Should we bother to teach handwriting?
There has long been an argument as to whether children need to learn to physically write when these days we mostly use a keyboard, be it a proper keyboard, or one such as on a smartphone or tablet.
For me there is no other answer than yes, because, as it the case with many of the things we teach our children the subject is not the only aspect being taught. For example, maths does not just teach an ability to handle mathematical concepts such as number, measures and data, but it also teaches logic and an ability to work out what is true - a very important ability in these days! God created our world complete with patterns and logic and the logic is there to find and apply. We must teach maths to our children. And so with handwriting, there is more to it than just being able to pass on information/record ideas and express ourselves. If these were the only benefits of learning to write physically then yes, maybe the computer could be said to have superseded the art of handwriting, though I think that is a little shortsighted as the computer is dependent on electricity, which is not to be guaranteed to last. So what else can learning to write teach a child? For starters, when children are first learning the letters of the alphabet and their associated sounds, the actual forming of letters with the hand is a long recognised way of reinforcing the learning - the forming of a link between brain and hand: the recognising of the letter, the voicing of the correct sound and the formation of the letter work together in a multi sensory way and by using all three, progress is faster and more secure than it would be if physically writing the letters by hand were omitted. Secondly - and many do not recognise this - it encourages diligence, patience and control. Diligence is not something we are encouraged to be concerned about in our fast paced- modern world. And we miss it badly! How many of us have bemoaned the fact that mistakes are made by people using computers and relying on them instead of thinking and seeing the obvious mistakes the computer has made? Lack of diligence and care is the cause. Patience is so necessary for true learning to take place. Modern technology would have us (and children, especially) believe that learning is easy. It tells a lie, for all learning is hard work and requires many mistakes to have been made first - think of the invention of say the light bulb! Handwriting, no less, requires much patient practice and this habit must start early. Once a child has learned to form letters and reaches around 12 (on average) his/her writing style will be established. Whether your child's handwriting is neat, or messy depends in some part on how much control has been established and encouraged. Obviously a child with coordination problems cannot be expected to have the same amount of control as a child with no such difficulties - but none-the-less, each child must be helped to achieve the maximum level of control of which they are capable. And so these three, diligence, patience and control are character traits that are so important for god-honouring living and we will want to teach them to our children. Obviously, the care we take to teach handwriting can be imparted to to other areas of life, for example: control of behaviour, patience in learning any new skill and diligence in doing all things well. Do follow it through. Children will be sloppy if not taught otherwise - many say 'My child doesn't take care!' Maybe your child has not been taught to take care. Friends -our children are not born wanting to do that which is right - these things must be taught and teaching is hard work - and yes it requires, patience, diligence and control! How to teach handwriting
There is an art in teaching handwriting - but it can be learned by any parent.
Some schools of thought encourage the joining of letters from the beginning, others teach joining later, once a 'hand' has been established. I always prefer the latter approach as it always produces neater handwriting from a younger age, helping the children to start the habit of writing legibly from the start. Many children struggle with the coordination needed to form letters correctly, let alone join them from the start, and as a consequence, often their handwriting is illegible for a long time, which does not help spelling. The key is not to leave it too late before introducing joining so that it becomes automatic as soon as possible, for most children no later than Year 2. Either way, these tips will still help. Establish handedness
Do not assume that your child is right-handed. Look to see which hand s/he naturally use to pick up objects. Pass him/her a ball and see which hand s/he extends to take it. Do this several times as some children will swap hands each time, others do one hand one day and another the next! If they are consistent, then the hand they use is their preferred hand.
Some children will remain undecided for some years. These are often the children who have difficulty learning to read and spell without a systematic programme. Let each hold the pencil with the hand s/he finds most comfortable with. Establish pencil hold
Very few people actually hold a pencil correctly but it is worth persevering to ensure a correct hold as it is the most comfortable and easy position to write in, ensuring the correct pressure on the writing tool, neither too hard or too soft, and the best position for maintaining writing speed, especially during exams, without getting hand cramp. Wrong positions abound. Can you spot the errors in these pictures?
There are many devices available to help young children to position their fingers correctly, but from my experience, you still need to supervise as even with them, the position can slip into a less favourable one.
Children with low muscle tone
Some children have low muscle tone - especially those with known dyspraxia/autism. This can make it harder for them to have sufficient control/coordination to write, which may persist throughout life, depending on the severity. However, they can achieve great things.
Tips: give the child a fat tool until sufficient muscle tone has been developed to hold a finer tool. Felt tip pens are best as they give a strong mark with the least pressure. Do not expect the same level of neatness as for a child without low muscle tone - however, never settle for less than the child's best and strive to help the child to reach the highest standard they can attain to. Never excuse a child because of his/her disability, but be understanding of his/her limitations.
Broad pens for those with low muscle tone
Teach correct letter formation from the beginning
This is hard work, but foundational to success. From the minute you teach a child to write his/her name, s/he must form the letters correctly. Bad habits started at this stage are very hard to undo.
First check that you are forming your letters correctly, so that you provide the right role model. How to form letters correctly It is helpful, but not essential, if children are taught to form letters as they learn the initial sounds of the letters. The act of writing helps to link the sound and symbol in the child's mind. Right from the start introduce a line for the letters to sit on. This is important as it establishes the relation of one letter to another so that letters can be written in proportion to each other. It also helps the child's work to look neat and tidy and avoid line confusion, which is common when children start to write without lines to write on. As you teach each letter, talk through it's direction. E.g. 'See it starts at the top, comes down to the line and up and over (h). Or: We start at the side and go round to touch the line at the bottom and back to close the circle and down to the line for the stick. (a) Tell the child that all letters start at the top, never at the bottom. I use one line for young children, but age 5/6 onwards I do some formal work in a proper handwriting book with 4 lines to help them 'see' and 'feel' how letters are proportioned. These free handwriting tracing sheets may be of help: www.soundfoundations.co.uk/product/handwriting-tracing-sheets/ Practice makes perfect
Having taught the correct formation, letter by letter, then be vigilant to make sure that the child is doing them properly. Watch over him/her as s/he writes, as it is possible for a letter to have been drawn incorrectly, but still look right. Watch and keep watching, even until they are 7 or 8. Occasionally look over a piece of writing to see if they do look right. Pick up on any that slip and re-teach, stressing how important it is to get them right, for ease of writing and so that it looks good. I am a great believer in neat handwriting.
Use paper and pens for pre-schoolers as pens make a good solid mark on the page, whereas achieving the right firmness with a pencil is hard for young children. Move to a pencil as soon as possible. Big fat pencils are easier to hold for 4/5 year olds.
A popular handwriting programme used by home educators
Stages in learning to write
Obviously, holding the pencil and forming letters correctly must come first and this will need much practice, so make it enjoyable and always keep the sessions short. Ideally you would teach the formation of each letter with the sound it stands for. This is the basis of spelling. Without the ability to spell, all the letter formation in the world is of no use. Use a good phonic spelling scheme. Aim to do a little every day Monday to Friday. Little and often is the key. I find this is best continued through to age 10/11.
Very young children may want to try and 'pretend' write and this should be encouraged. Children may continue to 'pretend' write once they obtain some writing skills, with a desire to practice their new skills and having the effect of making them feel like writers. Again, this is good. Sadly, for some children, this 'pretend' writing is left to 'emerge' into proper writing, with minimal guidance from an adult. With this I disagree. There must be formal times of teaching, of letter formation, spelling and subsequently, grammar, form and style. The two approaches need to be kept in balance, but with the aim of the formal teaching underpinning the 'pretend' writing, until the child's skills are such that the two merge together. Once a child can form many letters correctly, and can write his/her name in the correct case (capital to start each name and the other letters in lower case), then my approach is to have the child give me a short sentence, maybe to write under a picture. I then write on the top line, with capital letters in the correct places and proper punctuation, and then ask the child to copy under my writing. This gives a standard and a model to work to. This is a good way to start copy work as you can regulate the size of writing. Copying from a book with small print and funny looking letters (e.g. 'a') can be off-putting when you are just starting to learn. Young children have little control of the pencil, so write clearly and fairly large - letters at least 2 cm tall. Reduce the size of the writing as they progress. With regular practice it also introduces the children to common words like 'the' and 'here' which some will easily pick up and learn to spell for themselves. It teaches them to leave spaces between words - but you will need to encourage them to use a finger to leave a space between their words as they copy to begin with. When s/he has finished, look at how s/he has copied. Get used to assessing your child's work - don't just accept what you are given. Are the letters correctly formed? Are they sitting in the right place relative to the line? Give feedback to the child and pick out just 2 or 3 letters to practice, or one word to write again, giving guidance as to how his/her handwriting can be improved. Obviously, praise for good effort. Never praise for carelessness, though.
Only once the child is blending 3 or four sounds together and writing dictation sentences the child should be asked to write for him/herself and that only for the reading/spelling lesson, where the words needed will only be ones that the child has the knowledge to be able to spell.
When handwriting is fairly controlled, and the child can cope with funny looking letters (like 'a'), find good quality books (with language you wish your child to emulate) for your child to begin copy work, starting with a short sentence a day. Read it to the child if it is beyond his/her reading ability, or let him/her read the words s/he can read. Once more, assess the work on completion and give teaching tips. The child should have accurately copied everything - no capital letters in the wrong place, properly punctuated, check the letter formation etc... As children copy in this way, they will absorb spelling, grammar and sentence construction. You will be surprised how delighted they will be to find words they can read. 'Oh look, it says ....!' they will be thrilled with their page of REAL writing. Children know when they are not writing properly. We are naturally delighted with their attempts when they are 3/4 years old, but if they are still writing in play writing aged 7/8 (unless there is a reason for this) then you will have a frustrated child on your hands who if they haven't already, will soon give up on writing and declare they can't do it! Once children have sufficient spelling skills then they can be asked to write more and more by themselves, but never overwhelm them. If you feel your child is retracting into thinking they can't write, back off and let him/her copy again until confidence returns. Age 10 plus
With the Robinson Curriculum, children are given copy work until the age of ten (approximately) when they are then asked to write a page every day. There is no harm in doing this and it has proved may times to be valuable.
Once a child reaches ten, then more formal writing instruction can be given - the mechanics of actually putting a piece of writing together, sentence by sentence, to communicate a message in the best possible way. Parents differ in how they approach this: whether to use a writing scheme at this point, to let the child choose it's own topic, or to give a topic, or a mixture of all three. What is important is daily writing practice. As someone once said, you learn to write by writing, just as reading comes with reading etc.. My children wrote heaps by themselves in informal ways before the age of ten, but writing for school work was set by me and was done to my standard. At the end of each writing session, you need to give feedback as to grammar, punctuation, spelling and style - the sound of the writing. It is with this feedback that many parents feel they need help. There are various writing programmes available to home-educators. Two of the most popular are: Writing With skill
I cannot recommend the early books (Writing With Ease) as we found them very boring, however all children are different. The later books in the Writing with Skill series (appropriate for a bright 10 year old plus) were excellent and turned my children into confident writers. Again they both had totally different needs, but the books catered for both. The books have an excellent Teachers' manual (bought separately) which effectively guides you as to what to say to respond to the students work.
https://welltrainedmind.com/p/the-complete-writer-writing-with-skill-level-1-student-workbook/ Institute for Excellence in WritingIn order to succeed in every area of life, children must hone the skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively. Through the process of learning to write well, students learn how to think clearly and to express themselves eloquently and persuasively. Our goal is to equip you to assist your child in this process. All ages
It has to be said that children will copy the style of writing they are exposed to. So in order to feed your child's writing, give them the highest quality reading material. The modern dumbed down language so prevalent these days does nothing to enhance children's overall language development and the ability to express themselves clearly either in word or print. Pre-1960's literature in the main is the best model for our children.
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Raising parental expectations of young children's writing
This child-centred philosphy does not encourage us to rigorously teach our children, in case we damage them.
However, young children are far more capable of producing good writing than you may think. I would like to encourage you to rethink your child's capabilities, so that you are less likely to limit your child's potential. Learning to write need not be dull
When we think of children achieving great things, we often think that there must have been a pushy, over-bearing parent behind them. This is not necessarily the case. Learning need not be dull. These days there are plenty of good books and programmes to teach spelling, handwriting and grammar too if you like. Although the materials we use to teach DO matter and we need to carefully choose our tools, they do not matter as much as the WAY they are used and this depends on parental expectations. The best books, used badly will have little success, but a poor book used well can achieve much. Buy what you can afford.
Parents need a vision for their children's writing
Aim high! Aim to help your child to achieve the best s/he can. Not by pushing and making the child spend long hours in tedium but by having high expectations and passing those expectations onto your child - it's exciting!
These things are core to success:
All true learning demands hard work and effort. Modern computer programmes and 'apps' give the impression that learning is easy. They reduce childrens' ability to the lowest common demoninator.
The background to the writing samples
The children who did these pieces of writing were all aged 5-6, Year 1, UK, Kindergarten USA. The children were in my class. Obviously, the writing about 'Spring' was done in spring of Year 1 - ie. half way through the school year.
These children had no prior teaching in handwriting or spelling before starting school. They all attended an inner city state school where a high percentage of the children received free school meals. Some of them were very bright, others not so. Few had much help from home. All were summer born children. They were the product of no more than one year and in most cases less, of teaching and phonic training. How to learn from the writing samples
Beside each piece I list teaching points to help you see how to evaluate your own child's writing and the steps needed to help them move forward.
These children were composing their own work as well as concentrating on spelling and handwriting as that is what is expected of them in school. In the home school I advise copy work until spelling and handwriting skills are learnt sufficiently to be done easily, before expecting the child to compose as well. You will see that some of them struggled to compose meaningful sentences. These children did have access to a 'word book'. They could ask for help with words they couldn't spell. I would write them in their word book for them to copy into their writing. If you have a child with special needs, particularly coordination problems, then do not expect this level of writing yet, rather aim towards it. Don't excuse them and say they 'can't', rather accept that they will be slower getting there. They may always struggle with the spacing of words and writing letters in proportion to each other, but keep working on these things and help them to get as close as possible to the desired outcome. Not each of the teaching points would be covered each day, but I would have them in mind to be worked on. Do notice that at this early stage of writing, my focus is not on WHAT is written, but how. In my opinion, this is where many child-centred methods go wrong. They expect the child to be able to write like a writer, before they have the tools to be able to write. At this stage, children are still coming to terms with handwriting and spelling and cannot be expected to be at a great stage of expressing themselves. With good reading material and practice, this will come without too much effort in the later years. Samples of children's writing age 5/6
Child A
Handwriting: Letters look correctly formed. I would be watching the child as s/he wrote to make sure, as some letters can be written wrongly and yet look right. The letters sit on the line correctly (they wrote on lines, but it has got washed out by the scanning process). They are more or less proportional to each other. The child uses capital letters correctly. Spaces between words are a little large, but regular. I would be wanting to encourage them to make the gap smaller. Grammar/Punctuation: This child is beginning to understand the concept of a sentence and has made some complete sentences, beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop. I would want to move him/her away from starting a sentence with the word 'and', but this would come with greater exposure to good texts and maturity. Spelling: Notice that common words are spelt correctly; (and, the, to, is, if). The child is spelling cvc/c words confidently (get, drops, eggs, frogs). There is good evidence that they are applying his/her phonic teaching of 'ar' (starts), 'ew' (new), 'ight' (night), powerful 'e' (roses, life,), 'er' (longer). I would imagine I gave them 'animals',' honey', 'leaves' and flowers. Basically I would be looking to see what he/she was able to use correctly, knowing what I had taught the child. That would tell me which phonemes had been internalised, and which needed further work. To write this ably, this child needed to be a confident speller who knew when she needed help, but s/he didn't need much help. I would be encouraging this child to read his/her work once completed to check for sense and meaning. Obviously it shows the child's understanding of the subject so far, and the good teacher would seek to build on this to help the child to come to a correct understanding: e.g. 'The bees eat honey'.
Child B
This child joined the class part way though the school year. S/he was making a good job of catching up. S/he was an able child. Handwriting: Irregularity in size and spacing is very evident. An attempt is being made to make the letters proportional to each other and they are mainly seated correctly in the right position on the line. More work would be done on this in handwriting lessons. Punctuation: The child obviously has some awareness of full stops and sometimes uses a capital letter correctly at the start of a sentence. More work on sentences would help correct this. Spelling: This child is obviously taking care with his/her spelling and many words are correct. If they are not correct, you can read them - they are logical errors and acceptable at this age. Look at 'cum' for 'come' and 'miks' for 'mix' and 'pritty' for 'pretty'. I would not overly worry about come as it probably hadn't been taught it in the 'o' saying 'u' family yet and she hadn't used it enough times to learn it as a common word. I would take more note of 'miks' as it indicates a weakness either on the letter 'x', or the 'ck' rules, if not both and I would want to correct that. A word like pretty I would have ignored at this stage. The spelling is developing nicely and that will come in due course. I would encourage this child to present their work more neatly as a longer term goal.
Child C.
Handwriting: Letters well proportioned, clear ascenders and descenders. The words tend to be a little too far spaced out, so I would encourage smaller gaps between them. Punctuation: The child has a good grasp of when to use full stops. Sentences are simple, but well phrased. Capital letters are consistently used correctly. Spelling: This child is an able child who is applying his/her phonic lessons and has learnt the spellings of several common words. S/he knows when they can't spell a word and has asked for help. Overall, Phonic work would increase the range of words that could be written (vocabulary). Practice would make sentences more interesting. Conclusion:
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Welcome!After studying for an Early Years Specialism degree (B.Ed. Hons), and teaching in mainstream education, I home-educated my own children, after my husband and I were persuaded of the need to take responsibility for bringing up our children 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' (Ephesians 6:4) We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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