Handwriting Review 1997
 
 Children's handwriting in the
first three years of school: consistency over time and its relationship
to academic achievement.
Claire Harvey & Sheila
Henderson
In this study the authors examined
the consistency of children's handwriting during the infant years cautiously
suggesting that if the basics are picked up well in reception class then
a high level of performance is likely to be maintained. Unfortunately the
reverse is also true, and children who are struggling in reception will
not overcome their difficulties without extra help. The second half of
the study explored the relationship between handwriting performance and
academic achievement and finding a strong link between poor handwriting
and later poor academic achievement. However they note that some children
who did poorly initially go on to succeed.. Their conclusion is that schools
should be aware of this link and monitor children's handwriting closely,
and that handwriting should be reinstated as a separate element of the
English SATs assessment.
A Longitudinal Study of the Handwriting
of Children Between the Ages of 5 and 7 Years
Di Hughes
This study looked at the development
of handwriting of a group of children identified as being able to read
fluently prior to school entry and a matched group of children who were
not reading fluently before entering school. Data is presented in terms
of change over time in pencil grip, speed of writing, use of cursive script
and aspects of legibility.
The Grip Characteristics of Pre-schoolers
Stephanie Thomas
Handwriting manuals typically describe
the classic dynamic tripod as the correct hold and that the writing tool
should be gripped about 2 to 3 centimetres from the point. The author found
in a previous study that 85% of 7 to 9 year olds gripped the pencil
too near the point, whilst she found that near point gripping in adults
aged 35 and over was rare. Her study shows that near point gripping is
increasingly prevalent by the age of 5, and she suggests the physical attributes
of the pencil may encourage this gripping along with the good control that
near point gripping can offer in the early stages of writing and drawing.
The author suggest that near point gripping become habitual long before
the child is involved in written tasks which require good visual feedback
for learning.
Jane Taylor is a Handwriting Consultant, in this article
she discuss the problems that many 5 and 6 year olds have in forming
the letter
e
correctly. She goes on to distinguish between the diagonal
e and the curly e formations and recommends that both forms
of e are taught to aid fluency.
A Comparison of Two Programmes
for Helping Spelling Development in a Classroom
Barbara Keen
The author compares the Hand for
Spelling materials Cripps, 1995, and the Phonological Awareness Training
materials Wilson, 1993. used with a group of Year 3 children, finding both
programmes effective in improving spelling, and suggesting that a combination
of both would be most appropriate.
Dealing with Adult Handwriting
Problems
Rosemary Sassoon
Rosemary Sassoon suggests that several generations of
students have not been adequately taught at school, and may have
been left with immature print and letters formed with inappropriate movements
making their writing inefficient, difficult to speed up and leaving them
susceptible to writers' cramp. She suggests that for adults with the motivation
to improve their writing, careful questioning of where the problem started
is essential to ensure appropriate advice. Whilst some adults may have
been poorly taught, others may have had excellent writing until speed became
an issue, and they could not lower their perception of the act of writing
to make it the flexible tool needed for later life. She suggest that conventional
attitudes often get in the way of alleviating complex problems, such as
the idea that there is a right or wrong way to hold a pen, and that
all letters must be joined.
Improving
Handwriting: Remedial Therapy for Adults by Correspondence
Keith H Seddon
Keith Seddon gives an account of his experiences during
the Centigon handwriting course by correspondence. He gives a review of
his handwriting education and the reasons why he wanted to change his fast
but erratic and irregular script.
The Cinderella Skill
Suzanne Tiburtius
Suzanne Tiburtis suggests that the deterioration in the
handwriting of pupils in school, and presumably in the population at large,
within the last 40 odd years has been dramatic. She also states that many
children do not write at all but retain their infant printed script into
adult life. Whilst she feels that the tide is turning against poor teaching
of handwriting she feels that it is essential for schools to have their
own handwriting policies. These policies should not just be a publishers schemes
brought in an applied willy nilly, but decided by all the staff with help
from knowledgeable colleagues or outside specialists. An effective policy
is one that in a primary environment, encourages plenty of provision for
prewriting activities, and leads to a legible joined handwriting for all
children's' work as soon as they are able. With this kind of encouragement,
Secondary schools would be able to expect almost all of their pupils to
arrive at the school with the ability to produce legible, joined writing
at a reasonable speed. Pupils not so taught will arrive in Secondary school
at a considerable disadvantage.
Touch Typing with 7 Year olds
Gwen Dornan
Gwen Dornan discusses the Micro Type, the Fairley House
Keyboarding program, a year after a group of 7 year olds were taught
keyboarding skills with the help of the program.
Handwriting tips for teachers
Suzanne Tiburtius
Suzanne Tiburtius gives tips on improving; incorrect
formation, poorly defined ascenders, too large and too small writing, ascenders
not parallel, poor letter alignment in relation to the base line, lack
of fluency and too fast or too slow writing.
Book
reviews
Note from Jean Alston
Obituary
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