How to Teach Handwriting
Make handwriting instruction part of every school day. Included: Resources for handwriting programs, lessons,
worksheets, and more.
Do you think good handwriting is a skill of the past, made obsolete by the computer keyboard? Think again! According to
Kate Gladstone, handwriting repairwoman and national director of the World Handwriting Contest, handwriting instruction
might be neglected in today's classrooms, but it's hardly unnecessary. Each year in the United States, says Gladstone:

the health of at least 1 in 10 Americans is endangered by the poor handwriting of their physicians.

up to $95,000,000 in tax refunds are not delivered because of unreadable tax-forms.

$200,000,000 in time and money is lost because poor handwriting results in such problems as confused and inefficient
employees, phone calls made to wrong or non-existent numbers, and letters and packages delivered to incorrect
addresses -- or not delivered at all.
And the repercussions of poor handwriting aren't limited to the workplace; they begin in the classroom. According to
Gladstone, repeated research has shown that even when teachers are told not to take off points for bad handwriting, poor
handwriting results in lower grades -- as much as a full letter grade lower -- for similar or identical work.
What are teachers doing to remedy the poor handwriting of those who suffer from their largely unconscious prejudice?
Apparently, not much. Classroom handwriting instruction averages around 5-10 minutes a week, says Gladstone, with
almost no instruction at all provided beyond third grade.
That figure isn't surprising, however, when you consider that few teacher education programs in the United States today
address handwriting instruction. As a result, according to Steve Graham, a professor of special education at the University of
Maryland, about three-quarters of the elementary school teachers he surveyed believed they weren't adequately prepared to
teach handwriting. If you're one of those teachers, perhaps the following information can help!
HANDWRITING BASICS
Effective handwriting instruction, experts say, should focus on the three components of handwriting; letter formation (form
and slant), size, and spacing. When teaching handwriting, teachers should focus on one component at a time -- first, letter
formation; then, size; and then, spacing.
The form and slant of specific letters will depend on the style of handwriting being taught. Whatever style you're teaching,
however, children first must learn the starting and stopping point of each letter. That can be accomplished by having children
trace the letters with their index fingers before they begin writing. The following resources illustrate proper letter formation for
some of the most popular handwriting styles:

Cursive Writing Practice Worksheets (Pencil Pete)

D'Nealian Handwriting

Teaching Letter Recognition (Zaner-Bloser)
Posture and paper position also are important to ensure correct letter formation and slant. Students should sit upright with
both feet flat on the floor, placing the paper at a 45 degree angle toward the writing-arm side of the body and tilting it to
conform to the position of the writing arm's forearm. See Handwriting for an illustration of proper posture and paper
placement.
Letter size -- more accurately, letter proportion -- is fairly consistent across handwriting styles. Similarly-shaped letters
should be the same height. For example, small letters (a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z) should be half the size of
ascenders (b, d, h, k, l, t) and descenders (g, j, p, q, y). Capital letters should be about the same height as ascenders.
Proper proportion can be taught using handwriting paper with a dotted middle line. Free handwriting paper and handwriting
worksheets for a variety of grade and skill levels can be found at:

Amazing Incredible Handwriting Worksheet Maker

Cursive Handwriting

Handwriting for Kids

Handwriting Paper

Start/Write.
Proper spacing includes both spacing between letters and spacing between words. The space between each letter in a
word should be the same. The space between each word also should be consistent. Students can use their pinkies to
measure the correct distance between words.
Proper grip of the pen or pencil is another important aspect of good handwriting. Instruct students to hold the pen or pencil
close to the writing tip with the thumb and index fingers. The middle finger should be curved under the writing utensil, with
the utensil resting lightly on the area between the tip and first knuckle. The fourth finger and pinky should be curved in
toward the palm. See Handwriting for an illustration of proper pencil grip.
HANDWRITING PROGRAMS
Are you in the market for a formal handwriting program? If so, experts recommend that you look for a program that provides
teacher explanation and demonstration, opportunities for rewriting reinforcement and verbalization of the rules of letter
formation, and self-assessment tools. Some of the most popular programs include:

D'Nealian Handwriting

Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting

Pencil Pete
Whichever program you choose, make sure you use it. Experts say that handwriting practice should be part of every school
day.
HANDWRITING LESSONS

Guess My Letter

Handwriting Practice Made Easy

Teacher Tested Tips for Teaching Handwriting
Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2005 Education World
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev110.shtml#sthash.RvBwqyNk.dpuf