It is  important to recognize that printing  letters is a sensorimotor task and the basic principles of teaching and learning a  sensorimotor task need to be followed. 

Sensorimotor learning requires repeated and dedicated practice

Learning and refining a motor task requires repeated and persistent practice. The ease with which children learn to write letters will depend on their basic graphic skills which in turn strongly influenced by their prior experience, attention to detail and motor coordination. .  

Learners with good basic graphic abilities have acquired the coordination needed for writing the letter strokes through lots of prior practice. This means that learning to print letters for these learners is just a matter of:

• learning the basic rules that apply to writing letter strokes;,
• learning the motor plan (sequence of strokes) for each letter;
• learning to position the letter on the page (select the correct  starting position);
• adapting the size of the letter as required by the writing task.

On the other hand, learners with poor graphic skills do not have the motor control needed for writing the basic strokes and as a result have difficulties learning the motor plans for writing letters. The best approach is to provide these learners with opportunities for acquiring the basic graphic skills using guided and smart practice strategies before they start to practice writing letters.  Read more about the basic graphic abilities 

Demonstrate to enhance learning from observation 

The most efficient way to learn a new sensorimotor task is to first watch a demonstration of the movements that are used to perform the task. So teaching a new stroke or letter always should start with repeated demonstrations of how to write the letter emphasizing direction and sound, interspersed with practice of writing the stroke or letter.

Writing in the air is one way to demonstrate the direction and relative position of the letter strokes. However to be effective the demonstration needs to have a visible outcome - the letter must be written so that the movements and strokes can be linked to an end result ie the letter. 

Children learn how to preform new and unfamiliar motor tasks in one of three way: observing and copying an action, trial and error, exploring different options and simple repetition. 

Children learn to to observe and copy actions from a very young age. They are great mimics and love to imitate others.  Parents and carers naturally show their children how to do things: how to build a tower of blocks, how flip an switch on a favourite toy, how to sort buttons by colour, how to tie a knot.

Carefully watching how a task is performed provides the learner with information about the structure of the task: what needs to be done to achieve the goals,  the sequence of movements needed to complete the task and what the end result should be like.

The power of a demonstration for learning a new task lies in the dual function of mirror neurons. These neurons become active not only when you perform an action, but also when you see the same action being preformed. This means that when you watch an action these mirror neurons are simultaneously enacting the same action.

So it is not surprising that research by Annie Vinter and Estelle Chartrel has  shown that the most effective way to teach a young child to form a letter is first demonstrate the movement of the pencil tip on the page followed by practising the movement. 

Watching the movement being performed gives an immediate improvement in the ability to form the letter. Practise with writing the letter is needed to stabilise the new motor plan and leads to long term retention of the learning. 

Learning from a demonstration requires focused and sustained attention 

Learners with good attention skills know the importance of paying attention to a demonstration. They watch demonstrations carefully and with sustained attention.  They also pay attention to the verbal instructions that are provided.

Focused attention to the actions being demosntrated allows the mirror neurons to make the connection between the visual impression of the movement and the movements that are needed to perform the same action. 

Learners with poor attention skills have not learned the value of paying attention or of listening to instructions. They do not actively focus their attention on the demonstration or the instructions. They are easily distracted. Asa result they do not benefit from the educators demonstration and their learning is hampered. Learners who fail to watch and listen with good attention need specific training in these skills to prepare them for learning the write letters. 

How to demonstrate writing a letter for effective learning 

• Start by alerting the learners to the demonstration: This is how you write the letter n. Watch and listen.
• Demonstrate the writing of the letter on a large surface which allows for easier observation of the direction of the movement of the pencil tip across the writing surface.
• Use a brief description of the movement to focus the learners' attention on the direction of the movement: for example  "down, up and around" when writing an n.
• Call attention to the sound of the marker on the writing surface. This provides information about the speed and even flow of the movement.
• Use repeated demonstrations in a lesson. Demonstrate how to write a new letter several times and then allow the learners to practice writing the letter. 
• Repeat the demonstration again to tighten the link been the visual and sound  impression of the movement and the motor plans for the movement. 
• Learners with motor learning difficulties (DCD) require explicit and repeated demonstrations followed by practice to form a stable motor plan. 

Attention to product is essential for refining a motor plan

The year in the reception class is an opportunity for young children to acquire the different skills needed for learning from instruction that will be the basis for classroom learning in the first year of formal schooling. 

These skills include knowing how to pay attention, attend to and remember instructions, complete a task and persist in the face of failure. Importantly children need to learn the rules of smart practice. 

Structured classroom time for teaching and learning basic graphic skills provides an opportunity for learning these important self-regulation skills and at the same time gives the students an opportunity to internalise the smart practice principles. 

Smart practice: the do-check-do-check process 

Practice that is merely repetition does not make perfect. Smart practice on the other hand  leads to improvement  because it includes reflection on outcomes and this gives the movement brain an opportunity to update motor plans based on information about the the difference between the intended outcome and actual outcome. 

Example: copying a circle: The child copies a circle and then pays attention to the outcome/product (the completed circle) and checks: "Is my circle the same as the example - how does it differ?"  

This attention to the outcome is often implicit - in other words it happens without conscious awareness. 

Smart drawing practice basics include:

• Starting with a goal or intention and having an idea of what the outcome/product  should look like. 
• Checking the outcome / product to see if it conforms to the desired one. 
• Using this information / feedback  to adapt the the way the task is performed so as to get closer to the desired outcome / product. 

Implicit and explicit use of feedback for learning 

Children with good movement skills have learned to use feedback from the outcome produced by their actions to improve outcomes. This learning is implicit - it often happens without conscious awareness the process.  What is important is that they have learned to start with a goal (intended outcome) and then to  pay attention to the outcome and use this information implicitly to adapt motor plans.  

Children with poor graphic skills do not start with a well formed goal and do not pay attention to the outcome. The movement brain is not able to compare intention (goal) and outcome (product) and therefor cannot make the necessary adaptations to the motor plan which is needed for learning and improving motor skills. 

Teaching to enhance smart practice of graphic skills 

1 Explain what is expected, what the process is and what the product should look like. 

2 Demonstrate what should be done. Provide a good example and some poor examples. Let the children judge your efforts.

3 Provide an opportunity for practice. Instruct the children to draw several examples of the task at hand. 

4 Take time for feedback and reflection. Provide an opportunity for the children to pay attention to their products and talk about them.  

5 Children complete the task and check their work. 

Example: Copying circles in grid  

Explain: "Take a look at this task sheet. You are going to copy the circle in the first block in each of the blocks on the page." 

Demonstrate good and poor outcomes: Draw a good circle in the first block that is about the same size as the example circle. Next draw a circle that is smaller, followed by one where the begining and end of the line do not meet and one which is not very round. 
After each drawing let the children comment on the outcome. Talk about what is good and what is a mistake. 
You can also ask the children to indicate where you should draw the next circle to reinforce the left to right principle. 

3 Children practise drawing circles Let the children complete the first row of the worksheet and then stop. 

4 Children talk about their circles, choose the best ones.  

5 Children complete the task sheet and check their work

What children learn from guided practice 

• The importance of paying attention to instructions and demonstrations;
• The need to understand the goals of a task: what the drawing or letter should look like, its size and position; 
• The need check their drawings and letters and notice how they differ from the expected outcome.

The basic sequence for teaching children to print letters 

1. Assess the learners to ensure that they have the basic graphic skills needed for handwriting
2. 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
3. Follow this by teaching learners to combine the strokes to form letters 
4. 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,
5. Once the learners have mastered a new letter written in a large block, practise letters in a small grid and on a single line to get effective finger action for handwriting. 
6. Follow up practice of writing individual letters with writing words and provide lots of encouragement for using writing for communication. 

Activities that hinder learning to write letters fluently

Tracing letters is a very, very bad idea

In order to trace a letter accurately a young children make a series of small strokes under visual guidance. They may also also increase the pressure of the grip on the pen and pressure of the pen on the paper to gain more control of the movement of the pen tip.

Remember that the most important aspect of learning to print a letter is learning the motor plan and learning to print the letter using pre-planned movements without reliance on visual monitoring. With practice the child learns to control the size and direction of the strokes to produce a well formed letter. 

Tracing letters inhibits or even blocks learning the motor plan and the ability to preplan letters and adjust size and direction of the strokes with practice. 

 Here is an example of a worksheet completed by a learner in Gr R: notice the jagged line used to form the large d. This worksheet was completed by a child who in fact does a lot of letter writing and can form a well shaped d.  

The emphasis on tracing lines and letters in many writing programs is perhaps one of the biggest contributing factors to why so very many children present with handwriting difficulties. The children have simply failed to acquire the basic control drawing lines in different directions and of letter strokes. 

Writing letters between lines 

The initial teaching of letter shapes should be geared to learning the sequence of strokes and printing letters with a good form and relatively consistent size.

It is also important that letters are written fluently with minimal visual guidance during the writing of the letter. Visual feedback is used to appraise the letter once it is completed. 

When young children are required to write letters between lines the emphasis shifts from fluent preplanned movements to form the letter to visually guided movements to fit the letter in the prescribed space.  In order to do this the child will often increase the grip pressure and pressure of the pen on the paper and form the letter using small strokes. 

Bibliography

Vinter, A., & Chartrel, E. (2010). Effects of different types of learning on handwriting movements in young children. Learning and Instruction, 20(6), 476–486.

Overvelde, A., & Hulstijn, W. (2011). Learning new movement patterns: a study on good and poor writers comparing learning conditions emphasizing spatial, timing or abstract characteristics. Human Movement Science, 30(4), 731–44.