Just as there are many different pencils and pens, there are also many types of pencil grips. They vary in size, shape, and composition as well as aesthetic qualities such as color.
You can also make a quick and inexpensive pencil grip using Adhesive Mounting Putty.
The Writing C.L.A.W. is an example of a grip that can be used on pencils, crayons, and markers to create a tripod grasp.
There is a good article on low tech strategies that can be implemented in a classroom to strengthen a child's grip at "Fixing That Pencil Grip".
There are a variety of papers available at school supply and discount stores. Some variations include line width, color, and texture for students requiring additional sensory input.
Right Line Paper - wide rule, narrow rule, stop-go red-green with raised lines.
Literacy Lined Paper for three ring binders.
You can make your own raised line paper using Elmer’s glue to carefully trace the lines on paper then let it dry, or using Wikki Stix™, place stix on lines for temporary raised line.
You can use Boardmaker or Word to make sheets with boxes for students to write in. The boxes provide a visual space to write in and help corral the student’s writing. They can be made different sizes and help the students learn the concept of space between words as a box is left blank between words. Using different sized boxes can also help determine what the optimal space size best meets the student’s needs.
A slant board can help make reading more comfortable for students by presenting information at about a 20º angle.
A book or reading material placed on a slant board with the correct angle will reduce eye strain because the eyes do not have to keep refocusing as the student progresses down the page and all the text remains at the same angle. The angle of a slant board makes it easier for children to see and, as a result, develop fine motor skills.
The muscles of the hand are divided into power muscles and precision muscles. The precision muscles (needed for writing) work more efficiently when the wrist is extended. The slant of the board promotes shoulder, arm and hand coordination and facilitates writing more clearly and with better posture than when the student is writing on a flat surface.
Slant boards are available with clips to hold papers and / or magnetic or with dry erase surfaces and a 3 – 4 inch 3-ring binder will provide a good angle on which to write. Super Duper has a 3-ring binder with a magnetic writing surface that doubles as a slant board. A link to the Super Duper board/binder is here.
Carbonless notebooks are spiral bound notebooks with NCR paper between each sheet of regular paper. Peer note takers can use the notebook to take notes then tear out and give the copy to the teacher to provide to a student who cannot or does not take effective notes.
Students can use the copy as a supplement to their own notes. One teacher observed, “It is a great help with note taking when students cannot take notes as quickly in a classroom or may not get all of the information in their notes.”
Variations of less conventional writing mediums offer students alternatives to the more traditional paper and pencil. For example, markers produce less “resistance” than writing with a pencil, allowing students who might not have the strength to apply adequate pressure to write on paper. Other students may require additional adaptations, such as a dry erase board in addition to a marker. Dry erase boards require even less pressure to produce a mark and errors can be easily erased.
You can purchase dry erase pockets from office supply stores like Staples and insert your paper worksheets to use with dry erase markers (see right). Replace the worksheet, wipe off the outside of the pocket and you're good to go again. A link to Staples reusable dry erase pockets is here.
White hardboard panels can be purchased from Lowes to create dry erase boards up to 4’ X 8’ or cut into smaller panels) for under $20.
For fill in the blank worksheets, draw a box in the answer space to help the child corral their writing and see what space they have to write in. Specialized software, like IntelliTools Classroom Suite allows you to create locked documents in which text can only be typed into defined answer fields. Word can create similar documents when created as a Form then locked.
Another way to adapt the worksheet is to use a word bank and number the words. The student can then put the number of the word in the blank and if time allows they can write the words in after all the numbers are put in the blank. This way the writing does not interfere with content of the worksheet. The writing can still be practiced, but if there is not enough time to complete the writing portion, the knowledge has still been demonstrated.
Enlarge the worksheet on a copy machine so that the child does not need to make as small or precise a mark as the other students may help with their ability to perform independent written work.
Block out unnecessary information and copy the worksheet to create more white space to help some of out kids focus on the critical information.
Taping the worksheet to the desk or placing it on a clipboard may also make it easier for the student to write on by stabilizing it for them. Using tools like Velcro™, Dycem®, or non-slip rubber mats from Rubbermaid is another way to hold things in place.
It is important to provide students with the opportunity to produce written language even though they may not have the motor skills to adequately do so using a pencil and paper. One way to do this is to provide words already written that can be placed in sentences and paragraphs. Magnetic Poetry® is a commercial product offering preprinted words in various sizes, but, you can create your own pre-written words and phrases using magnetic paper available from office supply stores like Staples. The student can then arrange them on a metal surface. Magnets can also be used by students to indicate choices on worksheets in a page protector and mounted on a cookie sheet. A link to Staples magnetic sheets for printers is here.
There are a variety of software programs that help you to create your own word banks. Any word processing program or PowerPoint can be used to make word banks. More specialized software like Cloze Pro and IntelliTools Classroom Suite allow for the creation of electronic word banks that can be inserted into answer fields. Abilipad for the iPad provides a similar option. A worksheet adapted with IntelliTools Classroom Suite is shown to the right. In this worksheet, when the cursor is in the answer blank, a student simply clicks on the word of phrase they want to use from the chart to answer the question. IntelliTools Classroom Suite also supports text to speech, so questions and answers can be read to the student, if needed.
The IntelliShare Classroom Activity Exchange site http://aex.intellitools.com/ is one source that offers already created activities that allows a student to retell a story, sequence events, create their own story, etc.
A variety of plastic or metal writing guides are available from independent living aids catalogs. Writing guides are pieces of plastic with cut out areas for writing within cutout lines. They come in various sizes for writing checks, signatures, letters and envelopes. You can also make your own templates out of cardboard, manila folders or a thin plastic such as overhead transparencies.
Teacher-made templates for note taking can reduce writing demands by providing a fill in the blank format. This works well for learning note taking skills, as the teacher can leave out important words for the child to fill in as they are listening. The student is not required to write down all the extraneous information. A copy of a PowerPoint lecture on World War I and the fill in the blank notes to accompany it are found here as an example. Powerpoint - Notes
Students who are unable to write even single words are often given the notes from the teacher. It is important to encourage attending to the lecture by requiring the student to circle, highlight or otherwise mark the main idea as it is being discussed. This helps discourage students from thinking they don’t have to pay attention because their notes are already done. It also gives the teacher a way to monitor a student’s attending skills and comprehension. The teacher may easily redirect the student’s attention to the copy of the notes to ensure that they are used correctly.
Technology has great potential in providing access for all learners. Through the use of a variety of assistive, inclusive, or instructional technologies, students with wide ranging abilities and learning styles can access the general curriculum. When technology is appropriately integrated into the regular classroom, based on a thoughtful match of student skills and curricular tasks, students are provided with multiple means to complete their work. When considered after the curriculum media, materials, and tasks are developed it is assistive technology; when considered and integrated into the development of curriculum media, materials, and tasks it becomes universal design for learning (UDL). For additional information on matching technology, select the Consideration Process link above.
This site is designed to provide access to information and resources found in Allegany County Public Schools, not to be an exhaustive reference to the wide world of technology. By linking a reference of tools spanning the spectrum from low to high tech to common classroom needs we hope to create something that is useful and easy to navigate. By providing a way for you to contribute to the site we hope to create a tool that reflects use of practical and replicable strategies and tools that you’ve found to be of value. Select the contribute link above to submit strategies, web sites, files or other supports for addition to this site.