Case
Writing Numbers and Letters Backwards

Mrs. Allen is a Kindergarten teacher and she notices that a student in her class writes many of his letters and numbers backwards. Mrs. Allen knows (or assumes) what he means on his work, but she fears that this will become a greater concern later in his educational career. Is this a common occurrence, or should she be concerned?

Posted on: 10/20/14 | Views: 992
Solution #1
I noticed this once with one of the kids I babysit. He was dyslexic. This does not necessarily mean he is also dyslexic, but it is a possibility. She should not worry, but it can be a larger problem in the future if not corrected. Practice tracing letters, letter recognition, and other concepts of print such as reading from left to right.

Thanks for sharing

Good insight. Thanks for your input.

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Solution #2
I think it would be good for Mrs. Allen to hold her concern, but just keep an eye on the student's progress. Also she should notify the student's parents so they may be aware of the situation in order to further keep an eye on how their child performs.

Writing letters backward is a major concern that could indicate a disability. This should be relayed to parents immediately and the teacher should keep documentation.

Thanks for sharing

Good insight. Thanks for your input.

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Solution #3
When I taught pre-k, I found it to be quite common for my students to write letters and numbers backwards, especially if they were left handed. I made copies of the alphabet and numbers for them to trace, I laminated them so that they could use them over and over. I think it is just something that needs to be practiced and seen repetitively.

Thanks for sharing

Good insight. Thanks for your input.

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Solution #4
I think that Mrs. Allen should immediately talk to the child's parents and implement a plan of solutions for the child since this would effect him in his later on educational career.

This idea would be very logical. I would do the same.

Thanks for sharing

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Solution #5
One possible solution to this issue could be to give the child a bookmaker and have them cover up the letters/numbers of the word/number so that they can move through it one by one. This could become a greater concern if the issue continues, the parents of the child may consider getting them tested for a possible learning disability.

Great valid points, will keep note.

Thanks for sharing

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Solution #6
I teach 2nd grade and we currently have a student that is having the same issue in our grade. I am not sure how long this student has been doing this as she was new to our district this year. I would say that more attention should be payed to the errors now to ensure the student can get help later on if/when needed.
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Solution #7
My son had this same problem. We even had him tested for dyslexia. He has no trouble reading or understanding text. He simply could not get his b's and d's correct! We started having him write words beginning with each letter and writing each "b" and "d" in a separate color from the rest of the words. Then he could easily see his mistakes because the colors would be off. It seemed to work well, and didn't seem as a punishment.

Thanks for sharing

Good insight. Thanks for your input.

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