In our technological age, I hear of more and more schools turning to the use of technology to help children to express themselves without the difficulties of learning to write by hand. One school boasted that all of their classes now teach all of their primary aged children to write using tablets, following a substantial donation to the school. Hearing of things like this can leave some teachers confused. Is there any purpose remaining as to why we should teach handwriting, or is handwriting redundant? As I like to keep things simple, I will reply simply: yes, I believe there is great value in teaching children handwriting, even if you also teach them, later, to type. See articles such as these: https://hub.jhu.edu/2021/07/07/handwriting-more-effectively-teaches-reading-skills-brenda-rapp/ https://www.masterclass.com/articles/handwriting-vs-typing#4-benefits-of-writing-by-hand https://www.sciencealert.com/handwriting-is-better-than-typing-when-learning-to-read-study-finds The teaching of handwriting should support the teaching of phonicsFor me, as a phonics teacher, handwriting helps me to teach phonics more effectively. Learning to read and spell go hand in hand together. Both are best taught together, using a multi-sensory, phonic approach, where the child not only hears the sounds as they are spoken, but also feels them with the various parts of the mouth: lips, tongue, teeth, breath. Another important dimension is the use of the hand. As the letters are learned by sound and the hand learns to form the shape of those letters, the movement helps to print the sound/symbol relationship firmly in the child's mind, in a way that simply hearing sounds can never do. As the pupil progresses to forming words with the individual sounds, then the physical act of writing helps to reinforce the spelling of the words in a way that cannot be achieved through typing onto a screen or a keyboard. In our FREE reading and spelling programme, Reading Made Simple, we encourage the teaching of handwriting, right from the start.
Other benefits of teaching handwritingAnd there is more:
Which style of handwriting?The style of handwriting you teach your child/ren will be dictated in part by the school for which you teach or your child attends. It is best to have a simple style that promotes fluent writing once a child has been taught the basics and can join easily. It must also be easy to read. Loopy styles may look impressive but they take longer to write, as the loops mean a greater distance for the pencil to travel and can be harder for others to read. My style of choice is Getty-Dubay Italic. It is the style that is being taught to the child who wrote the sample above. It is pleasing to the eye, yet simple. I do not receive commission for this advert.
0 Comments
|
WelcomeHello, I'm Lilibette, qualified teacher (B.Ed Hons). I have taught phonics in mainstream education, followed by have home-educated my two sons to 18, and am now a private tutor. Categories
All
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This costs the purchaser nothing extra. In this way I can continue to provide free resources. Thank you for your support. |