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Provide worksheets that have dotted lines in the shape of the letter Y for students to trace. This can serve as a warm-up activity to familiarize them with the letter's shape.

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Utilize educational apps that focus on handwriting to create a digital station where students can practice writing the letter Y on iPads.

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Is your child having difficulty forming their letters or numbers correctly? Or have they mastered the pre-writing shapes and now starting to learn those letters? Well this blog is just for YOU!!! This blog will discuss a few of the abundance of iPad apps that can be extremely useful, exciting and interactive for children learning correct letter and number formation.

Letter School encourages children to form upper and lower case letters and numbers using amazing graphics and sounds.
Features:
· The sequence of formation is taught in three steps: 1. Touch the starting points 2. Trace leaving a row of dirt or railroad track then when it is formed correctly flowers pop out of the dirt and a train travels over the tracks 3. Write the letter independently if you are unsuccessful after a few times it provides arrows to follow

· Two levels of play

· Up to three players

· Also reinforces letter and number name, recognition, makes associations between letters and objects and numbers and objects

· The k and y are not correct formation for Australian standards

Price: $6.49

Ready to Print

Description: Pre-writing and letter formation app with graded levels of visual motor and perceptual activities for children ages 2-7 years to develop their pre-writing skills leading up to letter formation.

Features:

· Progresses through pre-writing skills in a specific order

· Touch, ordered touch, matching, path following, shape tracing, connect the dots, pinching, letters and free draw

· Skills addressed include: basic index finger isolation, pincer grasp, visual scanning, tracking and visual motor

· Developed by an Occupational Therapist

· The k and y are not correct formation for Australian standards

Price: $12.99

Red Writing - Learn to Write

Description: Teaches big ABC, little abc, numbers, drawing shapes

Features:

· It also has a letter of the day and "shake a letter"

· Different backgrounds and colour of pen can be used

· There is a little character that can demonstrate the correct formation

· The child can earn stickers, achievement certificates and trophies

· Australian made

· Education approved with fonts for all Australian Schools

Price: $3.79
School Fonts - Learn to Write (AU/NZ)
Description: Includes pre-writing shapes, uppercase and lower case letters, numbers, words or whiteboard images that you import.

Features:

· Tracing accuracy

· With the whiteboard feature it can be customised for example spelling lists

· Beginner and cursive options

· Student profiles

· Audio/visual reports can be emailed to review a child's progress

· Australian fonts used

Price: $7.49

Description: Uppercase, lowercase and numbers using visuals and stories through four different practices graded from high to low assistance.

Features:

· Uses the sky grass dirt visual for placement of letters

· Wide range for errors

· Free worksheet downloads from the website

· 2 learning orders: kinaesthetic or alphabetic

· Rainbow letters

· All samples can be saved

· Unlimited users

· Good for sensory seekers

· Developed by an Occupational Therapist

· The k and y are not correct formation for Australian standards

Price: $6.49

Touch Write and Touch Write Cursive (Australian Version)

Description: Letter identification and writing/formation app in different mediums such as shaving cream or chocolate pudding with sounds to match.

Features:

· 16 different writing textures

· 28 different writing papers

· 4 different line patterns for correct placement of letters

· Can create your own word list

· Brief verbal reward to reinforce learning and motivate

· Can use the monster to eat the cupcakes (shows letter formation as he eats them) different apps for different Australian States

Price: $3.79 each

Description: App based on the Handwriting Without Tears concept of letter formation. Uses visuals of a chalkboard wet and dry towel to form upper and lower case letters and numbers.

Features:

· The letter formation is demonstrated first

· The formation is learnt in three steps: 1. Erase the letter with the 'wet' sponge 2. Dry with towel 3.Try and write it independently

· Verbal praise for correct formation e.g. "cool beans"

· Enter up to four children

· The k and y are not correct formation for Australian standards

Price: $8.99 with In-App purchases

These apps are great for learning correct letter and number formation along with other skills however it is important that these skills are transferred to paper. It is recommended that paper and pencil tasks that match are completed at the same time these IPad Apps are used. For example, have the child write the letter or words immediately after completing them on the IPad. Another alternative is purchasing an APP CRAYON. Using the app crayon will assist in development of the tripod grasp.

I understand that most of these IPad apps have costs involved, however I have seen great success in children using these apps to develop correct letter and number formation. Not only have I seen improvement but the kids love it and they are always excited to learn their letters through these highly interactive, visually stimulating and FUN apps!!!

HAVE A GO!!! I can't wait to hear all about your experience.

Occupational Therapy Helping Children

Occupational Therapy Helping Children

We help children with a variety of developmental challenges - whether it's concentration, handwriting or social skills at school through to long-term challenges like Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorders...

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Extremely Useful iPad Apps for Letter Formation - Occupational Therapy Helping Children

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Is your child having difficulty forming their letters or numbers correctly? Or have they mastered the pre-writing shapes and now starting to learn those

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Show a short video that demonstrates the correct way to write the letter Y. This can serve as a visual guide before the students begin their practice.

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The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

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Write the letter Y | Alphabet Writing lesson for children | The Singing Walrus

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Set up a tactile learning station where students can practice writing the letter Y in shaving cream. This sensory activity will make learning memorable and fun.

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Have white boards and markers ready for students to practice writing the letter Y repeatedly. This allows for easy correction and repetition.

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Incorporate a crafting station where students can create the letter Y using play-dough, yarn, or other craft materials. This hands-on activity reinforces the shape of the letter in a creative way.

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Provide worksheets that focus on writing both the uppercase and lowercase 'Y'. Emphasize the difference in their formations and uses.

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Arrange a storytelling session where students come up with stories that include words starting with the letter Y. This can include drawing pictures alongside the stories to incorporate writing.

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Group storytelling is a great way to:

...help reluctant writers to see how fun and easy it is to spin a tale (then translate the story to paper).

... reconnect as a family. Telling a story together is a great way to share family time-- around the dinner table, in the car, on game night.

... group storytelling is a great way for friends and youth groups to break the ice and laugh together.

How to tell a story with a group

Storytelling formula and How to guide

Next, decide on what type of storytelling you want to do:

Interactive Group Storytelling
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In this type of group storytelling, a lead storyteller adapts the story to the audience's suggestions while she tells the story.

See a video of interactive storytelling.

How to do it:

1. Choose your story leader. This person will listen to suggestions and guide the story.

2. First, the story leader asks the audience to suggest a Who, a What, and a Why Not (See our super easy storytelling formula and storytelling how to guide.) This will be your main character and basic plot. Hint: If you need to help the audience with some ideas, see these story prompts.

3. Next, start the story, pause and ask for input as you go.

Interactive Group storytelling example

(Who) A Viking + (What) wants to win a watermelon seed spitting contest + (Why Not) but she's allergic to fun

Lead storyteller: On a hot summer's day, a viking was getting ready for an event she'd waited for all year- the annual Viking Games Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest.

{Pause and ask the audience: What type of viking was she? Gruff or Kind, Uber-Competitive or Shy? Pick from the available input and keep going.} Our lady Viking was a gruff and bold Viking, as Vikings are known to be. Her name was Helga the Horrible and she had waited all year to show those other Vikings just how great she was at spitting seeds. She could win any contest she entered and this was going to be her next triumph. There was only one problem... she was allergic to fun. She could be a tough warrior all day long. But start having fun, and she had massive sneezing fits. And when she got to the park where the contest was, guess what-- everyone was having a good time.

{Pause and ask who else was there, what were they doing. Choose some input and keeping going.} The other Vikings, like Igor the Giant, and Milly the Meek, were eating fried herring, cheering the boat races, dancing Viking dances, and having a great time. Helga froze. She could feel the first sneeze attack coming on. It was going to be big. Uh oh, here it came...

{Pause and ask what the sneeze sounded like.} Aaahhchoogamigasplat. It was booming (and not just a little messy.) What would happen if she was in the contest, had a watermelon seed ready to spit, and a sneeze came on. This might just get dangerous....

Interactive Group Storytelling Video

See how it's done with this interactive group storytelling video.

Storytelling in the Round
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In this type of group storytelling, each person tells part of the story and leaves a cliffhanger for the next person to continue.

First, choose someone to lead off the story. The leader asks the group to suggest some Who, What, and Why Nots. Use our Super Easy Storytelling Formula to get the story started. Remember to add some descriptive words and start the action going.

Next, the leader builds the action to where something is about to happen. Now stop (leave a cliffhanger), and pick the next person in the group who will keep telling the story. The second person adds to the story and builds the action again, handing it off just as something is about to happen.

This continues until the group is ready to end the story. The last person to storytell gets to decide how the story ends.

Hint: If you are doing this with children, boys and girls often want to tell very different types of stories. We found in our family that a few ground rules helped to keep the peace. For instance, not every character can be a princess, no gruesome violence, and you can't kill someone else's character or their puppy. It's all about being considerate and respectful so it's fun for everyone.

Storytelling in the round video

See how it's done in this storytelling in the round video.

Storytelling in the classroom
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Storytelling is a great classroom activity to

... build imagination and creativity

... learn about adjectives and describing words

... build teamwork skills

...experience the joy of creative writing in a less formal setting

Use our free printable Lesson Plans and Worksheets to get started.

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Group Storytelling | Super Easy Storytelling

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Group storytelling- how to tell stories with a group. How to for interactive group storytelling, storytelling in the round, storytelling in the classroom.

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Set up a computer station with games that help in recognizing the letter Y amidst other letters, enhancing both recognition and writing skills.

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Browse Alphabet Games. Award winning educational materials designed to help kids succeed. Start for free now!

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Create a craft station where students can shape the letter Y using pieces of yarn on cardboard. This activity helps with letter recognition and fine motor skills.