Ready to Write: Why Handwriting in
Early Childhood May Actually Matter
Laura Dinehart, Ph.D.
August 13, 2014
Common Core State Standards
Kindergarten
• Produce writing that is legible, including the conventional formation of some upper
and lower case manuscript letters.
First grade
• Produce writing that is legible, including correct formation of manuscript letters.
Second grade
• Produce writing that is legible, including the correct formation of cursive letters.
Standardized Testing
Once children enter formal schooling, current US
education standards propose that teachers consider
using digital tools for producing writing as early as
first grade (NGA Center & CCSSO, 2012).
Technology
Handwriting in School
Good handwriting is thought to influence academic performance in
three major ways.
• First, from an aesthetic level, research suggests that teachers give higher
grades to assignments produced with more attractive writing than those
produced with less attractive writing (Briggs, 1980; Graham et al., 2000;
Hughes, Keeling, & Tuck, 1983; Klein & Taub, 2005).
• Second, researchers argue that difficulties in handwriting burden the writer’s
attention, requiring them to focus more on the writing and less on the
content of their composition.
• Finally, children with handwriting difficulties are said to develop negative
experiences with writing, including frustration, decreased self-efficacy, and
poor motivation (Berninger, Mizokawa, & Bragg, 1991; Berninger & Graham,
1998; Graham, 1992; 1999).
The International Society for
Technology in Education
(2007) suggests that children
should acquire a certain
technology “readiness” –
demonstrating basic skills in
technology operations by age
5 and NAEYC (2012) suggests
that while technology can
afford a source for exploration
and mastery, teachers should
provide a balance of activities
that allow children to engage
in authentic interactions in
their surrounding
environment.
Emergent Literacy
The wise teacher is reluctant to provide formal instruction in
handwriting to groups of preschool and kindergarten children. Instead,
she provides paper and marking tools for children to explore writing.
Teachers are concerned- with good reason – that if they regularly
provide formal and direct instruction to preschool and kindergarten
classes, children’s interest in writing may be undermined.
- Schickendanz, 1999
Classrooms that provide children with regular opportunities to express
themselves on paper, without feeling too constrained for correct
spelling and proper handwriting, also help children understand that
writing has real purpose. (p. 5)
- NAEYC, 1998
Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children
Does handwriting really matter?
Associations between low-income
children’s fine motor skills in
preschool and academic
performance in second grade
Dinehart, L.H., & Manfra, L. (2013). Associations between low-income children’s fine motor skills in preschool and academic performance in
second grade. Early Education & Development, 24 (2), 138-161.
Handwriting
Handwriting is
generally defined as the
ability to produce writing
with speed and legibility.
• Visual motor integration
• Fine motor writing
• Graphomotor skills
Handwriting readiness
Fine Motor Skills in the
Classroom
• Once children enter formal schooling,
many tasks used to demonstrate
achievement, including those submitted
for grading require fine motor skill.
• In preschool, children spend 37% of their
day engaged in fine motor tasks, 10%
involving paper and pencil.
• In kindergarten, children spend 46% of
their day engaged in fine motor tasks, 42%
involving paper and pencil.
• Second – fourth grade children spend 3060% of their day engaged in fine motor
skill, 85% involved paper and pencil tasks.
Fine Motor Skills
• Require visual perception and discrimination, motoric ability, and the
coordination of the two.
• Researchers have identified an association between fine motor skills
and later academic achievement (Carlton & Winsler, 1999; Son &
Meisels, 2006).
• Grissmer, Grimm, Aiyer, Murrah, & Steele (2010).
• Argued that fine motor skill should be considered a “new” school readiness
skill.
• These studies typically evaluate “fine motor” as a combination of
manipulation and copying tasks.
Research question:
Do fine motor skills in preschool, disentangled as two constructs: (a)
fine motor manipulation and (b) fine motor writing, uniquely predict
reading and math achievement in second grade?
Participants
• 3,234 children receiving subsidies with preschool data and second
grade data three years later.
• Children were enrolled in one of 613 early learning centers and one of 230
schools in M-DCPS.
• Children were 62.5 months of age at the time of initial assessment.
• 57% were Hispanic, 35% Black/African American, 8% White nonHispanic/Caucasian/other.
• 80% were assessed in English
• 77% were enrolled in the Free/Reduced Lunch program in school.
• Average number of absences from school was 6 days.
Measures - Preschool
• LAP-D assessment was collected at the end of the academic year (March to
June).
• Fine Motor Manipulation Subscale (28 items) designed to capture manual
dexterity:
• Building towers, steps, bridges with blocks, weaving strings through holes, turning the
pages of a book, placing pegs in a pegboard, cutting, folding paper, and manipulating play
dough.
• Fine Motor Writing Subscale (31 items) designed to capture early graphomotor
skill:
• Imitating strokes, copying letters, numbers, and shapes, and drawing simple objects.
Measures – Second Grade
• Academic Achievement was collected by the school.
• Grades were scored on a five-point scale with 4 representing an A
and 0 an F.
Variable
Range
M (SD)
Math GPA
0–4
2.66 (0.90)
Reading GPA
0–4
2.49 (0.98)
• SAT-10 is administered by the classroom teacher in the spring of
every school year.
Variable
Range
M (SD)
Math SAT10
477 – 716
578.8
Reading SAT 10
476 - 729
597.9
Analyses
• Four multilevel regressions to examine the effects of fine motor skill on
later academic performance.
• Gender, ethnicity, free/reduced lunch status, and number of absences from
school were entered into the regression equation in Model 1.
• Scores from the cognitive counting, cognitive matching, language naming,
and language comprehension subscales of the LAP-D were entered into the
regression equation in Model 2.
• Model 3 examined the unique effect of fine motor manipulation tasks on
academic achievement.
• Model 4 examined the unique effect of fine motor writing tasks on
academic achievement.
Fixed Effects
Intercept (Constant)
Female
ES
0.77**
Model 4
Estimate
ES
1.31***
-0.05
0.06
-0.04
0.05
Black
-0.31***
0.60
-0.27***
0.50
White
0.07
0.05
0.08
0.05
-0.01*
0.07
-0.01**
0.10
Free/Reduced Lunch
-0.23***
0.27
-0.22***
0.26
Absence
-0.02***
0.36
-0.02***
0.35
CC
0.04***
0.45
0.04***
0.41
CM
0.03***
0.17
0.03***
0.16
LN
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
LC
0.02
0.08
0.01
0.06
FM
0.03***
0.14
-
-
0.03***
LAP-D age
Math GPA
Model 3
Estimate
FW
-2 log likelihood
Change in model fit (Χ2)
7,709.16
7,692.38
-7.22 (1)**
-24.00 (1)***
0.21
Fixed Effects
Intercept (Constant)
Female
Math SAT
Model 3
Estimate
ES
481.12***
Model 4
Estimate
ES
509.51***
6.84***
0.10
6.99
0.11
Black
-18.94***
0.30
-16.81***
0.27
White
3.68
0.03
3.99
0.03
LAP-D age
0.71***
0.07
-0.84**
0.08
Free/Reduced Lunch
-7.96***
0.09
-7.51***
0.09
Absence
-0.63***
0.12
-0.61***
0.11
CC
1.91***
0.23
1.81***
0.22
CM
1.58***
0.10
1.51***
0.09
LN
0.65***
0.07
0.60***
0.06
LC
1.01**
0.05
0.87*
0.04
FM
1.75***
0.09
-
-
1.20***
FW
-2 log likelihood
31,744.49
31,730.81
Change in model fit (Χ2)
-24.86 (1)*
-38.54 (1)***
0.11
Fixed Effects
Reading GPA
Model 3
Estimate
ES
Model 4
Estimate
ES
Intercept (Constant)
1.38***
Female
-0.22***
0.25
-0.20
0.26
Black
-0.19***
0.32
-0.16***
0.26
White
0.03
0.02
0.04
0.03
LAP-D age
-0.01**
0.10
-0.02**
0.13
Free/Reduced Lunch
-0.26***
0.13
-0.26***
0.26
Absence
-0.02***
0.18
-0.02***
0.31
CC
0.04***
0.40
0.04***
0.36
CM
0.02**
0.11
0.01
0.06
LN
0.01
0.05
0.00
0.02
LC
0.05***
0.19
0.04
0.17
FM
0.00
0.02
-
-
0.02***
FW
-2 log likelihood
Change in model fit (Χ2)
1.31***
8,369.07
8,348.89
-7.32 (1)**
-12.96 (1)***
0.17
Fixed Effects
Reading SAT
Model 3
Estimate
ES
Model 4
Estimate
ES
Intercept (Constant)
556.5**
Female
-6.20***
0.19
-5.52***
0.16
Black
-14.3***
0.53
-13.37***
0.47
White
1.07
0.02
1.54
0.02
LAP-D age
-0.58**
0.12
0.73***
0.15
Free/Reduced Lunch
-10.0***
0.25
-10.04***
0.25
Absence
-0.46***
0.18
-0.44***
0.17
CC
1.53***
0.39
1.43***
0.36
CM
0.50
0.06
0.11
0.01
LN
1.12***
0.24
1.03***
0.22
LC
1.72***
0.18
1.56***
0.16
FM
-0.30
0.03
-
-
0.75***
FW
-2 log likelihood
Change in model fit (Χ2)
553.1***
31,680.07
31,665.87
-0.46 (1)
-14.7 (1)***
0.14
Conclusion
• Fine motor skills, particularly fine motor writing, in preschool are
important predictors of later academic achievement.
• Children with better fine motor skills in preschool demonstrate better
math performance in second grade.
• Children with better writing skills in preschool demonstrate better
reading performance in second grade.
Writing provides
greater opportunities
for creating internal
models of symbols
needed to succeed in
school.
Longcamp Zerbato-Poudou, & Velay, 2005
Research suggests
that better
handwriting may
be more
aesthetically
pleasing and
results in the
production of better
content.
In its most basic form,
early writing is an
exercise of fine motor
control. Fine motor
activities are said to
stimulate the prefrontal
cortex, an area of the
brain that houses
elements of selfregulation and executive
function (EF)
Diamond, 2000
Writing, at least in early childhood, may require that children
either possess or exercise the components of self-regulation,
including attentional flexibility, impulse control, and working
memory (McClelland & Cameron, 2011).
In one study EF skills, measured by the Head-Toes-KneesShoulders (HTKS) assessment of behavioral self-regulation
found no link between handwriting and self-regulation.
Fine Motor Skill Is Associated
With Inhibitory Control in
Preschool Children
Dinehart, L.H., & Willis, E., Moreno, J. (2014). Fine Motor Skill Is Associated With Inhibitory Control in Preschool Children. Presented at the
Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, August 2014.
Disentangling EF
• We aimed to disentangle the individual skills that characterize EF and
its association with fine motor writing skills.
• working memory - the ability to hold information in mind while performing an
operation on it
• inhibitory control - the inhibition of an automatic response when seeing a
task through to completion
• cognitive flexibility - the ability to shift attention between different, but
related aspects of a given task (Willoughby, Wirth, & Blair, 2010).
Participants
• 34 children enrolled in a local childcare center.
• Children were between 3 and 5 years of age.
• Pulled out of their classrooms and assessed by a trained assessor.
• 54.1% of the children were female.
• 89.2% were identified by their parents as Hispanic.
Assessments
• The Pick the Picture (PTP) game is a self-ordered pointing task
requiring children to utilize their working memory.
• The Silly Sounds Stroop (SSG)task is designed to assess children’s
inhibitory control.
• The Something’s the Same (STSG) game is designed to capture
children’s attention shifting abilities.
• The Beery-Buktenika Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration
(VMI) short form (ages 3 to 8 years) is a test of visual-motor
integration.
Fixed Effects
Model 1 Estimate
Model 2 Estimate
88.70***
92.92***
Female
3.16
-0.22
Age in Months
-0.26
--0.04
SSG (IC)
-
24.03**
PPG (WM)
-
- 9.47
STSG (CF)
-
1.42
9.22
3.04*
Intercept (Constant)
Overall model significance
Ongoing work
Three and five-year-old
performance on a visual-motor
integration task is significantly
associated with performance
on an Inhibitory control task (r
= .49, p<.05).
Conclusions
This work is important for two reasons:
1. Early writing difficulties - if associated with impulse control skills can serve as an early indicator of more global cognitive concerns in
young children.
2. More importantly, an association between early writing and
impulse control may point to handwriting or "handwriting
readiness" as a means by which to enhance skills.
Questions?