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Orthographic knowledge of alphabet-letters is thought to mediate accurate motor execution of letter-writing. This study examined the effectiveness of a handwriting program for early non-proficient writers which integrated instruction of factual, procedural, and spatial information to develop orthographic knowledge of alphabet-letters, for the purpose of mastering alphabet-letter writing skills. A non-concurrent ABA single system research design was employed. The A phases represented in-class handwriting instruction and the B phase was the experimental intervention. Participants were ten children in their first two years of formal schooling, identified by their teacher as having difficulty with handwriting. The repeated outcome measure was the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform System of Task Analysis (Stage One). Results indicated that changes to accuracy of letter-formation achieved during the experimental intervention, were significantly greater than during the initial baseline condition. All ten children displayed a similar pattern of results and achieved, on average, independence in writing the twenty-six-lowercase alphabet-letters from memory within six-weeks (nine hours) of intervention. Independence in writing alphabet-letters from memory was maintained when intervention was withdrawn. The study provided preliminary evidence that establishment of memory structures for the acquisition of orthographic knowledge of alphabet-letters, improves alphabet-letter-writing of children who previously struggled.Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry—ACTRN12616000573459

The objective for beginning writers is to learn how to generate alphabet-letters which are recognisable and easy to read. This study investigated the accuracy of Year 1 and 2 children’s alphabet-letter-writing by evaluating their alphabet and orthographic knowledge, following evidence which identifies these skills as important for correctly representing the Latin alphabet-letters in written form. 408 typical children from the first two years of formal schooling were recruited from eight Western Australian schools and asked to write the twenty-six-lowercase alphabet-letters under three different writing conditions: from memory; the initial sounds of words; and copying. Performance was measured using the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis (Stage One). Analyses revealed the mean average number of the 26- lowercase alphabet-letters correctly written from memory was 8.17 (Year 1) and 12.76 (Year 2). Mean averages were similar across the three writing conditions. Comparative analysis showed children in Year 2 were significantly better than Year 1 children at recalling the alphabet-sequence, sound-letter-translation, and retrieving the letter-shape, letter-case, and letter-orientation. No significant difference was found in name-to-letter translation, letter-formation, or letter-placement skills. The results highlighted that many typical Year 1 and 2 children have difficulty accurately generating all 26- lowercase alphabet-letters. The findings suggested that the way early writers learn to form and place an alphabet-letter, whether it is accurate or not, is how they continue to write the alphabet-letter through their early school journey. Considerations for evaluation and instruction of alphabet-letter-writing are discussed.