Although copying and name writing skills are regarded as the indicators of handwriting development in alphabetic writing systems, there is limited information on logographs such as Chinese. Chinese characters are not only simply a combination of strokes as letters in English, but also place a great demand on visuospatial ability to maintain good…

Ways to encourage students to develop clear, legible styles.'' (Editor)

A new method of continuous stroke manuscript print called D'Nealian Manuscript is challenging the traditional circle-stick method of teaching children how to write. The circle-stick uses component or splinter parts to form whole letters. Children are forced to form all writing with verticle lines and to learn a manuscript print that goes nowhere.…

Research in the area of handwriting legibility has been hampered in the past because of a lack of objective procedures for evaluating letter formations. This study used a recently developed evaluative instrument to answer questions concerning the legibility of the handwriting of 22 first-grade students. Two baseline conditions and four…

Pupils using a moving model of letter formation in the form of a flipbook demonstrate higher skill improvement than do students using a still model. (CJ)

A random sample of primary grade teachers from across the United States was surveyed about their instructional practices in handwriting. Nine out of every ten teachers indicated that they taught handwriting, averaging 70 minutes of instruction per week. Only 12% of teachers, however, indicated that the education courses taken in college adequately…

Second article in a series by the author; see also "Elementary English," vol. 46, no. 7 (November 1969), pp. 886-94. (RD)

Handwriting currently has a low status and profile in literacy education. This paper examines the situation of current handwriting pedagogy in England and considers why handwriting efficiency has been neglected. The paper goes on to identify a number of studies located in the domains of special needs and psychology which re-evaluate the role of…

Third and final article in a series by the author; see also "Elementary English, vol. 46, no. 7 (November 1969), 886-94 and vol. 46, no. 8 (December 1969), 1021-30. (RD)

The article discusses ways to help learning disabled and other young children learn to write numerals through the use of fading, development of prewriting skills, analysis of numeral form, and avoidance of reversals. The issue of dominance is briefly discussed. Sixteen learning activities prior to using worksheets are listed. (DB)

Academic positive practice was used to correct errors of cursive letter writing in three third graders. Following each writing error, students correctly formed each incorrect letter 20 times. Students demonstrated improvement over baseline levels of performance. (Author/DB)

The STAR (Stop, Think, Ask, Recite) strategy was developed to help a kindergarten student write numerals. The child was encouraged to recite a "saying" while he formed each numeral. For example, to make a "5," the child would say "the man went down the street, around the corner, and his hat blew off." (JDD)

Direct instruction and practice, visual prompts, self-instruction procedures, evaluative reinforcement, and charting were used to remediate the handwriting deficiencies of a gifted, left-handed first grader. (CL)

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)

In a new compact and easy-to-use edition, this book presents a program that provides students with a developmentally appropriate framework in which students become proficient spellers and at the same time develop as readers and writers. The book includes the original spelling instruction program; spelling dictation lists for grades 1 to 3; an…