Backward b, reversed letters, mirror letters

Children start out printing their ABCs backward. It is rarely dyslexia, will self-correct by mid-2nd Grade, and will not slow your child's progress.  Why won't it slow your child? Because your child will not see a backward h or r, etc. in print. Instantly identifying letters in print at the start of 1st Grade is your goal. Only b, d, g, p, q require being printed correctly. Your child must get instant identifying b, d, p, q, g shapes within words by early 1st Grade. Kids know names and sounds but confuse shapes b / d and p / q / g within words.

When a child is not sure if the lettters are dy or by; olb or old - the child quickly falls behind. New lessons never stop coming, which is why it is very hard to catch up.  Teach my rules:

1) Bb rule: Bb is the 2nd letter in my ABCs and b's round face always looks the way words go in a story >>>. Help your child draw tons of giant b's with eyes looking the way words go > and a smile. Repeat the Bb rule together. After reading a story together, look back through the story for b at the start, middle, and end of words.

2) Dd rule: d's straight line blocks d's eyes from seeing the way words go in a story; d is sad. Help your child draw tons of giant d's with sad eyes and a sad mouth. Make a big point of blocking d's round face with d's straight line. After reading a story together, look back through the story for d at the start, middle, and end of words. 

3) Gg rule: g has a fancy tail which tries to reach up to tickle g's round face. Draw giant g's with eyes looking down at g's fancy tail.  **After your child is sure of this form of g use a storybook to tell your child that g in stories has a special shape . You and your child hunt and point to special g in words whenever you read stories together, until your child is sure of school g and special story g. (Do this for capital I also. The Arial font I looks to children like the lowercase l of lamb.  Times New Roman font capital I has lines at top and bottom.)

4) Pp rule: Pp looks the way words go in a story, just like letter b >>>; b and p can see. Draw giant p's with eyes looking the way words go and a smile. Find p at the start, middle, and end of words while reading stories together.  

5) Qq rule: q's straight line blocks q's face from seeing the way words go in a story. Help your child make lots of giant q's with sad eyes and a sad mouth; q is sad because q's face cannot see the way word go >.

Be aware: lower-case online and machine-printed q always has a straight line; lower-case handwritten q has a small hook curved up and away from q's round face, the opposite of g.

Qq says kw, take turns saying q words: quick, quiet, quest, squirrel. Watch for q at the start and middle of words: quick, quiet, queen, squirrel. In English words, letter u is next. .

I use eBay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up for you. All the basics plus tons of special lessons. My info is included with the books, do not hesitate to call with questions!               Have a great day, Mary Maisner

 

Teach ABCs

Your child's fingers will get tired quickly. Five minutes is long enough.

Unlined paper is good until mid-kindergarten. Office Max, Target, Walmart all carry manuscript paper. Watch for manuscript paper with dot-to-dot and arrows pointing the best way to print.

There are 26 letters in our ABCs. Each ABC letter has an upper case form, called a capital, and a lower case form. 

Capitals are used for the 1st letter of a name and for the 1st letter in the first word of a sentence. Lower case letters are used for all else. For all letter practice: Sit with your child and paper and pencil. You start by draw a giant capital and lower-case. Ask your child to trace over your giant letter with his or her finger - several times. Talk about the letter sound and take turns saying words that use that sound. Let your child use the pencil to trace over your giant letter, then make his or her letter. Do not push for perfect.

Only b, d, g, p, q need to be printed correctly. Do not obsess over other backward letters, they will self-correct by mid-2nd Grade, is rarely dyslexia, will not slow your child's reading progress.

Mirror letters b, d, g, p, q can seriously slow your child's reading advancement. It is crucial to be sure your child is not confusing the shapes of b / d and p /q / q when your child starts reading words in early 1st Grade. Do not depend on a teacher.  

Ask your child point to each word as you read a story together so your child is clear that the words in a story go >>>>. Help your child learn the five rules below:

1) Bb rule: Bb is the 2nd letter in my ABCs and its little round face looks the way words go in a story >.  Help your child make lots of giant b's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go >.  Take turns saying b words: boy, bat, ball, bear. Using a story, ask your child to find and point to b in the words of the storybook. Repeat the b rule together.

2) Dd rule: d's straight line blocks d's round face from seeing the way word go in a story. Help your child make lots of giant d's with sad eyes and a sad mouth, d is sad because it cannot see the way words go in a story. But d has many great words: dog, dragon, dolphin. Take turns saying d words. Using a storybook, find and point to d in the words of the story. 

3) Gg rule: the fancy tail of g tries to reach up to tickle g's round face. Help your child draw giant g's with eyes looking down at g's fancy tail. Take turns saying g words: go, goat, green, grass.  As your child goes into 1st Grade, notice that the tail of g hangs below the bottom line of lined-paper.  (Letters with tails hanging below the bottom line when printing are: g, j, p, q, y.) 

**Very important: After your child has control of this form of g, use a storybook to look for g in the words of a story. You will see that the g learned at school is a simple form of g which is the storybook printed form. The school g is an Arial style font. Commerically printed g is  Times New Roman font. Your child does not need to print the Times g but needs to recognize on sight both forms for reading. Both forms of g have fancy tails which is the clue your child needs to separate g from commercially printed q. Notice also, Arial font capital I can look like lowercase L as in the word lamb. Or capital I can have straight lines across the top and bottom; Times New Roman font. Prepare your child. Luckily, only these letters are tricky: b, d, g, p, q and capital I.

4) Pp rule: the round face of p looks the way words go >>>>; b and p can see. Help your child make lots of giant p's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go. Take turns saying p words: pumpkin, pigeon, parrrot. Using a story, find and point to p at the start, middle, and end of words.

5) Qq rule: (parents, online and printed q has a straight line blocking q's round face. The face of school's handwritten q is blocked by the straight line of the tail but the tail has a hook curved up and away from q's face. (The reversed look of g.)

Tip: Do not have your child stop to sound out words when your child is reading to you. Your child will gain stronger comprehension connections if you tell your child any unknown words - and keep reading onward.

This sounds like a lot of rules but your child will feel in control when he begins trying to read. This is a huge factor for success. Remember, a sweet ten minute lesson is more effective than a snarling twenty minute lesson.

I now use eBay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up. All are brand new and include my contact info; email or call for help.

Have fun reading with your child. Thank you, Mary Maisner