Letter Spacing and Word Spacing
Learn how to adjust spacing between letters and words for better readability.
Letter Spacing & Word Spacing
Why would you want to adjust the spacing between between letters???
With this style of copywork, where the example letters are just above the manuscript lines, the goal is that the student perfectly mimics the printed letters. Ahhh but they are 5...6...7 years old! If I were to hand that exact sentence (above) to my son, the letters would be all scrunched, overlapping, and generally running amuck. (The above sentence had a letter spacing set to 0, and a word spacing set to 0.)
So, we can accommodate the young student when we stretch out a bit...
(The above sentence had a letter spacing set to 7, and a word spacing set to 0.)
Much better. I could stretch even further if I wanted to ...
(The above sentence had a letter spacing set to 15, and a word spacing set to 0.)
That's a ton of room, right!? Your student may never need that much room, but it's there if you do!
Why would you want to adjust the spacing between between words???
To accommodate students who are dropping spaces completely, or their penned word is wide enough that it borrows the space for its real estate. You can exaggerate the spaces only between words to allow for this.
(The above sentence had a letter spacing set to 4, and a word spacing set to 10.)
(The above sentence had a letter spacing set to 4, and a word spacing set to 40.)
None of these settings are suggestions, per se. DittoSheets is a tool in YOUR hands to equip YOU to help YOUR student. The defaults in the Sheet Builders are simply starting points. Embrace them or throw them out the window. The choice is yours. We encourage you to adjust your own Profile's Settings, as well as your students' settings to fit each individual.
Spacing adjustments with cursive?
You may notice in the Sheet Builder that the letter spacing is not even an option for the cursive fonts. I bet you can guess why... the font's letters would no longer be a connected string, but individual letters, which defeats the purpose of cursive!
But, should you find it necessary, you can still offer lots of room between words...
(The above sentence had a word spacing set to 40.)
While "begin as you mean to go" is a fantastic principle, we can do our students a disservice if we are militant about it. So if the parent or teacher sees the extra elbo room as a help, then great! Use it! If not, just leave the defaults in place!