How to Teach Handwriting – Some Myths And Facts
Competent handwriting is a crucial skill for effective, creative communication, insists Angela Webb – so let’s make sure we teach it properly
- by Angela Webb
“Is handwriting a dying art?” This question has frequently been asked in recent years by the media who expect a clear answer: “Yes”.
And in truth, we adults do use handwriting much less often than we did even 10 years ago, because we have such a wealth of technological alternatives at our fingertips; I haven’t written by hand myself for days, despite chairing a charity whose core aim is to promote this fundamental skill.
So what is the honest answer? The first point to make is that handwriting is most certainly not on its way out, far from it. Ten years ago individual teachers were free to decide whether or not to teach handwriting, and many chose not to, preferring instead to concentrate their efforts on reading.
Though they often felt uneasy about this, they struggled to justify the time and commitment required to teach handwriting well.
As it has turned out, their misgivings were well founded. Since the early 2000s educational researchers have sought evidence to support the continuing teaching of handwriting, assuming keyboarding skills would emerge as the logical replacement for the classroom.
Interestingly, the results of these studies have astounded even the most dedicated hand-writers by the strength and consistency of their findings.
Benefits across the board
What has emerged is that handwriting confers benefits to the developing child, not matched by any alternative transcription mode. This is evident not only in terms of presentation of schoolwork but more importantly in how it impacts on the broader writing skills.
It is demonstrated mostly clearly in the quality of the written content, in better-structured and more sophisticated composition.
In short, the physical connectivity of the pen or pencil on the page enhances cognitive development and learning in a number of different but crucial ways. For example, handwriting has been found to stimulate creative thought, especially in narrative writing.
Second, it results in compositions that have greater depth and are more interestingly expressed.
Furthermore, it supports fact-retention, not only in the field of literacy, but also in maths and science. Finally, it leads to a much greater depth of processing across all disciplines, suggesting that learning is enhanced when a pen or pencil is employed.
Artistic writing, or calligraphy, has a special place in the history of different cultures and also in aesthetics. However, the handwriting used in schools, which researchers have studied and which we at the NHA promote, has a clear functional role.
It is a tool for writing, and one that is as critical to the wider process of producing written text as a spade is to digging a hole.
Required standards
Given the strength and consistency of these findings it is not surprising that government policy on what is taught in schools has recently been revised.
Since 2014 the position in the National Curriculum in the UK is that handwriting must be taught throughout the primary school, with an emphasis on correct letter formation and joins in Key Stage 1, on fluency and increase in speed in lower Key Stage 2, and on flexibility of writing styles and the development of automaticity in upper Key Stage 2.
The goal of the revised policy is that all pupils should be able to produce legible, fluent and fast handwriting with the minimum of conscious effort by the time they transfer to secondary school.
Indeed, so committed is the DfE to the renewal of efforts to teach all children to handwrite, that in recent years in order for children to ‘exceed the standard’ of writing at the end of Key Stage 2, they must demonstrate good handwriting in their written work.
However competent a piece is in content, the higher level cannot be awarded unless handwriting competence is also demonstrated.
How can this be achieved when former SATS have shown that roughly a third of boys and a fifth of girls cannot write well enough by the time they leave primary school to access the secondary curriculum?
Well, here is some guidance, based on research findings and from NHA experience in schools over the last 12 years:
Some facts:
It must be taught Handwriting is a skill that must be taught. It is a highly sophisticated system of symbolic representation which cannot be ‘picked up’ like jumping or kicking a ball.
There is a right way There are correct movements for forming letters and joins. These are the most efficient and ergonomic ways to perform the letters and they enable the writing to retain its integrity when speed is increased.
It bears repeating Handwriting requires practice. Although not purely a motor skill, like other skills with a motoric component, repetition helps to establish it and make it permanent.
Consistency is key Consistency between classes is essential. Children will respond best if they do not have to ‘unlearn’ aspects of how they write.
Policies lead to success Schools which develop a handwriting policy to which all members of staff adhere are the most successful in raising standards.
And some myths:
Cursive is best Continuous cursive handwriting does not confer greater benefits than other forms of handwriting. It is sometimes thought, that if children write cursively they will learn quicker, write faster, spell better, etc. There is no evidence to support these claims.
Entry strokes are helpful Teaching continuous cursive letterforms with baseline entry strokes does not make learning simpler. The complexity created by teaching letterforms with entry strokes leads to confusion with learning and reproducing those forms.
Cursive should come first Teaching continuous cursive from Reception will not help. Where individual letterforms are secured first with joining strokes taught later, benefits are found for handwriting and also early sound-symbol correspondence for reading.
Support for success
The National Handwriting Association is a charity whose aims are:
- To raise awareness of handwriting asa vital component of literacy
- To promote good practice in the teaching of handwriting
- To support those who work with children who have handwriting difficulties
For those wanting guidance or support for teaching handwriting in their schools, the NHA can offer materials and INSET. Visit the website at nha-handwriting.org.uk
Dr Angela Webb B ed (Hons) MA Phd Dr Angela Webb chairs the National Handwriting Association.
