2017/11/21 by Florence Bara, Nathalie Bonneton-Botté
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Hearing Impairment and Communication #Reading and Literacy Development #Writing and Handwriting Education
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/0031512517742284
crossref issued 2017/11/21 · crossref published 2017/11/21 · crossref published-online 2017/11/21 · openalex publication_date 2017/11/21 · crossref created 2017/11/22 · crossref published-print 2018/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31
What constitutes effective teaching of letter learning in early school years is still uncertain. We assessed the impact of a teacher-implemented visuomotor intervention program to teach 5-year-olds' cursive letter knowledge. We compared a program in which letters were explored with the arm and whole body, with a typical visual training program. Children were tested before and after the intervention with different measures of letter knowledge. We showed a greater improvement in letter recognition following the visuomotor intervention, compared with the visual intervention. Results were mixed for letter handwriting for which we found higher scores on stroke direction and overall quality, but lower scores on fluency following whole body visuomotor teaching. We discuss our results in terms of the link between action and perception, the interaction between the different components of letter knowledge, and the link between fine and gross motor development and handwriting.