Today a student picked a purple pen. These are the new (to us, anyway) Frixion Clicker erasable and retractable pens by Pilot. Picking a pen or pencil is an important piece of the puzzle in helping students who struggle with writing. It has to have the personally appointed amount of heft, flow, and fineness level, with a personally appealing color. If it has an eraser—that actually erases—that is fantastic!
The non-erasable student-preferred pen tends to be the Pentel EnerGel 0.7mm in blue. They are refillable, but mine is always missing from my desk!
Pencils have to be either mechanical or not, with good erasers—again, ones that actually erase. These include Ticonderoga brand (best erasers) for traditional pencils (now in cool stripy colors). For young children, Papermate 1.3 mm mechanical pencil comes in awesome colors and is easy to hold due to its triangular shape, but you have to order the lead online, as it is hard to find. For older students who prefer mechanical pencils, most seem to prefer the Pentel Twist Erase Clicker, with its pleasing rubber grip points.
For notepaper, my students with dysgraphia prefer the Stinger notepads by Tops. These have light blue or green shading on every other line, helping students to easily write on every-other line and keep their writing a bit more legible. Also, it is easier to fill a page that way!
Larger colored Post-it Notes with lines are also a big hit. Again, less writing is required to fill a "page" or "post!"
My students know I am always on the lookout for their recommended paper and pens/pencils. If you have other suggestions, please share. We want to make writing as pleasing as possible!
~ Rita
