What makes your handwriting curriculum different?
Our handwriting program is a fun and engaging multi-sensory curriculum. These videos combine singing and repetitive instruction – a recognized technique that many teachers and therapists use to assist with memory. Alphabet Beats, for example, is different because it incorporates the visual instruction component. Many teachers claim they’ve been chanting for years but with Alphabet Beats, it is the combination of the auditory cues and visual instruction that has proved to make this the most effective curriculum.
What are the best practices of teaching your handwriting program in my classroom?
Our video modeling program can be easily played on an interactive whiteboard by logging into our online/streaming site, (or playing our DVD disc on your computer if you’ve chosen that option). Teach our program in a large classroom setting, small group centers, or one-on-one. Each chapter is approximately five minutes in length – making it easy to fit into tight schedules. Fit a 10-minute teaching segment into your schedule with these best practices:
- Play the same letter/number/shape chapter several times a week. Repetition is great for retention and learning.
- The FIRST time you play a NEW formation, have the students watch it in its entirety without asking them to write or draw at the same time. It is important that they watch the visual demonstrations several times in that chapter…and besides, Miss Marnie is very entertaining and fun to watch!
- After each chapter, the programs will automatically return to its main menu. After the video is complete, have your class practice sky writing while saying the chant together to make sure everyone has the correct motor planning.
- Afterwards, practice handwriting for just a few minutes using a personal dry erase board, chalk board, or using our special workbooks. It’s fine to supplement our program with others like Handwriting without Tears or Zaner Bloser. We all teach block style letters the same way; but The TV Teacher is the most effective curriculum because your students will be more motivated to write due to our fun video curriculum, and are more likely to remember our catchy rhythmic chants.
How can I use your online handwriting program in teleteaching?
Our online handwriting curriculum is hosted on our own site streaming.thetvteacher.com and can therefore be accessed by any devise you choose: laptop, tablet, or smartphone. You log into our site using your email address and password so you can switch between devices as often as you like; however there is only one person to log in under the same email address at the same time. This is designed to prevent fraud as well as allow you flexibility that if you move between classrooms, and forget to log off the site, it will follow the latest log on and kick the previous one off the site.
The TV Teacher online writing program has been used very successfully in Zoom, Google meets, and other similar teleteaching platforms by logging into our site and sharing the screen with your students. After the video is complete, practice sky writing the formation while saying the chant together. Talk about the many vocabulary words you saw. Just like Miss Marnie, set up a “Pajama Party” and ask everyone to wear their PJs for the day you are working on the letter “P”; have everyone share their favorite hat when working on the letter “H”; etc.
**COVID NOTE: Due to the various ways of remote learning / teleteaching during the 2020-2021 school year, we have expanded our coding to allow for teachers and therapists to share their login information with up to 24 of their students so that students can log in and also learn asynchronously! Our copyright is for one teacher per classroom and it is against the law to abuse this copyright. Please respect our act of generosity and flexibility during this unusual time.**
Is Alphabet Beats compatible with other handwriting programs?
Yes. Any program that uses a block letter style can use our chants and video to assist with formation. Some parents and teachers use our video and chants concurrently with other programs; some have switched to ours after previously using other programs, and all have reported great success!
The TV Teacher handwriting curriculum has produced amazing results with children all over the country. Many public schools across the country use our programs in their Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms: Florida, Georgia, New York, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Virginia just to name a few! Our programs provide an effective visual and auditory stimulation that has been proven to help develop fine motor skills for writing.
Children love handwriting because The TV Teacher™ has made it fun for them-using the three components they like best: visual, rhythm & rhyme (song), and repetition. They feel more confident because they remember the letter chant that assists their motor planning!
Helpful Activities Available online too!
To enhance the learning experience for younger children or for those with special needs, we have made many of our fine motor activities available for free. Miss Marnie will demonstrate these activities in the Alphabet Beats program, which will entice many children to want to imitate them. Work one-on-one with a student, or as a group, cutting the star, coloring the camel, lacing a lemon, etc.
