs that are the same size. The meatballs cannot overlap the letters nor have extra space on either side. In other words, if it looks like a meatloaf would fill the space, do NOT give it a star. The star total is your numerator.
Easy peasy.
Need more information. Maybe all the ingredients to help your children become neat printers? Go to: www.realOTsolutions.
And write, please: bev[at]realOTsolutions.com
I'm happy to answer your questions.
Let’s print together. Mangia!!
Dear Readers, If you have found my blog to be helpful, please "like" my Facebook page and follow my blog...Thanks :)
We’re talking Meatball Man and his recipe for spacing.
Uniform spacing is especially difficult for students to master because by its very name… it’s amorphous. It’s not there.
Instead, make it come to life by coloring your children’s empty spaces as though they had just served you a fine platter of Spaghetti and Meatballs.
In between each of the letters in a word, draw a straight strand of Spaghetti. Ideally, there should be room for only one. Use a yellow colored pencil to distinguish your spaghetti lines from the child’s printing. If there is still empty space between the letters, draw another. And another. And another. From above the Top Line to Below the Bottom.
These are the INSIDE spaces. In other words, Spaghetti lines are drawn inside of a word.
To score Inside spaces, count all the potential Spaghetti spaces. There should be one less than the number of letters in the word. That’s your denominator. Star above the places where only one strand of Spaghetti fits. Count the stars. That number is your numerator.
OUTSIDE SPACES are home to Meatballs. Nice, evenly sized meatballs. To start, identify an outside space that appears just right between two words. Or one that is the width of 1-3 letters. That’s your model meatball space. Using a red colored pencil, draw equal sized meatballs in between each word.
Next, count all the potential meatballs. There should be one less than the number of words. If children do not crowd the right margin, or… if their writing continues on the next line but the letters do not trail up or down on the right side… give them a free meatball. That is your denominator.
Star the meatballs that are the same size. The meatballs cannot overlap the letters nor have extra space on either side. In other words, if it looks like a meatloaf would fill the space, do NOT give it a star. The star total is your numerator.
Easy peasy.
Need more information. Maybe all the ingredients to help your children become neat printers? Go to: www.realOTsolutions.
And write, please: bev[at]realOTsolutions.com
I'm happy to answer your questions.
Let’s print together. Mangia!!
Dear Readers, If you have found my blog to be helpful, please "like" my Facebook page and follow my blog...Thanks :)
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