{"id":588,"date":"2018-07-17T16:25:47","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T16:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/?p=588"},"modified":"2024-04-21T15:29:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T15:29:29","slug":"teaching-cursive-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2018\/07\/17\/teaching-cursive-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Cursive Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Some may think of cursive as an archaic form of writing \u2013 one best left to history.\u00a0 Personally, I think it’s a valuable skill and well worth teaching in my ESL classes as part of<\/em> the English language.\u00a0 Importantly, Japanese students will learn cursive writing in their junior high school classes where penmanship still holds a revered position in the culture.\u00a0 Just like CVC words<\/a>, sight words<\/a>, or stacked adjectives<\/a>, I\u00a0 teach cursive writing from a young age in the hope that it will give them a head start in their future English classes.<\/p>\n

I start teaching my students cursive writing from third grade; the same age I learned when I was in elementary school.\u00a0Early on in my teaching, I discovered that my students’ concentration and efforts at writing cursive were, across the board, excellent!\u00a0 Having to gently interrupt students’ quiet concentration so that we could move forward in the lesson is nothing short of teacher heaven!\u00a0 Consequently, I love teaching cursive writing!<\/p>\n

Understand your cursive ABCs!<\/h3>\n

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Because I teach the skill, I had to shore up my understanding of why the cursive letters are written the way they are so that I could make the claim of authority in front of my kids!\u00a0 For example, where is the S<\/em> in the upper and lower-case cursive S’s<\/em>?\u00a0 Why does a capital Q<\/em> look like a 2<\/em>?\u00a0 (In our modern social media, 2ueen is accepted parlance!)<\/p>\n

Remember, the essence of cursive is speed and connectivity.<\/p>\n

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Here’s a simple illustration of the evolution of the letter ‘G’ into the cursive letter we know today:<\/p>\n

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What about writing styles?\u00a0 How have they changed over the years?\u00a0 Predictably, there have been many methods in the past two centuries.\u00a0 First, there was the de facto<\/em> Spencerian Method, developed for “business and elegant personal letter writing.” In the late 19th century,\u00a0 the more modern Palmer Method made the claim that it was exceptionally masculine, industrial, would strengthen character, and reform delinquents.\u00a0 This was replaced by the Zaner-Bloser Method in the 1950s, founded by Master Penmen Charles Zaner and Elmer Bloser, leaders in the penmanship industry.\u00a0 Finally, the contemporary D’Nealian Method was introduced in 1978.\u00a0 It is a derivative of the Palmer Method and was designed by a primary school teacher to ease the transition between traditional and cursive scripts.\u00a0 Whatever method you prefer, my recommendation is to teach what you know, use worksheets if possible, and be consistent.<\/p>\n

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FYI – ‘cursive’ is from Medieval Latin which means running<\/em> and was the preferred method to accommodate the limitations of quill pens, which were fragile, easily broken, and would splatter if not properly used.\u00a0 The various reforms in writing methods up through the 20th century had the main intent of competing with the speed of the typewriter.<\/p>\n

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As we begin the lessons, I teach kids that their signature and writing are totally unique, a reflection of their personalities and that the police even use handwriting to identify criminals! I ask students if they could recognize whether a note was written by their mother or their father, or whose handwriting is better.\u00a0 (Sorry, Dads, your kids are throwing you under the bus!)\u00a0 Also, cursive writing gives them the opportunity to be expressive!\u00a0 I emphasize this with examples of calligraphy in signage, art, history, social invitations, and legal documents.\u00a0 I also explain that being 3rd graders, it’s time they joined the big kids club and learn to read and write in cursive.\u00a0 Finally, this gives me one last chance to go through every letter one more time.<\/p>\n

Tips for Teaching<\/h3>\n

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Here are a few tips when you set out to teach cursive writing.<\/p>\n

Always begin with a warm-up!\u00a0 Believe it or not, writing in cursive employs a different set of muscles than regular script (remember how tired your hand used to get?)\u00a0 Practice writing tall and short loops, consecutive u’s<\/em>, or the up and down of multiple t’s<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0 Explain how each lower case letter is written with the intent to connect smoothly to the next letter.\u00a0 And don’t forget to show the kids the purpose of cursive which is to write faster and with as few pen-lifts as possible.\u00a0 Show them how the loops facilitate the connections between the letters and that dotting i’s<\/em> and crossing t’s<\/em> should occur at the end<\/em> of each word.<\/p>\n

Write all the students’ names on the board and see if they can identify their own name.\u00a0 Importantly, ask them how<\/em> they knew their name – what letters are similar and what letters are different.\u00a0 Make sure that learning to write their name is part of the first lessons. Believe me, they’ll practice.<\/p>\n

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With a set of cursive flashcards<\/a>, you can drill, sort, and play all the usual games you played when the kids were younger and learning their ABCs.\u00a0 Putting a cursive writing chart<\/a> in their notebooks is invaluable for reference.\u00a0 If you need a refresh on flashcard activities, check out my 50+ Flash Card Activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finally, have patience – especially if students are writing from memory.\u00a0 It takes a LOT of concentration and practice to come up to speed.\u00a0 My own approach to teaching the topic has improved through the years as I experimented with different explanations and demonstration methods.\u00a0 Anyone who teaches kids knows there’s always room for improvement and your approach will evolve.<\/p>\n

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\u201c…the beauty and nobility, the august mission and destiny, of human handwriting.\u201d – George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Cursive<\/a><\/p>\n

Be sure to check out Cursive Writing!<\/em> by Kinney Brothers Publishing.\u00a0 This textbook is available on Amazon<\/a> and Donald’s English Classroom<\/a> as a full pdf download.\u00a0 It will give your kids repetitive practice with all the upper and lower case letters, warm-up lessons, writing practice, charts, puzzles, and games! Check out the pdf preview<\/a> here or the video below.<\/p>\n