Fix Letter Reversals with Mr. db!

Many of my young students struggle with letter reversals.  B and d reversals are the two I see the most, but p and q reversals show up often as well.  Discriminating between b and d can be a really hard skill for beginning writers to grasp. So, if your students' sentences look like this: "I have a dig dlack bog," or "The doy plays daseball," I might be able to help.  Introducing, Mr. db!

 I learned this strategy way way back when I was substitute teaching during my college vacations, so I can't take any credit for the idea.  A kindergarten teacher had a hand-drawn poster of Mr. db up in her classroom.  I was fascinated by the way the students looked up at the poster for help during their writing centers.  That trick stuck with me, and I've used it whenever I have students struggling with letter reversals. Since that time way back in Mrs. Hart's kindergarten, I've given Mr. db a friend named Miss qp.

Once I see a chronic letter reversal problem, I introduce Mr. db and/or Miss qp, and I post them in plain sight for my students to see.  They become classroom mascots, and the students enjoy making up stories about their adventures.  

My little old hand-drawn classroom poster finally faded away over the summer, so I made myself an updated version.  I want you to have it, too!  I created a blank list for students to keep on their desks or in their writing folders, too.  You can grab the posters and worksheet here, for free! 

If your students are struggling with letter reversals, I hope this trick can help them!