Handwriting, Letter Formation

DIY Desk Letter Strip Handwriting Hack

Colleen Beck OTR/L

Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:

by Colleen Beck OTR/L
September 30, 2016

Sometimes all the little handwriting tricks can work wonders when kids are working hard on handwriting. But when the letter formation is functional and sentences are legible, the verbal cues and visual prompts are reduced. But there can be times that letter formation suffers when kids are writing on their own.

Check out all of the handwriting tips in our Easy Tricks for Better Handwriting Help here.

Be sure to join over 400 others in the Facebook group that I’ve created for handwriting help. Jump in, ask questions, share your tips and tricks and join the fun: Sweet Ideas for Handwriting Help

Writing prompts or independent writing tasks can revert to previous handwriting habits. This DIY Desk Letter Strip is a simple handwriting hack that can help kids with letter formation when they are writing independently.

Make a Desk Letter Strip from a ruler to help kids work on letter formation.

Letter strips are helpful for kids who are learning how to make letters, addressing letter reversal tendencies, and working on the motor plan to make letters functionally.

This DIY version of a letter strip is one that can be taken to any desk, tucked into binder pockets or file folders, or easily pulled out of a desk. Kids will love that their ruler is quickly and discretely used as a letter strip that can help with letter formation or a quick check on the direction a letter should be aligned.

Desk Letter Strip made from a ruler

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To make our desk letter strip, we used wooden rulers. These have a great back for writing letters on and are spacious enough for the upper case alphabet and lower case alphabet.

To make the letter strip, use another ruler to draw a quick line down the length of the ruler. On that line, write the upper and lower case alphabet with a permanent marker.

This portable letter strip would be great for cursive letters, too. Upper case cursive letters are not easy for kids to remember as they are not used as frequently. A desktop example can be helpful during writing tasks.

And that’s it!

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Show your student how they can use the letter strip to double check letter formation or to help with alphabetical order.

Looking for more ways to help kids address letter formation? Try these:

Letter Formation Resistive Surface

Letter Formation with Push Pins in a Can

Cotton Swab Letters

Lego Letters

Handwriting Warm Up Exercises
Handwriting on Foam Craft Sticks
Nature Letters
Motivating Handwriting Activities for Reluctant Writers

Did this quick tip work for you and your kiddo? Let us know in the comments below or in the Sweet Ideas for Handwriting Facebook group!

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DIY Desk Letter Strip Handwriting Hack

Colleen Beck OTR/L

Desk Letter Strip made from a ruler

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