Traces some historical developments in handwriting, noting the effects of different types of pens on handwriting. Reports findings from a study of the late Roman cursive, conducted as part of a project to develop a new model alphabet for school children. (GT)

Concentrates on a few fundamental aspects of Renaissance handwriting that are well documented and that are relevant to handwriting today. (GT)

Argues the advantages of italic cursive as the handwriting to be taught in the schools. (IRT)

A study of the accuracy of letter strokes made on wide- and normal-spaced paper by students during the transition to cursive writing confirms the advantages of wide-spaced paper. Both second- and third-grade students made more accurate strokes on wide-spaced paper. (Authors/PP)

Argues that language arts teachers need to guide pupils in developing good handwriting so that they may communicate content to others. Offers six principles of teaching and learning good handwriting. (FL)

The article discusses the teaching of cursive writing to learning disabled and other handicapped children at an early age in conjunction with, and as an aid to, reading and spelling. A structured, logical, and sequential method of teaching cursive writing is presented, along with reinforcement and review procedures. (DLS)

Close relationships between visuo-motor ability, copying, tracing, tracking, and writing performances were hypothesized as were the main effects of the experimental program with concern to the educational, psycho-motor skills in question. In general, predictions were confirmed by data in this study of 36 third graders. (Author/SJL)

Responds to Karl Koenke's article on handwriting in the November 1986 issue of "The Reading Teacher" and offers an alternative opinion on handwriting instruction based on instruction methods in the United Kingdom. (JC)

A newly developed manuscript alphabet was compared with a traditional one to observe their effects on the teaching of cursive handwriting. Results showed no significant differences between the two types in teaching the production of cursive letters when presented to first graders. (Author/DF)

Cursive signatures were taught to five totally blind students (12 to 27 years old) through a task analytic approach and utilizing tutors not trained in the area of the visually impaired. (Author)

Printing and writing skills and their interaction were studied to discover if teachers should not teach cursive writing to students with poor printing skills. Writing samples were analyzed using a diagnostic inventory that focused on major elements of form and neatness. Results are discussed. (Author/DF)

Describes an objective, reliable method for functionally measuring cursive handwriting. Researchers assessed the sensitivity of a functional response-class definition to differentiate easy-to-read from difficult-to-read cursive handwriting. Results showed no overlap between the categories. There was small sample-to-sample variability with the…

Average and poor writers were given taped handwriting lessons in one of four combinations of instructional methods: relaxation-suggestion, traditional instruction (Noble's handwriting series), a combination of the two, and relaxation only. The average and poor writers responded differently to the four methods. (SJL)

Reviews literature comparing traditional manuscript alphabets to slanted manuscript alphabets and finds insufficient evidence to support requiring kindergarten, first-, and second-grade children to learn the slanted manuscript alphabet. Notes that since many children enter school knowing how to form their letters in the traditional style, learning…

Outlines the research on handwriting instruction, explaining the importance of handwriting instruction, the controversy over manuscript and cursive writing, and the uniqueness of left-handers. Discusses ways to make handwriting instruction more interesting. (SRT)