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In many early elementary classrooms, reading instruction is carefully structured. Students work through sound–symbol routines, practice blending, and receive frequent feedback as they build decoding skills.   Handwriting, however, is often approached with far less structure. Students may be given tracing pages, handwriting worksheets, or open-ended writing time with the expectation that correct letter formation […]

Handwriting is often viewed as a motor skill, while reading is seen as a language-based skill. In reality, the two are deeply connected. The way children learn to form letters directly influences how efficiently their brains learn to recognize, process, and understand written language. Research in neuroscience and literacy development shows that handwriting instruction plays

Correct letter formation is essential for developing strong writers and readers. It directly impacts a child’s literacy growth, cognitive efficiency, confidence, and long-term academic success. While handwriting is sometimes viewed as a surface skill, research and clinical practice show that letter formation plays a foundational role in reading, spelling, and written expression. Strong letter formation

There is a widely held belief that uppercase letters should be taught first because they are easier to write. This assumption is often repeated in early education, yet it deserves closer examination. When we look carefully at how letters are formed, how children read and write, and how motor patterns develop, the case for teaching

Handwriting practice has traditionally relied on repetition. Students are often asked to write the same letter over and over with the expectation that repetition alone will lead to fluency. While repetition plays a role in learning motor skills, research shows that how students practice matters just as much as how often they practice. Varied practice,

Handwriting fluency plays a critical role in how students think, learn, and express ideas in writing. When handwriting is slow or effortful, it consumes cognitive resources that are needed for spelling, sentence construction, and idea generation. Fluency is not about neatness alone. It reflects the degree to which letter formation has become automatic, efficient, and

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,

Effective handwriting instruction depends on more than practice alone. It requires an understanding of how children learn, how motor skills develop, and how instruction can be structured to promote accuracy, efficiency, and transfer to literacy. Handwriting Heroes was designed by applying principles from learning science, occupational therapy, and educational research to transform how handwriting is

The Science of Reading has brought renewed clarity to how children learn to read and write. Grounded in decades of interdisciplinary research, it emphasizes explicit, systematic instruction in the foundational skills that support literacy. While phonemic awareness and phonics are often highlighted, handwriting is an essential and sometimes overlooked component of instruction that aligns directly

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