Last updated on December 2nd, 2023 at 08:23 pm
Despite the influx of computers in the classroom and the workplace, handwriting remains the main form of communication and knowledge assessment in today’s classroom, particularly for elementary students. In later school years, students must be able to complete handwritten components of state standardized tests, as well as the College Board SAT. Furthermore, many careers also require legible handwriting skills.
However, many of today’s elementary aged children struggle with handwriting. Their letters are often backwards, formed incorrectly, don’t sit on the lines, are too close together, or their writing is painstakingly slow compared to their peers. Their work is typically sloppy and lacking in creativity. They do not enjoy writing at all, often avoiding the task altogether or racing through a writing exercise just to be free from the discomfort they experience when writing. As a result, these children typically receive lower grades on their school work, thus affecting their confidence and their ability to succeed in the classroom.
How can we help these children master the skill of handwriting? It’s simple…start when they are young by giving them opportunities to build their motor skills and pre-writing skills. Then, as they reach Pre-K, ensure that they receive formal handwriting instruction. The bottom line is that handwriting is a foundation skill for literacy development. If you want your child to be able to read and write successfully, they need to learn HOW to write.
Not all children will learn handwriting at the same pace and with the same degree of success. My own children are a perfect example. My sons, Mac and Cooper, are surviving fraternal triplets who are rising third graders. Their handwriting is drastically different, despite having learned from the exact same curriculum.
Pre-Writing Skills
Handwriting is a developmentally acquired skill, meaning that a child needs to have mastered a certain set of skills prior to being able to properly form the strokes required in letter and number formation.
Formal Handwriting Instruction
The pre-K year is when children typically begin formal instruction since they’ve learned all the necessary pre-writing strokes that are utilized in making each letter and number. It’s important for you, as parents, to be aware of how your child will learn handwriting. Ensure that your school follows a formal curriculum for handwriting instruction. The three most commonly used handwriting curriculums are Handwriting Without Tears®, Zaner-Bloser and D’Nealian. If they aren’t formally taught how to write, your child will create their own method of letter formation which usually results in excessive strokes, muscle fatigue, and decreased speed and legibility.
Kristen Felty is a Handwriting Specialist and operates Buckhead Handwriting in Atlanta, GA, where she provides handwriting evaluation, instruction and remediation for children in grades Pre-K through 5. You can visit her on Facebook, as well.
