Handwriting With Out Tears

Last week, the children were introduced to their handwriting books.  This was a big deal to many of the children because they saw the Pre-K students using them last year and the children were excited that they now have their own.  During Pre-Kindergarten, we begin a formalized handwriting program called Learning Without Tears (LWOT). Learning Without Tears states "that writing is a foundational skill that leads students to automatic word recognition. Through time-tested methods of letter formation, students embark on the pathway to reading and writing excellence while connecting letters to sound and fortifying the alphabetic principle".

The following information is from the Learning Without Tears website, https://www.lwtears.com.

Why Is Handwriting Important? Handwriting in Today’s Classroom Today’s elementary classroom has students producing more written work than ever before. To succeed with all of their written assignments, students need to master all the foundational skills of written production. A survey of K–5 teachers found that elementary students spend up to 58 percent of their classroom instruction time writing on paper. Handwriting plays a significant role in students’ work, including journal work, note-taking, math worksheets, science labs, and spelling tests. Students spend up to 20 percent of the instruction day using technology, including computers, interactive whiteboards, and tablets.1 Several research studies have found that handwriting is essential in higher grades as well. Students who took notes by hand versus on a computer were shown to have better comprehension of what was being said and had more sustained attention during discussion of text and concepts (Mueller 2014, Peverly 2012). An engaged, balanced learning environment focuses on both handwriting and keyboarding as foundation skills— not one or the other. When taught both skills, students can successfully tackle any assignment or testing, in any setting. This is especially important during the digital age because as the classroom environment evolves with technology, digital natives need both handwriting and keyboarding to succeed in every subject and to become confident communicators. Learning Without Tears™ provides the developmentally appropriate, grade level, and cross-curricular lessons for handwriting and keyboarding that lead to proven success.

Developmental Sequence of Handwriting and Keyboarding Handwriting and keyboarding should be taught in a developmental sequence that follows the way children learn best.2 Regarding writing performance, research review results indicated that performance on fluency of handwriting and keyboarding were significantly related, particularly on speed (Feng, Lidner, and Ji et al. 2017). As a rule, research states that learning how to write by hand is a necessary early motor exercise for other cognitive and physical skills. Handwriting has been shown to boost brainpower, aid in memory, improve motor skills as well as become a gateway to reading (McFarland 2015). Handwriting is a foundation skill that needs to be developed early as it affects students’ reading, writing, language use, and critical thinking. Print handwriting is taught beginning in kindergarten. Most students will achieve printing fluency at some point in second grade, then fluency and speed with cursive handwriting by the end of fourth grade. In grade 5, children will develop their personal style that continues into middle and high school. Pre-keyboarding, finger and hand motor skills, and computer readiness concepts are introduced first in K–2 classrooms. By third grade, keyboarding is emphasized because in third grade children have increased attention to tasks as well as improved motor control, which makes learning to touch type easier. Students should be able to complete typed assignments and assessments as they enter middle school.

Handwriting and the Brain Various research studies show the positive impact of handwriting on the developing brain. MRI scans at Indiana University (done before and after letter instruction) found that when children practiced by hand, their neural activity was far more enhanced and adult-like than those who had simply looked at their letters (Harman James 2010). Furthermore, there was initial evidence supporting the idea that printing letters by hand actually formed neural specialization for letters and perhaps paved the way to creating brain systems that were used for subsequent reading (James 2017). Teaching handwriting has also been shown to have significant impact in the areas of the brain related to literacy development (Berninger 2012; James 2012).

The first few days in the handwriting book has focused on learning the basics of each child finding their own book, turning to a specific page, stopping to listen to teacher directions before beginning, and how to manipulate the flip crayons.  Next week, we will begin our first letter.  We will focus on letters that are made up of lines (i.e. L, F, E, I, T) first.  Line letters are the first letters, then curve letters, and finally slide line letters.

Indiana Learning Foundations

ELA 3.1: Demonstrate mechanics of writing
ELA1.1: Demonstrate receptive communication
ELA2.1: Demonstrate awareness of the alphabet
ELA2.2: Demonstrate phonological awareness
ELA2.3: Demonstrate awareness and understanding of concepts of print