1  Assess the learners to ensure that they have the basic graphic skills needed for handwriting

2  Introduce children to grids, boxes and letter spaces. 

3  Start by teaching the letter strokes with attention to direction and position in the letter space. The emphasis at this stage is on producing fluent and reasonably well formed strokes with less emphasis on size.

• This is also the stage in the learning process where the learners learn to check their own work - the do-check-do process that is part of smart practice

4  Follow this by teaching learners to combine the strokes to form letters 

• Use a large grid of blocks to provide some guidance regarding positioning of the strokes and letters . A large grid encourages writing the letters using shoulder / elbow actions,
• Once the learners have mastered a new letter written in a large block, practice letters in a small grid and on a single line to get effective finger action for handwriting. 

5  Follow up practice of writing individual letters with writing words and provide lots of encouragement for using writing for communication. 

6  Always associate learning a letter with attention to the letter sound. Also practice writing letters from memory - hear the letter sound and then write it.