teaching-handwriting

Teaching Handwriting 2 Contents Page Foreword 3 Introduction 4 1 Basic Considerations 5 The Aim of Teaching Handwriting Basic Script The Cursive Style Capitals Numerals Consistency of Movement and Shape 2 Sequence of Instruction 9 The First Two Years Years 3 and 4 Years 5 and 6 Years 7 and 8 3 General Considerations and Teaching Practices 16 References 23 Appendices 24 1 Samples of Developing Handwriting 2 Beginning Points and Direction of Movements Index 31 Acknowledgments The handwritten samples in appendix 1 were done by students from Upper Hutt Primary School. The illustration on the front cover is by Kevin Prince. The lettering samples throughout the text and in appendix 2 were done by Howard Farr. Copyright © Crown 1985 Published in PDF format 2008 for the Ministry of Education by Learning Media Limited, Box 3293, Wellington, New Zealand www.learningmedia.co.nz Learning Media has made every reasonable attempt to contact all the holders of copyright for material quoted or reproduced in this book. We would be pleased to hear from any copyright holders whom we have been unable to contact. Copyright © Crown 2008 All rights reserved. Enquiries should be made to the publisher. PDF ISBN 978 0 7903 3260 4 Item Number 33260 3 Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media. Ministry of Education (2007). Literacy Learning Progressions: Meeting the Reading and Writing Demands of the Curriculum (Draft for Consultation). Wellington: Learning Media. Foreword Teaching Handwriting has been produced in response to requests from teachers for guidance on the style of handwriting to be taught in New Zealand primary schools. The teaching of handwriting is not an end in itself. It is a skill which, along with spelling and punctuation, is an essential tool in effective written communication. The style of the handwriting presented in this supplement to the syllabus has been designed to provide children with a basic script which, developed to the cursive form, will satisfy the requirements of an adult hand. The basic script enables children to write legibly, fluently, without strain, and with sufficient speed for practical purposes. It is also flexible enough to allow children to develop their own personal style. Earlier drafts of this supplement have been tried out in groups of schools and discussed with teachers, inspectors, advisers, and teachers’ college lecturers. In 1980, a draft of the supplement and a questionnaire were issued to all schools, and teachers were invited to respond. Their responses were considered and modifications made to the booklet. Work on Teaching Handwriting began in 1976 at a Lopdell House course chaired by D. J. Merrington, Senior Inspector of Schools, Auckland. Since then, the work has been co-ordinated by J. K. Millar, Senior Education Officer Curriculum Development. Although many people have assisted in the preparation of this booklet, I wish to acknowledge the work of E. M. Eggers, psychologist, Palmerston North, who took a major part in writing the final draft; of N. A. Bracefield, principal, Dunedin, and J. S. Sharp, senior teacher, Napier, who provided information on research; and of H. J. Farr, principal of Upper Hutt Primary School, and his staff and pupils, who provided continuing and enthusiastic support for the project, and whose work is represented in the handwritten samples. W. L. Renwick Director-General of Education In response to requests from teachers, Teaching Handwriting has been reproduced in PDF format. Some minor changes have been incorporated to reflect current terminology and practice. Refer to The New Zealand Curriculum: English learning area: Speaking, Writing, and Presenting strand for specific indicators at each level to plan for students’ handwriting needs. The draft Literacy Learning Progressions: Meeting the Reading and Writing Demands of the Curriculum provides clear expectations as to the handwriting skills students need to have mastered by certain year levels. 4 Introduction In spite of rapid technological change, the ability to write legibly and quickly continues to be a basic skill in New Zealand society. This supplement to the curriculum aims to help teachers to provide consistent instruction in a complex task involving both the physical skill and the attitudes of the learners. It is recognised that handwriting is not an end in itself but is one of the necessary skills of written expression. There has been considerable debate about the teaching of handwriting, and – for at least fifty years – continuing criticism of the standard of handwriting of pupils and school leavers. Handwriting involves physical skill and is required of everyone in our society. As in all physical skills, there is a wide range of achievement. Nevertheless, it continues to be the task of teachers in primary and intermediate schools to teach all pupils, within the limits of their individual differences, to write efficiently and legibly. In 1982, the Department of Education made a study of the handwriting of a sample of form one pupils in intermediate schools.1 Results indicated that, on average, children who used the style detailed in this supplement to the curriculum wrote with greater speed and legibility than those who used other common styles. 5 1 Basic Considerations The Aim of Teaching Handwriting In primary schools, the aim of teaching handwriting is to teach each child to write legibly, fluently, without strain, and with sufficient speed for all practical purposes. To realise this aim, the basic script, with its development to the cursive form described in this booklet, should be taught in all primary and intermediate schools. The purpose of using the same system in all schools is to produce continuity and consistency in the teaching and learning of handwriting. Such a statement does not deny freedom for individual differences and growth, nor does it ignore the fact that handwriting is highly individualistic. Throughout this booklet, there is frequent reference to the individual differences between children and the need for teachers to accept the resulting modifications of letter forms provided that the essential form is not distorted. Teachers should not rigidly insist on the precise, standardised reproduction of model letter shapes, but should emphasise rather the way the pencil or pen is moved to form the letters. The central theme of this booklet is that, to achieve the aim, a child’s task is to learn efficient movements rather than to copy model shapes. A teacher can teach movement – a sample alphabet cannot. Instruction needs to be informed and consistent, providing a base on which individual handwriting may progressively develop. Handwriting is still a necessary skill in our society, and the development of an efficient, individual style depends on the mastery of basic skills, which can be achieved only by competent teaching and regular practice. To achieve a consistent approach in all classes, every teacher should understand and use the style described in this book. Where implementation of this handwriting style requires major changes to school schemes, it is suggested that the changes should be introduced at the junior class level and be allowed to grow up through the school. Basic Script The lower case letters of basic script are: 6 The term “basic script” used in this booklet refers to an alphabet that is simple and practical. It can be written at speed and with an ease which allows some variation without loss of a consistent appearance. Basic script also provides a sound foundation for later progression to a cursive form and to the expression of individual preferences. The Cursive Style The cursive style of basic script is: “Cursive” is a term that usually refers to handwriting in which the letters within words are connected by ligatures or joining strokes to increase the speed of writing. In some cursive styles, every letter in each word is joined but, in other styles, letters are partially linked. “Continuity of pen movement, whether on the paper or not, rather than actual continuity of line, is of the essence in cursive writing. A letter containing a penlift, or written unjoined, can be more truly a cursive letter than one written continuously or having an apparent join.” (Burgoyne2) The cursive style discussed in this handbook is a progression from basic script, providing for increased fluency and speed by joining some letters. It has the same slope and letter shape as the basic script and, unlike some styles, has no unnecessary features such as loops, which may slow the writing. This cursive style fulfils the requirements of an adult hand and allows for individual variations. It is based on the work of several authorities, particularly that of Gourdie 3,4 and Jarman.5,6 Teachers may find useful, as a source of practical ideas and teaching sequences, T. Gourdie’s The Puffin Book of Handwriting4 and C. Jarman’s The Development of Handwriting Skills: A Book of Resources for Teachers.5 Capitals The capital letters of basic script are: 7 Block capitals are used in both basic script and in its cursive form. During trials, a number of teachers suggested that greater consistency of shape could be achieved by using lower case forms for some capital letters, particularly basic script a, m, n, w, and y. If the only use for capitals were to mark proper nouns and sentence beginnings, then enlarged lower case shapes could be used, as indeed they already are for some letters, such as s, x, and z. But block capitals form an alphabet with specialised uses in, for example, headings, notices, and posters. In these, an apparent mixture of upper and lower case letters might well be taken as a sign of immaturity, or even illiteracy. Compare, for example: For this reason, even though block capitals serve two purposes – to indicate grammatical features and in headings – it is simpler to teach only one set of shapes for capitals. Further, because only five letters might use lower case forms as capitals, the speed of flow of writing would not be significantly increased. Numerals Unlike the letters of the alphabet, numerals do not have a cursive form, and several of the numerals are not consistent with the basic movements of letters. Nevertheless, it is convenient to teach numerals as part of the handwriting programme. Instruction should be timed to complement the requirements of the mathematics and statistics learning area in The New Zealand Curriculum. Consistency of Movement and Shape Two important elements of handwriting are movement and shape. “It is not the shapes of letters which is of first importance when teaching handwriting. The prime lesson to be learnt is the way in which the pencil … should be moved to form the letters.” (Jarman6) The shapes of the basic script and its cursive form are derived from five movements.7 (Refer to pages 10–11 for further details of these movements.) Straight lines and diagonal components must be added to these to form letters. As far as possible, the movements and shapes of both forms of basic script have been made consistent and logical. Below is an example in which the basic movements for the first letter have been maintained in the following three letters. 8 In another example, the movement for the descenders or tails of the first letters conforms with that for the bottom of the basic shape for the following three letters. This can be shown more clearly as follows. In this example, the first letter begins in the same way as the following three letters. Again, a composite example shows the relationship. However, it is not possible to be totally consistent and logical about the forming of letters. The example below shows four letters following the same rounded pattern, and contrasts two of them with the pointed versions. During the trials, some teachers were adamant that basic script v and w should be curved, others that they should be pointed. But there is no hard and fast rule. Schools should themselves decide whether to round or point these letters. The important factor is to achieve consistency within the school. 9 2 Sequence of Instruction The main stages in teaching children handwriting at primary school generally are: • teaching grip, letter shapes and movements; • teaching ligatures; • increasing speed and endurance without loss of quality. Young children continue to develop skill in handwriting whenever they use it, both in and out of school time. There is also an important link between learning to read and learning to write during children’s early years. However, the sequence of instruction outlined in this section refers only to the teaching and learning that takes place during the time set aside for special instruction in handwriting. The following section, under the headings “The First Two Years”, “Years 3 and 4”, “Years 5 and 6”, and “Years 7 and 8”, gives a guide to the sequence of instruction, but is not intended as a rigid requirement for each class level. Nor should it be regarded as a fixed sequence of learning through which every child must go. Children of similar ages will show a wide range of skill in handwriting. As a general guide, teachers should follow the well-known principle of beginning with what each child can do and proceeding to new aspects of learning in small manageable steps. The First Two Years New entrants will include some children who can draw a recognisable picture, some who can draw objects other than houses and people, and a few who can copy or even write their own names. At the other extreme, some may appear seldom to have used a pencil. Those who are very immature, and lack preparation for school tasks such as writing, will need many opportunities to engage in manipulative activities to develop the co-ordination of hand and eye before handwriting instruction begins. Children show their readiness to be taught how to form letters correctly through their physical dexterity, their efforts to copy on their own, and by their requests for assistance. This is the best time to teach them. It is a mistake to try to teach children to write before they are ready. If the writing task is so demanding as to make a child tense, then it defeats the purpose. The first objectives should be to help children to establish the correct grip, to begin letters at the correct point, and to form letters and numerals correctly. (These points are elaborated below and on pages 17–18 and 29–30.) In the early stages, children can be grouped for instruction according to their level of development, but the smaller the group the better. They can then more readily be given individual help, and the possibility that children will practise errors can be avoided. It may help some children to establish the direction of their handwriting movements if they make their first efforts on large sheets of paper using crayons or paint brushes. This is not necessary for all children. Verbalisation In the context of handwriting, verbalisation means that the children watch and listen as the teacher models the letter and describes the movements, “Start at the top, down to the line, up, over, down, stop.” 10 The children then repeat the directions aloud as they practise the letter. As their confidence grows, they can assist in describing the sequence of movements. Research confirms that language has a vital place to play in focussing a young child’s attention on letter shapes and movements (Markoff8) and that learning is more effective if the children verbalise while they copy than if they do not verbalise. (Furner9) Verbalisation should include reference to the starting point, direction of stroke, and stopping point. Both teacher and pupils should verbalise to reinforce the important visual cues. Immediate feedback and correction is vital so that children do not fix incorrect forms in their minds by repeating them. This is particularly important when children are first learning to write. Examples: “Start at the top––down––up––over––in––out––stop.” “Start at the top––round––down––lift––cross––stop.” “Start at the top––down––lift––down––lift––across––stop.” The technique should not become an unthinking, ritual chant. Verbalisation should be discontinued when starting points and direction of movement become established. Lesson Format A typical handwriting lesson for junior children includes exercises to practise handwriting movements, instruction in and practice of specific letters, and application of the letters taught. Exercises Children’s ability to control pen or pencil develops gradually and can be assisted through simple exercises which practise the movements for letters, especially in the early stages. The four main purposes of exercises are to help children to: • develop manipulative skill and control; • learn to copy simple shapes; • practise movements on which letters are based; • develop visual discrimination. For examples of handwriting exercises, the books by Gourdie4 and Jarman5 are particularly useful. Basic Movements There are a variety of ways in which letters may be grouped for instruction; one method is to group letters based on similar movements. Teach letters with straight lines first because young children can make these more easily than those with curves. 11 Basic Letters Movement Letters with descending strokes and tails could be grouped for additional instruction focussing on tails. (Lower case basic script c, s, and f could also fit here.) Care should be taken to see that basic script o is written as an oval. Encourage children to try to write basic script e and c almost “straight-backed” to avoid the tendency for these letters to become too rounded. After initial teaching, basic script q and u should be practised together in their usual spelling association. Confusions The above groups of letters are arranged according to common movements, but children can discriminate most easily between letters which are obviously different. Some children find certain letters confusing because of their similarities. The b, d, p, q group is a notable example, each letter having a straight stroke and an oval component. Confusion will be reduced to a minimum if teachers emphasise the distinctive features of letters and provide contrasts. Letters may be distinguished by their ascending or descending strokes, by “bridges” (as in basic script n and m), and by under-curves (as in u and y). Capital Letters Teaching of the capital letters is usually left until children are able to write most of the lower case letters from memory with reasonable accuracy. However, most children will use capital letters for written work before meeting them in handwriting lessons. Models should be provided as required. 12 As with lower case letters, group the capitals for instruction according to similarities of movements, and verbalise instructions. Suitable groupings are: Teach children to bring the middle point of capital basic script M down to the base line, and the middle point of capital W level with the outer arms. This makes the letter easier to form because children do not have to guess the mid-point of the letter. Application When children have learnt a letter in a lesson and are applying it in words, the