Reuersal

Ietters
Target Hudience
The audience is students who reverse letters
such as b and d in reading.
The sequence is appropriate for students who
are at least seven years old and
have had at least one year of reading instruction,
but still encounter difficulty
with reversals of letters.

In this sequence, writing cursive letter forms is used

to help the student
read manuscriot (or printedl) letter forms.
It is assumed that the student has
the ability to r"lrite, u.,t uuitiiyio write cursive
letter
site. The student can readily learn the .r.ri*r" rorms forms is not a prerequithat are needed.

0bjectiues

1'

The student will read b and d accurately

four times each, when
are presented as distractors.

2.

The student will read b and d accurately

eight times each, when they ap_
pear at the beginnings of words.

Use
o

p,q,land

uith

Individuals

Materials Needed
a rarge cursive b is writte n (p. 1,74)
: f :H:: :f ti||: :l gi.l.
which a 1ar[e.cursive d is writte;
i;. i;;j
fl*::,^:l_p3:.
:" on which"a large
copies of a sheet
' Two

-;;;.;,p;;iJ"#;,'Jr, 10. ,ru)

;;;;;;ili
a i, written (p.177)
(p.777)
: AIT"::,f,:::l
pencil or pen :^L::,11_*hlch
with colored lead/ink
a.rar[e

10 times (p.
IT"."1o::'^:3j*"-:.:iyll$ malrycript b is written
Tf H:JiT:"rlE;"'
t:i::ll',0:"0^*"":ll$,;;;;;.d::'#J;,ff
on which -ur,,rr..ipt b i, *riti;
ri;;i,,{lr'Jio manu_
-iAOl
3"*:,,:t,l-?g:'
script
d is written five times (in random oraur;
1p.

L70

Sheets of paper on which the following words are printed

(pp. 181-184):

boy dog bog bug

bty dot box best
bed b"g deer dull
deep dark bit but
r

belt
bell
btg
doll

in manuscript

dig duck duy buy dip

dell dale bike bucket donkey
dust bat big book dirt
buddy dumb door

Letter cards f.or b, & p, g, !, and h (four cards for each letter) (pp. 185-190)
Sheets of paper on which the following words are printed in manuscript
(pp.7e1-7e2)

been but did before back down be dike because

does done by deep dear do

big

Performance records (pp. I93 and 194)

Procedures
Note: /b / referc to a sound; b refers to

Part fl: Teach

printed letter.

1.

Give the student a sheet of paper on which b is written in large cursive

writing (p. VQ. Have her trace b with the first finger until the hand
movements are automatic, saying /b / whlle tracing each time. Model the
tracing and saying of the b before the student begins. (Demonstrate how
to say /b / whlle minimizing the extraneous vowel sound that is added.
Strive for /b/, not /buhl.)

2.

Have the student write b in cursive form on paper and in the air until
both can be done correctly and automatically.

3.

Give the student a sheet with manuscript b written on it (p. 175). Have
the student use a colored pencil or pen to write a cursive b over the manuscript b, seeing that it "fits" the manuscript b.

4.

Give the student a sheet of paper on which the manuscript b is written 1,0
times (p.176). Have the student write a cursive b over each manuscript b,
saying the sound , /b / , as each letter is written.

5.

Give the student a sheet with manuscript d printed on it (p. 177). Have
the student try to write-a-cursive b over the manuscript d. Determine
with the student that the cursive b does not fit over the manuscript d.
17r

Part

B: Teach d

6.

Give the student a sheet of paper on which d is written in large cursive

writing (p. 178). Have her trace d with the first finger until the hand
movements are automatic, saying /d/ while tracing each time. Model
tracing and saying d before the student begins. (Demonstrate how to say
/d/ while minimizing the extraneous vowel sound that is added. Strive
for /d/,not /duh/.)

7.

Have the student write d in cursive form on paper and in the air until
both can be done correctly and automatically.

8.

Give the student a sheet with manuscript d written on it (p. 177). Have
the student use a colored marker to write a cursive d over the manuscript
d, seeing that it "fits" the manuscript d.

9.

Give the student a sheet of paper on which the manuscript d is written L0

times (p.179). Have the student write a cursive d over each manuscript
d, saying the sound , /d/ , as each letter is written.

10. Give the student a sheet with manuscript b printed on it (p. 175). Have
her try to write a cursive d over the manuscript b. Determine with the
student that the cursive d does not fit over the manuscript b.
Part C: Review b

11. Give the student a sheet of paper on which the manuscript b is written 10
times (p^ 176). Have her write a cursive b over each manuscript b, saying
the sound,

/b/,

as she writes each letter.

Part D: Contrast b and d

12, Give the student a sheet of paper on which manuscript b and manuscript
d have been written 1.0 times in a random arrangement (p. 180). Have
her write cursive b or cursive d over each, saying the appropriate sound
as each is written. Monitor the writing to help her determine when the
cursive letter attempted does not "fit" over the manuscript letter.
Part E: Integrate b and d with other letters in words

13. Present the student with the following list of words printed in manuscript on sheets of paper (pp. 181-182):

boy dog
bry dot

bog
box

bug belt dig duck duy buy

best bell

dip

dell dale bike bucket donkey

172

Have her write a cursive b or d over the manuscript letter at the beginning of each word and say the appropriate sound for the letter with which
the word begins. Then ask her to pronounce the word. If she does not
know the word, have her pronounce the initial sound only and then pronounce the word yourself.

L4. Repeat Step 13 with the following words (pp. 183-184), but have the student "air write" a cursive b or d directly above each manuscript b or d.

bed beg deer dull btg dust bat big book

deep dark bit but doll buddy dumb door

dirt

Eualuation

1. Assemble letter cards, four each for b, d,p, g, I

and b (pp. 185-190). Shuffle

the deck of cards. Present each card to the student for one second and ask
her to pronounce b and d, but to say "Pass" when other letters appear.
Record the student's performance on page 193.

2.

Present the following words on sheets of paper and have the student pronounce each word (pp.193-19$. If she does not know the word, have her
pronounce the initial sound only and then pronounce the word yourself.

been but did before back down be dike because

does done by deep dear do

big

Record the student's performance on page 794.

fldaptations
For some students, it may be more profitable to teach the tracing procedure
for b only and then go to the exercise in which b and d are contrasted (skip
Steps 6-10).

Next steps
Similar sequences may be constructed to deal with confusions of b and o or
o and o.

F-

Beference
Monroe, M.

(1932) "

Children who cannot read. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press.
173

STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

t74

b
STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

176

to copy granted'
STUDENT MATERIAL' Permission

L77

STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

178

d
to copy granted'
STUDENT MATERIAL' Permission

t79

dd
bb
db
db
STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

180

boY

dog

b o9

bog

b el+

dig

duck

doY

boY

dip
STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to coPy granted.

181

dot

buY

besf
bell

dell

dole

bike

donkey

bucket

STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

782

b"g

bed

'

deer

'dull

":

b u9

dust

b ot

big

book

dirt
STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

183

but

been

did

before

bock

down
dike

be

STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

L91,

does

done

by

deep

deor

do

STUDENT MATERIAL. Permission to copy granted.

192