The study evaluated use of a card displaying seven self-instructional questions designed to prompt students to think about their handwriting. Use of the card with two learning disabled elementary school males resulted in improved handwriting which persisted over time even after the card was no longer available. (DB)

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)

Traces the development of each of four major handwriting styles currently being taught in the United States (cursive, manuscript, italic, and D'Nealian), describes a method for evaluating the difficulty of forming letters, and concludes that italic letterforms are least difficult to form and most advantageous to teach elementary students. (PGD)

Presents arguments against teaching students cursive writing in schools, including the fact that it is more difficult to read than manuscript and more subject to variations of style that interfere with the message. (DF)

A comparative follow-up study was conducted to assess long-term benefits of full-day (versus half-day) kindergarten programs as children entered third or fourth grade. Results showed higher marks, lower rate of retention in a grade, and higher standardized test scores among those in full-day programs, but worse handwriting. (TE)

This book, a history of handwriting in America ranging from colonial times to the present, explores the shifting functions and meanings of handwriting in this country. Script emerged in the 18th century as a medium intimately associated with the self, in contrast to the impersonality of print. Just what kind of self would be defined or revealed in…

Handwriting is an integral part of every child's school experience. In order to provide the best program to children both with and without handwriting problems, elementary educators need to understand the factors underlying the skill of handwriting. This study investigated the relationship between the cognitive understanding of locatives (e.g.,…

Handwriting performance was measured over baseline, direct contingent reward, and implicit reward conditions for elementary-grade children from normal classes. Extinctive reactions present under implicit reward conditions were significantly stronger for groups of eight than for paired subjects. Age-level factors were not significantly related to…

The instructional utility of employing modeling strategies to promote skill acquisition of exceptional learners in the content areas of arithmetic, spelling, reading, expressive language, and handwriting is presented vis-a-vis descriptions of several basic modeling strategies and teaching procedures in which models are integral components. (Author)

The developing directional preferences in writing and drawing that were observed in subjects between four years of age and adulthood suggest that two semiindependent motor systems are involved in writing: one for rapid and nonfigurative tasks, the other--which occurs later--for precision and symbolic functions. (Author/GT)

The S was taught to self-monitor his on- and off-task behavior by using an audiotape recorder to cue his self-recording. Using a combination of multiple baseline across responses and reversal designs, on-task behavior increased dramatically under treatment conditions for both handwriting and math. (Author/DLS)

This article suggests that the receptive language abilities of children with AIDS and HIV infection might be less affected than their expressive and non-verbal skills. It proposes an instructional delivery framework for children with HIV/AIDS that focuses on reading, arithmetic/mathematics, handwriting instruction, and the use of computers.…

The effects on essay scores of intermingling handwritten and word-processed student essays were studied with 32 students who produced handwritten and word-processed essays. Essays were converted to the other format and rescored. Results reveal higher average scores for handwritten essays. Implications for scoring are considered. (SLD)

A 2-year study examined writing skills development of 11- and 12-year olds with unlimited access to word processors. Samples of the 22 subjects' narrative writing were compared with samples from a parallel class that used hand writing methods. Results indicated that the children using word processors produced better quality writing than the…

Annual evaluation for 5 years of the handwriting of 121 Dutch primary school children revealed that children with dysgraphic handwriting had lower fine motor ability, exhibited poorer structural performance, and, in higher grades, showed less preference for a personal style, than did other writers. Children with and without dysgraphic handwriting…