1. Most children respond to balloon activities. They usually want a balloon to blow up when they see me do it. After the balloon is blown up and tied, you and the child can just freely move around hitting it in the air.

            2. Another game which is great with preschools is to fill a laundry basket (or box) with balloons. Have the students hit them and kick them as you toss the balloons up out of the basket (don’t let go of the basket!!). After a few minutes, have them put the balloons back in the basket. This can be repeated. When there are balloons all over the floor, it is interesting to see the students try to kick them without stepping on the balloons. It can throw them off balance and requires motor planning to negotiate.

            3. You can make a two-handed bat out of 2 two-liter plastic soda bottles. The pattern came from Sensory Motor Handbook by Bissell, Fisher, Owens, and Polcyn (available from Therapy Skill Builders). The bottoms are cut off the bottles, and one bottle has the bottom edge “clipped,” as in sewing curves, to allow it to fit into the other bottle. Both bottles are stuffed tightly with newspaper. Crushing newspaper within one hand is a wonderful strengthening task. Then the clipped end is pushed into the other bottle so that the capped ends are opposite each other, which makes it easier to hold onto. I blow up a round balloon or use a small palm pump for the student to blow one up. We use the balloon as a ball either in reciprocal batting with the bottle bat or in single play to see how many times we can hit the balloon before losing it (most students hit the balloon 5-10 times, but one Kindergarten-aged student hit it 50 times!). This is great for upper extremity range and strengthening as well as visual tracking. We also incorporate some writing and math in by keeping score on the chalkboard.

            4. If child enjoys snacks and drinks, have him or her try straw activities. The child can blow bubbles with the straw or cut up a straw and make a necklace.

            5. The child can make water paints and use an eye-dropper to drop the paint on a coffee filter. Make a butterfly by scrunching up the middle and adding a pipe cleaner for feelers. Also, do stencil pouncing motions on paper with a hard bristle brush. I do this with the paper lace doilies. The object is to fill up all the spaces (holes) with color. I put stencil tape on the back (just a little) to hold the doily on the paper while the child pounces. I mention how Tigger bounces and we may sing a song about it. Finger paints might also be a good activity.

Some teachers are using school fonts at early ages to develop visual and motor skills.

In honor of National Handwriting Week –which commemorates John Hancock’ January 23rd birthday- a New York Times reporter began her column with the following observation: “These days the handwriting on the wall can’t be read.” Increasingly, when the need arises for adults to communicate the old fashioned way, they resort to a strange mix of manuscript and cursive, having apparently never learned to write legibly in either one.

Penmanship among the missing

The time is long since past when penmanship was a staple of classroom instruction and penmanship awards were prized. In today’s world, where turning nouns into verbs is a common grammatical aberration, “keyboarding” creeps ever lower in the grades. Children are expected to absorb handwriting much like whole language reading, by osmosis. Instruction, if any, usually takes the form of tracing letters on worksheets, leaving it to the child to determine where to start and stop. Few teacher education programs include handwriting instruction, Spalding being one exception to the rule. Cursive is still a rite of passage.

And missed

However, there are good pedagogical reasons for teaching handwriting. Mrs. Spalding knew that teaching first manuscript, then cursive, forges a vital link to the world of language. Research has established that the brain breaks the letters of the alphabet down into curves and lines, just as Spalding teaches children to do with clock and line letters. Combining handwriting with phonograms links sounds to letters, the very skills beginning readers need. A growing number of studies also suggest that systematically teaching handwriting and spelling helps students become better writers. Just as beginning readers can’t draw meaning from text they must struggle to decode, developing writers can’t organize their thoughts if they must switch attention to figuring out how to form a letter or spell a word.

A man to remember

Students might also like to know that John Hancock, whose name is synonymous with a signature, was more than a man of exemplary penmanship. In addition to being the first member of the Continental Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence, he commissioned future president George Washington as commander of the Army of the United Colonies, helped create a navy, and was governor of Massachusetts for 9 terms. As students strive to perfect their handwriting, they should know that the gentleman remembered by National Handwriting Week was quite a guy.

The Spalding News

VOLUME 22 • ISSUE 1• 2007

Advocates provide the following reasons for including cursive handwriting in the elementary school curriculum:

• Learning cursive writing helps students develop reading, communication, and fine motor skills. There is a direct link between the process of learning to write in cursive and the ability to read fluently. Several studies also suggest that cursive writing improves the fluidity of thought in written communication and helps to develop students’ fine motor skills, including hand-eye coordination. Some researchers recommend teaching cursive handwriting prior to block printing. They maintain that students have the capability to learn cursive writing at a young age, pointing to the fact that prior to the 1970s, U.S. students were taught cursive in the first grade. Advocates contend that learning cursive first allows students to write letters fluidly from memory, leading to increased writing speed and the ability to better focus on content. Blumenfeld also noted that it takes time and supervision to help students develop good cursive handwriting and teachers have that time in first grade, not in third grade.

• Students must be able to read cursive handwriting. The first edge of a gigantic wave of U.S. students graduating from high school who no longer get much handwriting instruction in the primary grades is just hitting the workplace. Not only will these students struggle with writing cursive - they can’t read it either. Studying for a test is difficult when students can’t read their own notes. Scholars point out that without instruction in cursive handwriting, students won’t be able to read historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence. They claim this will compromise the accuracy of future historical research.

• Cursive writing receives higher marks. While multiple studies have found that neatly written papers receive higher marks than papers with messy handwriting, some researchers also suggest that papers written in cursive receive higher marks than those written in block, or manuscript, style. College Board data on the writing section of the SAT revealed that students who wrote their 2006 essays in cursive scored slightly higher than those who used other types of handwriting.

• Students can write in cursive faster than they can print. It may actually take students longer to print than to write in cursive, which is a disadvantage for students when they are taking notes or writing essays for a test.

• Illegible writing creates problems for society. Gladstone noted that illegible handwriting creates many problems, including undeliverable tax refunds, letters and packages sent to wrong addresses, and employee mistakes in the various

Many experts believe cursive writing should no longer be included in the elementary school curriculum. They cite the following reasons:

• Cursive writing is becoming irrelevant and obsolete. Scholars maintain that block printing has become an accepted form of handwriting and that most written communication is now typed. And many scholars suggested that traditional cursive writing be offered to students as an elective in middle or senior high school.

• Standardized tests don’t require cursive writing. On standardized tests, students can write their answers in any form of handwriting they choose. In fact, the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ 2011 writing test will require eighth and eleventh graders to compose on computers, with fourth graders following in 2019. In addition, textbooks and other materials students read are written in block print.

• Typing is more efficient. Graham stated that typing uses a slightly easier set of motor skills than writing. He maintained that if young students spend less time thinking about their handwriting and more time writing they will have longer compositions and better grammar and planning. Graham also emphasized that it is more important for students to focus on their ideas and the composition of their writing instead of how they form letters.

• Cursive writing is very difficult for some students. Certain students, such as those with learning difficulties or poor motor skills, struggle with cursive handwriting. Left handed students, in particular, appear to have extra challenges learning cursive writing.

• The transition from manuscript to cursive writing interferes with the development of students’ handwriting skills. Students typically learn print in kindergarten, with instruction in cursive handwriting beginning in the third grade. Studies suggest that the process of transitioning from print to cursive handwriting interferes with children’s ability to compose and diminishes the number of words they write and the number of ideas they generate.

The student in K-12 is expected to:

• write his/her own name and other important words;
• write each letter of the alphabet, both capital and lowercase;
• write each letter of the alphabet, both capital and lowercase,
• using correct formation, appropriate size, and spacing;
• use phonological knowledge to map sounds to letters to write messages;
• write messages that move left-to-right and top-to-bottom on the page;
• gain increasing control of penmanship such as pencil grip, paper
• position, and beginning stroke;
• gain an increasing control of penmanship such as pencil grip,
• paper position, stroke, and posture;
• gain increasing control of aspects of penmanship such as pencil grip, paper position, stroke and posture, and using correct letter formation, appropriate size, and spacing;
• gain more proficient control of all aspects of penmanship;
• write legibly by selecting cursive or manuscript as appropriate;
• use word and letter spacing and margins to make messages readable;
• use basic capitalization and punctuation such as capitalizing names and first letters in sentences, using periods, question marks, and exclamation points;
• SLA*: use basic capitalization and punctuation rules in Spanish such as capitalizing names, first letters in sentences, and proper nouns / using periods, question marks, and exclamation points; use more complex capitalization and punctuation with increasing accuracy such as proper nouns, abbreviations, commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks;
• SLA: use more complex capitalization and punctuation with increasing accuracy such as commas, hyphens, proper nouns, and abbreviations;
• use capitalization and punctuation such as commas in a series, apostrophes in contractions such as can’t and possessives such as Robin’s, quotation marks, proper nouns, and abbreviations with increasing accuracy;
• SLA: use capitalization and punctuation such as commas, hyphens, proper nouns, and abbreviations;
• capitalize and punctuate correctly to clarify and enhance meaning such as capitalizing titles, using possessives, commas in a series, commas in direct address, and sentence punctuation;
• SLA: capitalize and punctuate correctly to clarify and enhance meaning such as capitalizing proper nouns, using commas in a series and in direct address, and guión (hyphen) and raya (for dialogue);
• capitalize and punctuate correctly to clarify and enhance meaning such as capitalizing titles, using hyphens, semicolons, colons, possessives, and sentence punctuation.

From the Texas Education Association http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/biling/teares-effwri-strwrihandout.doc

*When “SLA” follows the grade levels, it means the student expectation for Spanish language arts differs in some way from the one for English language arts.

Research justifying the inclusion of cursive writing in the elementary school curriculum is limited. In general, studies have concluded that instruction in cursive handwriting helps to develop students’ reading, communication, and fine motor skills and that students who complete tests and assignments in cursive may receive higher scores or grades than those who print their responses

Some researchers contend that teaching two forms of handwriting (manuscript and cursive) interferes with students’ ability to generate ideas. Teaching one handwriting style is believed to better promote mastery of the handwriting process by increasing speed, improving legibility, and fostering automatic letter formation

The New American Cursive Penmanship Program (2009), which advocates beginning penmanship instruction in the first grade, reported that studies have found that waiting to change from printing to cursive writing in the third grade slows students down to a first grade writing speed level for at least one year. Steve Graham, one of the nation’s foremost researchers of handwriting, believes that students’fluency in handwriting is more important than the style of handwriting that is taught. He recommends, however, that instruction starts with traditional manuscript, or block, letters for the following reasons:

• Before starting kindergarten and first grade, most children have already learned to write some letters from their parents or preschool teachers. Instruction in cursive writing means that children have to relearn many of the letters they can already write.

• Some research suggests that once manuscript writing is mastered, it can be written as fast as cursive, and usually more legibly.

• The teaching of traditional manuscript writing may facilitate reading development, since the material students read in the early grades is written in manuscript, not cursive.

• There is some evidence, though dated, that traditional manuscript is easier to learn than cursive writing.

Researchers have found that most students don’t receive enough instruction to master either manuscript or cursive writing entirely and instead develop a writing style that is a hybrid of the two forms. In fact, Graham reported that the fastest hand writers actually use a mix of printed and cursive letters and that they gain speed without sacrificing legibility. His research found that half of students report using this hybrid approach.

Tracing letters, numbers, and shapes in the air can help children develop the fine motor skills necessary for writing. Children learn from large-scale to small-scale, so if they are having problems with the fine motor skills of paper and pencil, try this exercise first.

Students can also do this using their bodies either individually or in small groups. Rather than calling out a letter or number, try calling out a math or word problem and having the students write the answer in the air. For example, “What letter does the word ‘door’ begin with?” The students would then have to draw the letter “d” in the air.

Compiled by Cathy Johnson

This information appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. For its interest we reproduce it in its entirety.

A US jury has found that a Texas doctor’s poor penmanship was partly to blame for the death of a 42-year-old man. American Medical News (Nov. 22/29, 1999, p. 1) reports that the verdict is probably the first in the US in which a physician was found negligent solely on the basis of poor handwriting.

Cardiologist Ramachandra Kolluru of Odessa, Texas, allegedly wrote a prescription that called for Ramon Vasquez to take 20 mg of Isordil (isosorbide) every 6 hours. However, the illegibility of the prescription caused a pharmacist to dispense the same dosage of Plendil (felodipine), although the maximum daily dose was only 10 mg. (In Canada the maximum recommended daily dose is 20 mg.)

Vasquez had a heart attack a day after taking the Plendil and died several days later. Jurors attributed his death to the drug and found the physician and pharmacy equally liable for the fatal error. Each was ordered to pay $225 000. “This is a wake-up call,” said Max Wright, the attorney for Kolluru. “[It is] another reminder that doctors . . .need to ensure that they have communicated what they meant to communicate to their patients.”

Written by Caryn Hirshhorn

At any time during your daily instruction you can put into practice a variety of activities that will help your child develop the skills needed for handwriting. Kids are not able to write well until they have developed the precision, balance and hand-to-eye coordination skills that are needed for handwriting. The good thing about this is that with a lot of practice these skills can be greatly improved.

There are 3 specific areas in which a child needs to mature :

            1. Visual motor skills and visual perception skills.

            2. Fine motor skills.

            3. Trunk control and shoulder stability.

There are several techniques which may be utilized at any time to enhance the handwriting instruction. You can learn more about visual, auditory and kinesthetic input in this section of the blog.

Ramon Abajo, Handwriting Expert & Teacher of the Year

Downhill Publishing LLC

Make sure that your child:

1. Starts the practice with a sharp pencil.

2. Is sitting in a proper writing position, and using both hands: one holding the pencil, the other holding the paper.

3. Is holding the pencil and the paper correctly.

4. Understands the instructions before beginning a handwriting session.

5. Forms the letters correctly as he writes. At an early writing stage it is extremely important to ensure that the child follows the direction of the arrows (or writes in the correct direction) as he practices proper letter formation. It is much more important to form letters correctly than to make then look neat. A child who writes correctly formed letters at this stage will become a fast, fluent writer. Conversely, once kids become accustomed to certain poor habits it is very difficult to get them to change. 

Make sure that you:

1. Show students how to form letters correctly from the very start.

2. Use various approaches to learning: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

3. It is helpful to begin practice sessions with brief warm-ups – of, say, three to five minutes. The warm-ups would involve having the children write patterns, particularly when they are beginners. This helps them to develop rhythmic movements and proper direction. For uniform letter spacing, place one or two fingers between the words. Short warm-ups of three-to-five minutes spent writing patterns

4. To practice uniform letter spacing, children may try placing a Popsicle stick or one or two fingers between the words on the paper.

Ramon Abajo, Handwriting Expert & Teacher of the Year

Downhill Publishing LLC