Teaching · Special Education

Shapes, grasp and letter starts: what to teach next.

Ask the child to copy nine shapes, watch the grasp and posture, and mark each letter family for where it starts, which way it goes, its size and how readable it is. The summary turns the observation into the next things to teach and keeps track of the accommodations that help.

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Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the New special education teacher kit, $39 for 31 items.

The handwriting observation

One record per child and date. Arrow keys move across the letter grid; O, S, X and N mark a cell. Use initials or a code, never a name. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Special EducationAlso for Teaching · Reading Intervention$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
For each observation, shapes copied, posture and grasp, letter formation by family and point, and accommodations with results, with what to teach next and when to involve the occupational therapist.
Who it is for
Kindergarten and early-grade teachers, special education teachers, reading interventionists and the occupational therapists who consult with them.
Format
Browser form with a keyboard grid and an accommodations table. Several saved records; printed with the summary or as a blank observation form; CSV with one row per observation; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the New special education teacher kit ($39) and the Special Education toolkit ($99), and 2 more bundles. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching; also listed in the Reading Intervention space (handwriting and letter formation observation).
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
Drawn for this page. Where a letter starts and which way the pencil travels matter more than how neat the first tries look.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the child’s initials or a code and the date.
  2. Show each shape and mark whether the child copies it without a demonstration.
  3. Watch posture, writing hand and grasp during a short writing task.
  4. Dictate each letter family and mark start, direction, size and legibility.
  5. Record accommodations tried and their results, then read what to teach next.

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What the observation is for

Readiness shapes

Children usually master copying a vertical line, a horizontal line, a circle, a cross, diagonals, a square, an X and a triangle in roughly that order. Many programs treat copying the diagonal cross (X) as a sign a child is ready for formal letter teaching, and keep shapes and large-movement practice going until then.

Grasp and formation

Research comparing the dynamic tripod with the lateral tripod and the two quadrupod grasps found no meaningful difference in speed or legibility, so a mature grasp that is comfortable rarely needs changing. Where a letter starts and which way the strokes go matter more: teaching letters in families that share a starting stroke builds habits that last.

Three titles, one observation

The catalog listed a handwriting readiness observation form, a letter formation observation log and a pencil grip accommodation organizer. They describe one child at one sitting, so one page holds all three. It records observations and reports no scores. Records use a code, never a name, and stay in this browser.

Sources

  1. Beery, K. E., & Beery, N. A. (2010). The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (6th ed.) manual, on the developmental sequence of copied forms.
  2. Schwellnus, H., Carnahan, H., Kushki, A., Polatajko, H., Missiuna, C., & Chau, T. (2012). Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting in children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66(6), 718–726.
  3. Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Fink, B. (2000). Is handwriting causally related to learning to write? Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(4), 620–633.
  4. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.34(c)(6) (occupational therapy as a related service).
  5. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99.

The example student is made up. The form records what an adult observes; it is not a test and does not replace an occupational therapy evaluation. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.