HANDWRITING HEROES
Pencil Grip Tips
As an occupational therapist, I’ve witnessed various ways children hold pencils. While some methods are acceptable, others can hinder the development of legible handwriting. The way a child holds a pencil directly affects his or her ability to develop legible handwriting. Here are some things to look for when observing
Investigating Poor Handwriting
“I can’t read this!” How often have you come across this statement written across a child’s homework assignment? When a child has illegible handwriting, we often jump to conclusions, assuming laziness, lack of effort, or motivation. It becomes even more puzzling when their handwriting fluctuates, being readable at times and
Pencil Grip Tips
As an occupational therapist, I’ve witnessed various ways children hold pencils. While some methods are acceptable, others can hinder the development of legible handwriting. The way a child holds a pencil directly affects his or her ability to develop legible handwriting. Here are some things to look for when observing
Investigating Poor Handwriting
“I can’t read this!” How often have you come across this statement written across a child’s homework assignment? When a child has illegible handwriting, we often jump to conclusions, assuming laziness, lack of effort, or motivation. It becomes even more puzzling when their handwriting fluctuates, being readable at times and
Handwriting Heroes Awarded Research-Based Design for Instructional Learning Products Product Certification
Product Certification Provides Transparency to Edtech Marketplace
APRIL 2023 | Washington, D.C. – Handwriting Heroes has earned the Research-Based Design for Instructional Learning Products: Product Certification from Digital Promise. This Product Certification underscores Handwriting Heroes reputation for providing schools with trusted, evidence-based literacy programs and serves as a rigorous, reliable signal for district and school leaders, educators, and families looking for Edtech products with a confirmed basis in research about learning.
To earn the certification, Appy Therapy LLC submitted evidence to Digital Promise confirming the connection between research on how students learn and the product’s design. The company also demonstrated its commitment to making their research basis clear and accessible to the public. For additional information on Handwriting Heroes’ evidence and research, visit: https://rfr.bz/l6mgxs8.
“There are more than 8,000 products used in K-12 schools and fewer than 1 percent have earned this recognition,” said Rachel Schechter, Ph.D., Learning Experience Design (LXD) Research, the independent research firm that helped prepare the application.
“Educators and researchers continue to uncover important insights about how people learn,” said Christina Luke Luna, Chief Learning Officer, Pathways and Credentials at Digital Promise. “Digital Promise’s Research-Based Design Product Certification recognizes the Edtech products that incorporate research about learning into their design and development. Congratulations to Handwriting Heroes for demonstrating that research informs product design!”
Through Product Certifications, consumers can narrow their options as they select products based on research about learning before trying it out in their classrooms. Digital Promise launched the Research-Based Design Product Certification in February 2020 and has certified only 70 products to date.
The Research-Based Design Product Certification uses a competency-based learning framework, developed in consultation with Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project advisory board, expert researchers in the Learning Sciences field, and nearly 50 educators across the United States. Further detail about its development can be found in Digital Promise’s reports, Designing Edtech that Matters for Learning: Research-Based Design Product Certifications (2020) and An Overlooked Indicator of Edtech Quality: The Use of Learning Sciences Research (2022).
All developers, educators, edtech investors, and families are also encouraged to sign the Research-Based Product Promise and demand high-quality, research-driven products that support each unique learner. More information on Digital Promise’s Product Certifications can be found at productcertifications.digitalpromise.org
About Digital Promise
Digital Promise is a nonprofit organization that builds powerful networks and takes on grand challenges by working at the intersection of researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Our vision is that all people, at every stage of their lives, have access to learning experiences that help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and continuously learn in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit the Digital Promise website and follow @digitalpromise for updates.
About LXD Research
LXD Research is an independent evaluation, research, and consulting division within Charles River Media Group focusing on educational programs. We design rigorous research studies, multifaceted data analytic reporting, and dynamic content to disseminate insights. Visit www.LXDResearch.com.
Handwriting Heroes: Leveraging Science to Transform Handwriting Practices
Handwriting Heroes fast tracks student literacy by accelerating handwriting instruction with a streamlined approach that moves students to becoming fluent, independent writers in a matter of weeks. Using highly memorable chants and stories, this program leverages the research-based practice of explicit instruction in handwriting, along with other key learning sciences strategies, to promote equity in foundational literacy development.
As an occupational therapist, Cheryl Bregman observed the challenges faced by students with learning disabilities when it came to handwriting, and the subsequent negative impacts on their literacy and writing skills. Moreover, she recognized the time constraints that educators face daily. Drawing from empirical research and her extensive practical experience, she developed a K-12 solution that accelerates handwriting instruction and sets students on the path to success in literacy.
Practical Pacing
The traditional approach to handwriting instruction involves teaching one letter per week in both upper and lowercase forms. This time-consuming process takes nearly six months to complete. During this time, students are also expected to be writing text before fully mastering proper letter formation. As a result, they often resort to guessing how to form letters, leading to the development of inefficient patterns and bad habits that can be difficult to break. Fortunately, research supports a more efficient instructional pace based on two important components of effective instruction. The first involves grouping letters with similar visual features, such as straight, curved, and diagonal lines, and teaching them together. This technique, known as chunking, also facilitates kinesthetic learning since all the letters within the group begin with the same motor pattern. The second factor involves prioritizing the teaching of lowercase letters since they account for approximately 95% of all handwriting and reading. Capital letters are only introduced once students have developed automatic and legible skills in lowercase writing. These evidence-based, and innovative time-saving strategies result in remarkable gains in handwriting acquisition in record time along with up to 80% reduction in instructional time (2)!
Get Animated
Handwriting Heroes uses concise and humorous letter stories to aid students in recalling why letters follow a specific path and what sounds those letters make. The use of attention-grabbing animations and wordplay motivate the students to retell the stories as they make the letter, resulting in faster acquisition of correct letter formation. Research indicates that using songs and chants, presented through engaging animations and stories, is more effective in helping children remember writing rules compared to traditional instructional methods (3).
Musical Memories
Handwriting Heroes incorporates a memorable song for each of the five letter groups, with a focus on the starting stroke shared by all the letters in the group. Research indicates that songs can boost learners’ motivation, especially when combined with stories (3). Moreover, putting lyrics to music can aid children in recalling information more efficiently. Evidence-based studies reveal that frequent verbal repetition strengthens sensory-motor connections in the brain and supports working memory (3, 4, 5). It’s no wonder that the Handwriting Heroes songs are a powerful mnemonic tool, captivating students’ full attention and enhancing their memory and recall of both the letters in the group and their shared stroke.
Multimodal Matters
The Handwriting Heroes program is designed to engage different types of learners by incorporating various strategies. This includes visual activities such as animations and comic-like illustrations, auditory activities such as stories, action words, and songs, and movement activities such as air writing and finger tracing with puppets. These activities stimulate multiple memory paths, resulting in greater understanding, retention, and recall of the letterform. Furthermore, these strategies help to create strong connections between letter names, forms, and sounds. Research has shown that explicit instruction in letter formation using multimodal strategies like those included in Handwriting Heroes can improve handwriting fluency for students at different developmental levels (6).
Work Smarter, Not Harder
In education, time is a valuable resource, and traditional handwriting programs can take over six months of instruction to achieve legible handwriting. In contrast, Handwriting Heroes offers an accelerated learning approach that enables students to master lowercase letters in just five weeks, requiring less than seven hours of instruction. Teachers appreciate the streamlined curriculum, which requires no special training and minimal lesson preparation. By implementing the curriculum with consistency and fidelity, research indicates that “frequent, brief, and explicit instruction that helps children learn to automatize letter production…” will save you planning and prep time (7).”
Heroes at the Helm
According to a study, 90% of teachers reported feeling unprepared to teach handwriting due to insufficient training during their college education. This motivated Cheryl Bregman to empower educators to take charge of their handwriting instruction. Teachers are provided with training, instructional tools, and embedded support to easily differentiate instruction for whole class, small group, or individual instruction. By using research-based, multi-sensory methods, students of all developmental stages can now access an adaptive, efficient, equitable, and effective handwriting curriculum that promotes fluency. Handwriting Heroes, a program that combines the arts, humor, storytelling, and the latest research in motor learning and memory, is the key to achieving handwriting proficiency for all.
References
- Engel, C., Lillie, K., Zurawski, S., & Travers, B. G. (2018). Curriculum-based handwriting programs: A systematic review with effect sizes. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(3), 7203205010p1-7203205010p8.
- Jones, C. D., Clark, S. K., & Reutzel, D. R. (2013). Enhancing alphabet knowledge instruction: Research implications and practical strategies for early childhood educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41, 81-89.
- Davis, G. M. (2017). Songs in the young learner classroom: A critical review of evidence. Elt Journal, 71(4), 445-455.
- Lummis, S. N., McCabe, J. A., Sickles, A. L., Byler, R. A., Hochberg, S. A., Eckart, S. E., & Kahler, C. E. (2017). Lyrical memory: Mnemonic effects of music for musicians and nonmusicians. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 22(2), 141-150.
- Lafleur, A., & Boucher, V. J. (2015). The ecology of self-monitoring effects on memory of verbal productions: Does speaking to someone make a difference?. Consciousness and Cognition, 36, 139-146.
- Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Fink, B. (2000). Is handwriting causally related to learning to write? Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(4), 620–633.
- Berninger, V. W., Vaughan, K. B., Abbott, R. D., Abbott, S. P., Rogan, L. W., Brooks, A., Reed, E., & Graham, S. (1997). Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers: Transfer from handwriting to composition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(4), 652–666.
Science of Reading – Aligned Handwriting
In June 2011, Carmel Bozarth, a Title 1 First Grade Level Specialist, reached out to me via email regarding the potential purchase of Handwriting Heroes for the Washington County School District. She wrote that “Handwriting Heroes goes hand in hand with the Simple View of Writing presented in our LETRS training. It meets all the criteria.”
Intrigued, I began researching “LETRS” and the “Simple View of Writing”.
The Reading Wars — and Its Impact on Handwriting Instruction
One of the most contentious debates in education revolves around reading instruction. On one side of the battlefield stands “whole language” where students are exposed to a literacy-rich environment and encouraged to discover things for themselves while the teacher facilitates this exploration. Reading is taught using the three-cueing system to figure out the pronunciation or meaning of the word. Students guess words that they don’t recognize by:
- thinking about what word would make sense in the story
- looking at the picture, or
- looking at the first letter of the word.
Under the whole-language model, handwriting instruction involves having students figure out how to write letters as they need to use them. Since they are not provided with a specific sequence or direction in which to form the letters, they draw them as best they can. It is believed that since children learn to speak without any formal instruction through meaningful exposure to language, they will also learn to read and write in the same way. Unfortunately, children do not always “decipher the code” for themselves.
Opposing the whole-language method is “systematic phonics,” which uses explicit, systematic instruction to teach reading, such as phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words) and phonics (the relationship between letters and sounds). In a pro-phonics model, handwriting instruction teaches children exactly how to form their letters in the most efficient manner. It relies on devoting time to handwriting instruction before the student is required to use letters to write words and sentences. Reading and writing are seen as skills that must be explicitly taught since they do not come naturally.
In the 1950’s, systematic phonics was replaced by whole language. Explicit handwriting instruction, such as practicing proper letter formation or correct pencil grasp was de-emphasized in favor of more open-ended writing activities that allowed students to explore and express their own ideas.
Handwriting was further diminished with the rise of keyboarding and again when Common Core omitted it as a learning objective. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a final blow, leaving handwriting instruction in a precarious position — with most teachers conceding that they don’t know how to teach it or don’t have time to fit it into their schedules.
The Science of Reading (SoR)
In recent years, educators and parents started taking notice of the need to improve children’s literacy and are committed to reviving phonics instruction as part of a greater movement known as the Science of Reading (SoR). The SoR is a comprehensive collection of scientific studies about reading and writing that provides information about how we learn to read and write and the most effective ways to teach these skills. The SoR movement emphasizes the importance of evidence-based practices in reading instruction and advocates for the use of instructional approaches that are supported by research. The goal of the SoR movement is to ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn to read proficiently and to provide teachers with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively teach reading to their students.
Five key elements are considered to be essential to reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, vocabulary and language, and comprehension. The Simple View of Reading is a model used to explain these elements. It states that reading comprehension is the result of two main skills:
i. fluent word reading, which refers to the ability to decode words accurately and fluently, and
ii. language comprehension, which is the ability to understand and comprehend the meaning of words and sentences.
The Simple View of Writing is a framework that identifies the key components of effective writing instruction and helps educators identify areas of need for learners who are struggling with writing. It consists of three main components:
i. transcription skills, such as handwriting, keyboarding, and spelling.
ii. self-regulation and executive function, which include planning and organizing information; and
iii. translation or text generation, which is the process of using correct grammar and sentence structure to communicate thoughts and ideas.
Writing instruction should focus on developing these skills across all grade levels and should include daily opportunities to practice writing.
Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS)
Despite decades of scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of the science of reading, along with declining reading scores under the whole-language approach, the shift towards this approach continues to face significant resistance. Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) is a professional development program that has been instrumental in advocating for the science of reading by providing educators with the tools they need to implement this approach in their classrooms. LETRS emphasizes the importance of handwriting and highlights the following concepts:
- Start teaching handwriting early, in kindergarten, using a step-by-step approach.
- Emphasize correct letter formation. Poor letter formation can become habitual and hinder fluent writing.
- Engaging the extra neural pathways involved in the physical act of writing improves students’ memory of letters, more so than if they are only learning the letters by looking at them.
- Using motor skills as part of literacy instruction improves the memory of letters and words, leading to faster reading as students recognize words more rapidly.
- Early and regular practice of handwriting enables students to form letters more automatically, leading to improvements in writing skills, including better spelling and noticeably longer, more organized, and higher-quality compositions.
In line with the Simple View of Writing, LETRS provides guidance on recommended practices for handwriting instruction. The following infographic illustrates how Handwriting Heroes performs when evaluated according to these criteria:
In light of this information, I am proud to reflect on Mrs. Bozarth’s statement that ‘Handwriting Heroes goes hand in hand with the Simple View of Writing presented in our LETRS training. It meets all the criteria.’ The Washington County School District is presently in their second year of using the Handwriting Heroes program with great success. The growing support for the science of reading movement gives me hope that handwriting will be recognized as a fundamental skill that should be taught systematically and explicitly in all classrooms.
Guest Blog: A First Grade teacher’s take on Handwriting Heroes
Introduction:
My name is Kristen Shawley. I am a first grade teacher in a rural school. I had the opportunity to first implement the Handwriting Heroes program in the spring of 2022. I saw amazing results in the short time that we had to work through this program and I am looking forward to implementing it with a new group of students this coming year.
First, a bit about my students. . . I teach first grade in a rural school. As a result of the pandemic, my first graders spent much of their kindergarten year receiving virtual instruction. We had some limited in-person instruction towards the end of the year, but social distancing guidelines made it very difficult to deliver developmentally appropriate instruction.
Throughout their first grade year, I was tremendously impressed with the growth that they made in reading and math, but handwriting was an area that consistently seemed to be a deficit for most of my students. The way that they formed their letters was so inefficient and incorrect that in many cases, their handwriting was barely legible. Learning proper letter formation in a virtual environment resulted in students who were drawing letters like they would copy a picture and I saw so many bizarre things – like the letter e being written using three separate strokes and never really looking like an e. I had tried various programs and we spent time working on handwriting, but nothing seemed to really work for the majority of my students. Plus, my students dreaded that time, did the work just to get it over with and it wasn’t improving their handwriting!
From the very first moment that I saw the Handwriting Heroes program, I knew there was something special about it! This is not one of those dry, boring programs that kids dread. In fact, they looked forward to that 15 minutes a day and they would often sing the songs together during their free time!
Things I Love
Low Prep: Truly, one of the most amazing things about the program is the ability to print and go. To prepare for each week, I just printed and slipped the letter pages into a dry erase sleeve for each student and I was ready for the week! After the first week, I like to print the summary page on the back so that we can flip it over and review all of the letters that we have learned! I had my students use the thin dry erase markers so they could be more precise and attend to the sky, cloud, grass and dirt lines when practicing.
Printer Friendly: You really only need to print a few things and many of the materials are reusable throughout the week or even throughout the program, so that is awesome! I chose to print the workbook pages in black and white (although color would be ideal). I do believe that the color is important, so we spent a couple of minutes color-coding the lines before slipping them into the dry erase sleeves. This activity seemed to help my students really pay attention to the lines!
Simple to Implement with Predictable Routines: This is a plus for teachers and students! Students quickly catch on to the steps in the lesson. The repetition helps students learn to form the letters correctly and the videos and materials keep things engaging and exciting for students.
Phonics Reinforcement: As a teacher, I love that the songs reinforce the letters sounds – For example, k skydives down. A little bird kisses k and flies away. This not only helps students remember how to correctly write the letter, but it also reinforces the sound for the letter k. I like to reinforce the key words while practicing the letters each day.
Multisensory: The program incorporates air writing, finger tracing, and crossing midline which are great skills for young learners. Plus, the songs are fun, catchy and help reinforce the basic strokes that the letters have in common along with the letter sounds!
Fun and Engaging: This is absolutely the biggest plus of the program because my students would literally cheer when I said it was time to do our handwriting lesson. They loved “graduating” from one letter group and learning the song for the next letter group. They even loved reviewing, practicing and singing the songs for the letters that we had already covered!
You can trial the entire first module of the program for FREE by signing up to the trial – https://handwritingheroes.org/pricing/
Data Collection: The data collection spreadsheet is simply amazing – so amazing that it deserves its own section which can be found below.
Results: I have never used a handwriting program that provided such amazing results in such a short time. Plus, this program helped my students learn their letters and sounds! Check out the sample from one of our phonics assessments below. This student had only mastered 11 sounds by January of first grade. You can also see how many of the letters from the January sample are floating above the line. Also, pay close attention to how this student formed the letters u, s (in box 29, you can see how they started at the middle and used 2 lines to make the s) and e. These formations were corrected completely by the May sample. This student also participated in Tier 3 intervention from January to May, but I believe that the Handwriting Heroes Lessons really helped this student master most of the letters and sounds.
Note how the letters h, u, e, s, and a on the left are formed with multiple strokes. In contrast the letters on the right side are ALL formed correctly.
What My Students Loved
“I liked the songs because they got stuck in my head.” -C
“I liked the songs because they helped me remember which group the letters were in and they helped my figure out my 9’s and my p’s.” -B
“I liked the songs because they were really nice songs. They helped me write my letters right because the words inside of the songs told me what to do.” -S
Here are a few pre / post tests to show some of the results that my students achieved in just 6 weeks!
This student struggled with placing the letters correctly on the line – especially the descending letters. She responded well to the concept of the letters “falling into the dirt”.
This child was particularly anxious and would often erase and re-write her letters She also wrote with very hard pressure which caused her hand to hurt. Her confidence improved and she became a lot more willing to write.
This student “drew” his letters and required a lot of support to even attempt writing the letters. He made the most remarkable progress and would say the stories to himself as he wrote each letter.
This student formed the majority of his letters from bottom-to-top. The letter groupings helped him to learn the first stroke of the letter, which led to proper letter formation .
Data
I’m a data person. I want to know that the time that I am investing is resulting in the best learning experience for my students. Handwriting Heroes has an amazing data collection spreadsheet. It is designed to be teacher-friendly. You simply click the boxes to indicate the letters that students are able to write correctly and the form calculates their accuracy for you! You have a couple of options within the form. There is a pre-test form that includes all letters organized by their letter groups. This assessment does need to be done individually with each student, but I did find ways to streamline the process. I was able to complete the assessment with two students at a time. I just put a divider between them. Then, I would tell them the letter that I wanted them to write and have them take turns writing it. You can see my pre-test results below. Keep in mind that this is after having spent time using other programs to teach handwriting in my classroom.
Along with the number correct and percentage correct, you will also be able to view the pre and post test data in a bar graph. This is a quick and easy way to see the progress your students have made and to determine who may need intervention after the initial 6 weeks of the program. The blue bars below show the pre-test data for my students and the red shows their post test data. Looking at this data, there are a couple of students who could benefit from small group intervention to continue their progress. If I had this group of students for additional time, I would continue reinforcing the stories and letter formation as a warm-up in our small group instruction, or I would pull those students in a small group for 10-15 minutes daily and continue to monitor their progress.
On Friday (or day 5), I would play the weekly letter group song for students as a quick review and then complete the assessment. For an average student, the assessments took me approximately three minutes per student in week 3. If a student showed mastery of a particular letter for 2 consecutive weeks, I did not ask them to write that letter during the weekly assessment. For the post assessment, I asked all students to write all letters to be sure my ending data was accurate.
For the weekly check-ins, you can use the tabs on the data collection sheet to assess each letter group that you have taught up to that week. Below is an example of what my Cannon Pops data looked like. The data collection form automatically generates the percentages and the bar graph for you so you can easily track growth and even pull students for some small group intervention if you notice that they are not making progress. I love how everything is color-coordinated and how the form is so simple to just click the boxes. This simplified my weekly assessments and saved so much time!
Whole Group Instruction Tips and Tricks
Implementing the program with an entire class is simple and my students really looked forward to our handwriting time each day after I started using Handwriting Heroes with them. Below is an outline of how I chose to implement it. I tried to keep lessons to 15 minutes as we have many other things that we are required to teach during our whole group instruction. One of the benefits of the Handwriting Heroes program is that students are not just reinforcing handwriting, they are also reviewing letter names and sounds as you do the songs, air writing and review the key words. The multisensory components along with the movement and spiral review of letters that students have previously mastered all help make the program more enjoyable and more effective! I also love that this program continuously reinforces top to bottom and left to right which is another thing that supports beginning reading skills.
Sample Whole Class Lesson Plan:
Week 3 – Approximately 15 minutes
- review all songs (play just the beginning part of each letter group video to review the songs for each group)
- play the video for the weekly focus letter group
- sing the song
- air write
- say the story
Conclusion
I hope this helps you see the features and benefits of the Handwriting Heroes Program. There are so many things that make this program different from everything out there – the songs, the ease of prep, the multisensory components, the reinforcement of letters and letter sounds, the data collection and especially the student engagement! I truly believe that all students would benefit from this program!
10 Reasons to Teach Handwriting in the Digital Age
In today’s digital world, where technology dominates, it is important to understand the continued importance of teaching handwriting. Scientific research has revealed that completely replacing handwriting with typing can have detrimental effects. Here are ten compelling reasons why teaching handwriting is essential:
1. Handwriting Stimulates Greater Brain Activity
MRI studies demonstrate that learning and practicing handwriting engage more parts of the brain compared to typing or other methods of learning. This widespread neural stimulation leads to the development of robust neural networks, making not only handwriting easier but also improving skills like reading, language recognition, and interpretation. The brain becomes adept at handling new tasks more efficiently by leveraging these networks.
2. Handwriting Enhances Reading Skills
Children who learn to print letters activate the same brain regions involved in letter recognition that adults use when they read. On the other hand, children who do not engage in handwriting show no distinction in brain activity between recognizing letters and simple shapes. Teaching handwriting before reading actually prepares the brain for the process of reading.
3. Handwriting Facilitates Simultaneous Processing
Regular practice in forming letters and words improves word recognition during reading. Explicit handwriting instruction has even been shown to enhance reading skills without additional reading interventions. Handwriting promotes simultaneous processing, enabling the brain to comprehend the bigger picture. Instead of sounding out individual letters sequentially, the brain grasps words as a whole and progresses to understanding sentences, paragraphs, and entire stories.
4. Handwriting Develops Hand-Eye Coordination and Spatial Awareness
Handwriting not only involves forming letters but also requires understanding spacing between letters and words, as well as their placement relative to lines on the paper. By connecting the motor skills system with the visual system, handwriting builds strong and efficient neural pathways. Without coordination and spatial awareness, deciphering written text would become challenging.
5. Handwriting Enhances Fine Motor Skills, Posture, and Eye Health
Handwriting engages various parts of the body. It strengthens hand and arm muscles and develops fine motor skills through precise pencil strokes and pressure. Students adopt a stable posture, using one arm for balance while grasping the pencil. Moreover, using pencil and paper provides a break from prolonged exposure to backlit screens, benefiting eye health.
6. Handwriting Improves Language Skills
Regular handwriting practice connects students with the letters they are forming and the words they are writing. In the early stages, students can practice letter sounds while forming letters, while those writing words can actively consider how letters sound together. Handwriting promotes a deeper connection to language and aids in sound recognition and spelling.
7. Handwriting Boosts Creativity and Composition
Many renowned writers, such as Neil Gaiman, George RR Martin, JK Rowling, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, and Quentin Tarantino, prefer handwriting for their first drafts or planning. Handwriting stimulates more cognitive processing than typing, allowing for greater creativity and thoughtfulness in the writing process. It also provides more time for contemplation before each sentence flows onto the page. Students who receive handwriting instruction often exhibit improved organization and elaboration of ideas.
8. Handwriting Enhances Academic Confidence
Struggling in any area of school can undermine a child’s confidence, leading to anxiety, disinterest, and avoidance. Teaching handwriting activates the brain region associated with fluent reading, which primes children for success in reading and boosts their confidence in their learning abilities.
9. Handwriting Reduces Distractions
With constant access to devices, students are susceptible to distractions and off-task behavior. Prioritizing paper and pen over screens helps minimize these distractions, allowing students to focus on their work effectively.
10. Handwriting Yields Lifelong Benefits
Although this list focuses on handwriting in children, taking the time to write manually has enduring advantages. Handwriting engages specific memory networks, enhancing memory skills. It also promotes more efficient learning, as individuals who take handwritten notes retain information better than those who type. Handwriting involves active listening, interpretation, and concentration on understanding concepts, resulting in more meaningful note-taking.
In conclusion, handwriting remains a fundamental tool in education, even in the digital age. Regular instruction in handwriting, alongside keyboard skills, ensures that young learners are well-equipped to thrive in today’s technology-driven world.
Precise Practice for Perfect Handwriting
As educators, we witness the remarkable progress of our students’ handwriting skills every day. From the careful formation of letters to writing with ease and automaticity, it’s gratifying to see how practice pays off. The key to this improvement lies in a process called myelination, which enhances muscle memory and hand-eye coordination.
What is Myelination?
It involves the production of myelin, a fatty substance crucial for the functioning of neurons in our central nervous system. Neurons, the building blocks of our brain, transmit information through electrical impulses along their axons. Myelin acts as insulation, enabling swift transmission of these signals, much like the rubber coating on a power cable.
When we are born, our myelin content is limited. However, our brain quickly adapts, forming neural networks and coating axons with myelin. This myelination process facilitates essential skills like walking and communication.
Although most of the brain is myelinated by the age of two, myelination continues throughout adulthood as we develop higher cognitive abilities. When we regularly practice a skill like handwriting, the brain recognizes the frequent use of specific neural pathways. Consequently, the neurons in these pathways produce myelin, leading to faster transmission of electrical impulses. This explains why daily practice makes handwriting quicker and easier, transforming a narrow pathway into a well-paved superhighway.
On the other hand, the neural networks we neglect undergo pruning, rendering them unnecessary. Lack of practice results in rusty skills. However, with renewed effort, we can regain those skills and improve.
Perfecting our Practice involves Precision
While practice makes a skill easier and more automatic, it doesn’t guarantee perfection. Consider this example: If you learn to write letters from bottom to top and nobody corrects you, you’ll continue writing them that way, reinforcing incorrect neural pathways. This establishes bad habits that are challenging to break.
To prevent such habits, it is crucial to encourage precision from the start. Explicit instruction provides students with a clear roadmap, guiding them along the correct path. As teachers, it’s essential to supervise students’ writing, offering immediate feedback to correct errors as they occur. By striving for precision, we ensure that students develop efficient writing skills, enabling them to complete their work successfully.
Starting Early is Essential
With writing expectations beginning as early as kindergarten, teaching letter formation becomes a crucial foundation for future academic success. By teaching proper letter formation before students develop their own methods, we prevent the formation of bad habits. This foundational skill serves them throughout their academic careers and beyond.
When students know they are performing a task correctly, their confidence soars. Engaging them in multisensory activities, such as writing letters in shaving cream or using large arm movements to form letters in the air, enhances the learning experience. Tactile and kinesthetic involvement makes letter formation more memorable and enjoyable.
Children’s brains are incredible learning machines, constantly adapting and refining skills. By guiding them to learn correct letter formation, practice with precision, and develop good habits, we can make handwriting an engaging and positive experience for our young learners.
