U.S. patent application number 11/165031 was filed with the patent office on 2005-10-27 for pre-writing teaching aid and method to assist beginning writers in creating letters.
This patent application is currently assigned to Handwriting Without Tears, Inc.. Invention is credited to Knapton, Emily, Olsen, Janice Z..
Application Number | 20050239038 11/165031 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32031022 |
Filed Date | 2005-10-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050239038 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Olsen, Janice Z. ; et
al. |
October 27, 2005 |
Pre-writing teaching aid and method to assist beginning writers in
creating letters
Abstract
A pre-writing teaching aid assists beginning writers in creating
letters and pre-writing strokes. The teaching aid includes a
magnetic-responsive drawing tablet including a housing, a writing
surface and structure for displaying an image responsive to
magnetic contact on the writing surface. Structure for erasing the
image is provided enabling the writing surface to be used over and
over. The teaching aid also includes at least four magnetic stamps
that are appropriately sized relative to the writing surface and
are shaped as big line, little line, big curve and little curve.
All of the capital letters in the English alphabet can be formed
using these four simple shapes. The resulting assembly provides a
fun and effective learning activity.
Inventors: |
Olsen, Janice Z.; (Bethesda,
MD) ; Knapton, Emily; (Omaha, NE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIXON & VANDERHYE, PC
901 NORTH GLEBE ROAD, 11TH FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22203
US
|
Assignee: |
Handwriting Without Tears,
Inc.
Cabin John
MD
|
Family ID: |
32031022 |
Appl. No.: |
11/165031 |
Filed: |
June 24, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11165031 |
Jun 24, 2005 |
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10775323 |
Feb 11, 2004 |
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6932613 |
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60446269 |
Feb 11, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
434/409 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09B 11/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
434/409 |
International
Class: |
G09B 011/00 |
Claims
1. A pre-writing teaching aid to assist beginning writers in
creating letters and pre-writing strokes, the pre-writing teaching
aid comprising: a magnetic-responsive drawing tablet including a
housing, a writing surface and means for displaying an image
responsive to magnetic contact on the writing surface; means for
erasing the image; and at least four magnetic stamps, the magnetic
stamps being appropriately sized relative to the writing surface
and shaped as big line, little line, big curve and little
curve.
2. A pre-writing teaching aid according to claim 1, further
comprising a visual cue in an upper left-hand corner region of the
housing.
3. A pre-writing teaching aid according to claim 2, wherein the
visual cue is a happy face.
4. A pre-writing teaching aid according to claim 1, further
comprising a magnetic writing tool attached to the housing by a
cord.
5. A pre-writing teaching aid according to claim 4, wherein the
magnetic writing tool is sized and shaped to resemble a piece of
chalk.
6-9. (canceled)
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 60/446,269, filed Feb. 11, 2003, the
entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] NOT APPLICABLE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates to a teaching apparatus and
method and, more particularly, to a pre-writing teaching aid and
method to assist beginning writers in creating letters and
pre-writing strokes.
[0004] Helping children develop a strong foundation is an important
goal for an educator. It is particularly rewarding to teach younger
children since relative learning rates of young children are
extraordinary, enabling teachers to watch the children blossom in
the learning environment they create.
[0005] Children love to play, which is how they learn. By playing
with one another, children not only learn valuable concepts, they
learn how to socialize and get along with others. A play-based
learning activity thus serves as an effective teaching tool.
Children who feel safe and successful in their environment
naturally enjoy participating and being involved with others. It is
important to design an activity so that all children can
participate even though they may be participating at different
developmental levels. The activity should be designed to
methodically and consistently teach the words children need to
follow directions. When children know the meaning of words such as
top/middle/bottom, big/little, line/curve, my turn/your turn,
under/over, start/stop, etc., they can easily understand and follow
directions. They can participate and complete tasks with
confidence.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The teaching aid of the present invention endeavors to
accomplish these goals, while providing a fun and effective
learning experience. The teaching aid incorporates a magnetic
screen and includes four magnetic stamps shaped as big line, little
line, big curve and little curve. Each capital letter in the
alphabet can be represented using these four shapes. A tool
resembling chalk may also be included providing the students an
opportunity to trace or write the capital letters they have
learned. A side eraser clears the screen so it can be used over and
over. The invention also defines a method of assisting beginning
writers using such a teaching aid.
[0007] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a pre-writing
teaching aid assists beginning writers in creating letters and
pre-writing strokes. The pre-writing teaching aid includes a
magnetic-responsive drawing tablet including a housing, a writing
surface and structure for displaying an image responsive to
magnetic contact on the writing surface. A mechanism is also
provided for erasing the image. The teaching aid includes at least
four magnetic stamps appropriately sized relative to the writing
surface and shaped as big line, little line, big curve and little
curve. The teaching aid may additionally include a happy face as a
visual cue in an upper left-hand corner region of the housing. A
magnetic writing tool resembling a piece of chalk is attached to
the housing by a cord.
[0008] In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method
of assisting beginning writers in creating letters and pre-writing
strokes utilizes the pre-writing teaching aid of the invention. The
method sequentially includes (a) a teacher stamping the writing
surface with one of the at least four magnetic stamps aligned with
either the upper left-hand corner region of the housing or a
central upper region of the housing to form a part letter image;
(b) the teacher erasing the part letter image; (c) a student
imitating the teacher stamping of step (a); (d) the teacher
stamping the writing surface with one or more of the at least four
magnetic stamps to form a complete letter image; (e) the teacher
erasing the complete letter image; and (f) the student imitating
the teacher stamping of step (e). Step (a) is practiced for some
letters by stamping the writing surface with one of the at least
four magnetic stamps aligned with the happy face visual cue. The
method may further include, between steps (d) and (e), the student
tracing the complete letter image with the magnetic writing tool.
Additionally or alternatively, the method may include, after step
(f), the student tracing the complete letter image with the
magnetic writing tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a plan view of the teaching aid according to the
present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 shows the magnetic stamps accompanying the drawing
tablet;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a side view of an exemplary one of the at least
four stamps; and
[0012] FIGS. 4-6 illustrate a method of forming a capital letter
`F` using the device and method of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the pre-writing teaching
aid of the present invention includes a magnetic-responsive drawing
tablet 12 including a housing 14, a writing surface 16 and
structure 18 generally beneath the writing surface 16 for
displaying an image responsive to magnetic contact on the writing
surface 16. The general structure of the magnetic-responsive
drawing tablet 12 can come in many known forms. One suitable device
is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,472, the contents of which are
hereby incorporated by reference. A discussion of related and other
suitable devices is published in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,976, the
contents of which are also hereby incorporated by reference.
[0014] The teaching aid also includes a mechanism 20 for erasing an
image displayed on the writing surface. The mechanism 20 of course
is suited for the apparatus construction and is also generally of
known structure and operation.
[0015] Optionally, the drawing tablet 12 may also be provided with
a magnetic writing tool 22, preferably sized and shaped to resemble
a piece of chalk. The writing tool 22 is attachable to the housing
via a cord 24 and may be stored in a slot 26 in the housing 14.
[0016] The housing 14 preferably includes a visual cue 28, such as
a smiley face, in an upper left-hand corner region of the housing
14, as shown in FIG. 1. The positioning of the visual cue 28 is
deliberate since it that position it assists children in learning
the "top to bottom, left to right" habit (i.e., correct
directionality) on learning their letters. Many of the letters are
formed beginning in the upper left-hand region of the page or
letter area, and the positioning of the visual cue 28 reinforces
this important concept in learning proper letter formation.
[0017] With reference to FIG. 2, the teaching aid also includes at
least four magnetic stamps 30 appropriately sized relative to the
writing surface 16. At a minimum, the at least four magnetic stamps
30 includes stamps shaped as big line 32, little line 34, big curve
36 and little curve 38. With these four shapes, at least every
capital letter in the English alphabet can be formed on the writing
tablet 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic stamps 30 include a
base section 40 formed of wood, plastic or any other suitable
material and a complementary shaped magnetic strip 42. In this
manner, when the magnetic stamps 30 are placed magnetic strip 42
side down on the writing surface 16, an image corresponding to the
magnetic stamp is displayed on the writing surface when the stamp
is removed.
[0018] FIGS. 4-6 illustrate a method of forming a capital letter
`F` on the writing tablet 12. In one teaching mode, a teacher first
stamps the writing surface 16 with a first one of the at least four
magnetic stamps 30, generally aligned with either the upper
left-hand corner region of the housing (e.g., via the visual cue
28) or a central upper region of the housing to form a part letter
image. After a suitable time period, the teacher then erases the
part letter image. The student then imitates the teacher stamping
with the first of the at least four magnetic stamps. After again
erasing the image, the teacher stamps the writing surface 16 with
one or more of the at least four stamps 30 to form a complete
letter image. After a suitable time period, the teacher then erases
the complete letter image and provides an opportunity for the
student to imitate the teacher and stamp the same complete letter
image. The teacher may incorporate use of the magnetic tool 22
after first forming the complete letter image enabling the student
to trace the complete letter image with the magnetic writing tool
22. Alternatively or additionally, the student can trace the
complete letter image with the magnetic writing tool 22 after the
student forms the complete letter image using the at least four
magnetic stamps 30.
[0019] Of course, other sequences and teaching methods may be
suitable for students of different developmental abilities. An
exemplary alternative includes a mystery letter game, where a first
person stamps a big line on the left edge of the writing surface
16, while the other person makes a mystery letter by stamping
pieces on the right side. The first person then guesses either what
the letter will be prior to completion or determines what the
letter is after completion.
[0020] In a related alternative similarly using shapes as big line,
little line, big curve and little curve, a teaching aid includes a
tray, preferably including a visual cue in an upper left-hand
corner and a section of easily manipulated dough. The children are
taught how to roll the dough into shapes corresponding to big line,
little line, big curve and little curve, and letters can be formed
on the tray using the shaped dough. This multi-sensory activity
helps children build strength in their fingers and hands while
learning capital letter recognition.
[0021] With the pre-writing teaching aid of the present invention,
young students are provided with an entertaining activity while
assisting teachers in teaching beginning writers to create letters
and pre-writing strokes. The simplified use of big line, little
line, big curve, and little curve to demonstrate letter creation
facilitates the letter writing process for beginning writers.
Additionally, the strategic placement of a visual cue on the
housing assists students in learning the "top to bottom, left to
right" habit when learning their letters.
[0022] While the invention has been described in connection with
what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be
limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is
intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *