Introduction to Davis® Symbol Mastery

Davis Symbol Mastery is a technique which uses plasticine, clay, or playdough to help a child create and master the elements of a written or spoken symbol. These symbols include letters, punctuation marks and words.

Please ensure your child completes every step of these Davis™ Symbol Mastery lessons – even if your child already knows all the letters, as well as the sequence of the alphabet. Stay with these exercises until your child has reached a level of fluent effortless mastery.

The elements that comprise full knowledge of a symbol include its: 

1. meaning(s),
2. sound, and
3. written representation.

Without a fluent and accurate association between these three elements, the symbol is not mastered. A child has actively created and experienced an association of all three elements of the symbol after he or she does all the following three steps:

  1. creates an objective representation of the meaning of a symbol (in agreement with the dictionary definition)
  2. creates a written representation of the symbol
  3. names the representation and the symbol out loud with the spoken sound or name of the symbol.

Important guidelines for the parent, tutor, or helper are:

  • Make each activity and session fun and playful. Be alert for any and all confusion.
  • Whenever possible, have the child find and correct his or her own errors by comparing it against written examples.
  • Be patient, polite, and kind. Be observant and inquisitive.
  • Refrain from rearranging, remolding, or adding to a child’s clay models.
  • For true mastery to occur, the models must be entirely the child’s own creation.
  • Allow the child to reach the mastery level.