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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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Welcome to the last Class Ideas of 2006! I hope you've found our newsletter informative and the resources within useful. As the year comes to a close, I'm already looking forward to what 2007 will bring. Hopefully, you'll find articles to learn from, activities your students enjoy and links to even more handy information. And we're trying to come up with even better subscriber-only specials, so definitely keep an eye out for those.
That said, let's dig in! This issue covers an important, but often overlooked, subject: Handwriting. We use it everyday, but rarely think about it. With computers being such a large part of our lives these days, handwriting is falling by the wayside. As you'll see from articles we link to, this is making students less and less adept at writing by hand. Perhaps this issue will help your students develop their skills and gain confidence putting pen to paper.
Please do email me with any comments you have about past newsletters and suggestions for future ones. Thank you for reading and happy holidays!
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| Handwriting: The Whys and Hows |
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 As the years pass, computers have become more and more integrated into our daily lives. Think about it: When was the last time you wrote an email? When is the last time you wrote a letter and mailed it? And it?s not just adults anymore; computers are now a part of our children?s lives. They do their homework on computers, communicate with friends on computers and play games on computers.
With the union of computer use and daily lives, the opportunities and requirements to write by hand have become few and more far between. Most adults are out of practice and children are getting very little practice and training. While the teaching of handwriting has become less widespread, research has shown that poor handwriting can lower a student?s grade by as much as a full letter grade. Handwriting is not just an aesthetic skill, it also provides an educationally important manual, visual, kinesthetic and tactile reinforcement for the basics of learning to read, write and spell.
Many teachers and students find handwriting instruction tedious, boring and irrelevant. It doesn?t need to be. A good program should be systematic in its instruction and meaningful in its practice. A common, sensible approach is to move from pencil control activities to manuscript to pre-cursive (sometimes known as cursive script) and finally to cursive. Students should master one step before moving on to the next.
So, how about the basics? What?s important to know before starting your students off and running with sheet after sheet of practice?
There are a few things to consider before writing. These include posture, pencil grip, placement of paper. These are all essential to developing good habits that ensure that students are comfortable when writing.
Proper posture features students sitting straight in their chairs with feet flat on the floor and shoulders relaxed with arms on the table, ready to write. To have proper grip on their pencil, students hold the pencil with the index and thumb. The pencil rests on the first segment of the middle finger, which is curled under along with the ring finger and pinky. Paper should rest on the table or desk at a 45-degree angle in front of the student. Left-handed students? paper will rest at the opposite 45-degree angle.
While formal handwriting programs vary in letter style and look, they concentrate on three basic features of good handwriting: letter formation, size and spacing. These three aspects are worked on progressively, first formation (form and slant), then size and finally, spacing.
Form teaches children where letters start and stop and what they look like. Slant is the angle at which the letters are written, which should be uniform. Paper position is important in developing proper slant. Once children learn the form and slant of their letters, they can move on to making the size and proportion of their letters consistent. Dotted handwriting paper can be useful in perfecting this aspect. Lastly, students will concentrate on making their spacing uniform, both between letters and words.
It may seem that handwriting is becoming an obsolete skill, but it truly isn?t. There will always be a need for clear handwritten communication and learning these basics of good handwriting will surely help your students in the future. None of us like to see chicken scratch on an important prescription! |
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| Free Downloadable Activity Pages |
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 This month's downloadable activity pages come from the four-book World Teachers Press series, My Best Handwriting. Book 1 covers pre-writing, manuscript, letter formation and sight words. Book 2 covers manuscript, numbers, words and simple sentences. Book 3 covers beginning cursive, writing, simple grammar and rhyming. Book 4 covers joined cursive, themed writing, timed writing and graduation. You can select the appropriate level for your students to download and them try. |
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| Handwriting Internet Links |
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 Not only can computers hinder the development of good handwriting skills, they can also help by offering access to online resources filled with information about the importance of handwriting and specific tips for improving it. Here are some interesting articles about the state of handwriting today, a list of handwriting-related links for teachers of students with learning disabilities and a wonderful site with great teaching tips for you to use with your students. |
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| January Newsletter Theme: Algebra |
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 Next month, Class Ideas will be packed with Algebra resources. Look forward to an article, many links to great Internet resources, and of course, downloadable activities and a great subscriber-only special. |
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