﻿Hi, I'm really looking forward to our lesson today. I hope you are too. Before we get started, this is just a little reminder. We're here to support any approaches you might already be using, and any work you might have already been set. We know that this lesson is going to be going out to so many different children and families, so if you're not sure about anything or have any questions, then please do contact your usual therapy team. I want you to try the following hand warm-ups before each handwriting session. This is really important for getting your hands ready for writing. Try and do each activity or each little warmup, say, 10 times. If you're finding that it's tricky to do one warmup with both hands together at the same time, then just do one hand at a time. Hands open and closed. Nice fist, and open. Stretch those fingers. Now, we're going to interlock our fingers and squeeze our hands. You can see how wide my fingertips are going because I'm squeezing, I'm getting all of that feedback into my hands and my fingers. Okay? Squeeze. Now, I want you to clasp your fingers and just pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull. Excellent. Next, let's do some finger taps on the table. If you struggle doing both hands at once, then just do one hand at a time. You can also try finger taps on the tips of your thumbs. Okay, So take each finger and just gently touch that finger's tip to your thumb. Now, do some finger pulls and squeezes. Squeeze your fingers as you pull them up and away from your body. This is really good activity for getting your fingers ready for writing, and don't forget your thumbs. And, if you wanted an extra challenge, you could try some finger separations. Okay, So those were your hand warm-ups. Please remember to do them before each handwriting session. Have you ever heard of one armed robot letters? Hmm, well, these all start off by starting up high or in the middle, they go down, back up again, across, and then they will carry on in different ways. Okay, these letters are R, N, M, H, B, P, and K. Pause the video now to get the items you will need. Paper, or something else to write on, and a pen or pencil, or what you prefer to write with. Restart once you're done. So again, when we're practising , practise each letter until you feel super confident that you can do it correctly, take your time, Don't rush. Okay? So, there you can see the one armed robot letters a bit clearer. Okay, Let's try out our one armed robot letters. Remember they go down, and then jump up, and then they go across, and that's how they all start, and then they finish in another way. So, they go down, they jump up, they go across, like the R. Let's try that again. Down, up, and across. Hmm. Now, let's think, what about this one? down, back up, and down again. So, you can see that, over here, you've got your one armed robot letter there. Okay? In fact, if I undo that, your one armed robot letter is there. Okay? Let's try another one. So, can you guess which one this is going to be? Down, across, was it an N again? No, it's an M this time. And, it's almost like now you have got two one armed robot letters. Can you see that? Excellent. Right, let's find another one. Can you guess what this letter is going to be? Hmm, let me see if I can trick you. Did you expect that one? And there, remember we said our one armed robot goes down, and then jumps up and ends in a different way. Right? Okay. How about this one armed robot letter? Are you ready? It's going to go down, across, Oh, he was interesting. Can you see there? That's your one armed robot letter. Shall I do that one bigger for you? So, let's go. Let's try this one, and we'll do it in the same colour again, down, arm. Okay? Or, sometimes you do your K like that. Yeah? What about, hmm, your other letters? Let's see, if I left these here for you in a highlighter, what letters could you turn these into? I'm quite excited to find out what letters you are going to be turning those into. So, then you can take your pen, and you can trace over it, Let's go orange, and you can say, right, I'm going to trace over it, I'm going to turn this into an N. Fabulous. Okay? So, have a go, and see if you can do the same there. You can ask an adult to draw the letters for you in highlighter, and then you can see if they can guess what letter you're going to be doing. Awesome. And you can use those to practise. Okay? Pause the video to practise the one armed robot letters Restart once you're finished. Now, give cursive practise or joined up practise a go, but only if you're learning cursive practise at school, or you want a challenge. And remember, all schools do their joined up writing differently, so find out from your teacher how they prefer you to do it. Okay. So I've done just a few there, and now you can pause the video to practise cursive writing. Restart once you're finished. As we said before, to get used to writing, or familiar with writing, you can practise in sand, you can practise in the air, and also practise in shaving foam or soapy foam, Okay? Practise in as many ways as possible because that's going to really help your brain to remember how these letters are formed. Remember, do the best for you. Have fun when you practise. Okay? And, if you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share pictures of your one armed robot letters on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak. Bye.

In this lesson we will learn about one armed robot letters. These letters start high (or in the middle), go down, and jump back up - like robots doing a dance!

One armed robot letters

Handwriting

UNIT

The basics of handwriting

Developing good pencil grip

Strong shoulders for control

Strong shoulders for speed

Small, tall and tail letters

Magic C letters

Tall ladder letters

Down-up-down letters

Odd one out letters

Making words

Basic cursive writing

Writing sentences and speeding up

Handwriting: Putting it all together

Lesson overview: One armed robot letters

Video

Presentation

Worksheet

Transcript

14 lessons in Handwriting: