Whereas the rest of this site has been focused on giving pupils the necessary tools to both read and write, there is an art in teaching handwriting too. Some encourage the joining of letters from the beginning, others teach joining later, once a 'hand' has been established. I always prefer the latter approach as it always produces neater handwriting from a younger age, helping the children to take pride in their work. The key is not to leave it too late before introducing joining so that it becomes automatic as soon as possible, for most children no later than Year 2. Either way, these tips will still help.
Establish handedness
Don't assume that your child is right-handed. Although being right-handed is often seen as preferable, forcing a child who is left handed to write with the right hand can cause many problems, not least it may cause them to stutter later on.
Look to see which hand they naturally use to pick up objects. Pass them a ball and see which hand they extend to take it.
Some children will remain undecided for some years. These are often the children who have difficulty learning to read and spell without a systematic programme.
Look to see which hand they naturally use to pick up objects. Pass them a ball and see which hand they extend to take it.
Some children will remain undecided for some years. These are often the children who have difficulty learning to read and spell without a systematic programme.
Establish pencil hold
Very few people actually hold a pencil correctly but it is worth persevering to ensure a correct hold as it is the most comfortable and easy position to write in ensuring the correct pressure on the writing tool, neither too hard or too soft, and the best position for maintaining writing speed, especially during exams, without getting hand cramp. Wrong positions abound. Can you spot the errors in these pictures?
Here the
index finger is too far over, forcing the thumb sideways into a cramped position. |
I call this death by thumb grip. The
thumb is gripping round the pencil. |
Here the thumb and index finger are
more or less correct, but the pencil is sitting too high up the middle finger for good support. |
The correct position. Called the 'tripod' position as the
three fingers are centred around the tip of the pencil, the middle finger providing a 'chair' for the pencil and the thumb and index finger merely holding it in place. Note that the thumb and index finger do not touch each other. |
There are many devices available to help young children to position their fingers correctly, but from my experience, you still need to supervise as even with them, the position can slip into a less favourable one.
Teach correct letter formation from the beginning.
This is hard work, but foundational to success. From the minute you teach a child to write it's name, they must form the letters correctly. Bad habits started at this stage are very hard to undo.
First check that you are forming your letters correctly, so that you provide the right role model.
How to form letters correctly
Right from the start introduce a line for the letters to sit on. This is important as it establishes the relation of one letter to another so that letters can be written in proportion to each other. It also helps their work to look neat and tidy and avoid line confusion, which is common when children start to write without lines to write on.
As you teach each letter, talk them through it's direction.
E.g. 'See it starts at the top, comes down to the line and up and over (h).
Or: We start at the side and go round to touch the line at the bottom and back to close the circle and down to the line for the stick. (a)
Tell them that all letters start at the top, never at the bottom.
I use one line for young children, but age 5/6 onwards I do some formal work in a proper handwriting book with 4 lines to help them 'see' and 'feel' how letters are proportioned.
Having taught the correct formation, letter by letter, then be vigilant to make sure that the child is doing them properly. Watch over them as they write, as it is possible for a letter to have been drawn incorrectly, but still look right. Watch and keep watching, even until they are 7 or 8. Occasionally look over a piece of writing to see if they do look right. Pick up on any that slip and re-teach, stressing how important it is to get them right, for ease of writing and so that it looks good. I am a great believer in neat handwriting.
Use paper and pens for pre-schoolers as pens make a good solid mark on the page, whereas achieving the right firmness with a pencil is hard for young children.
First check that you are forming your letters correctly, so that you provide the right role model.
How to form letters correctly
Right from the start introduce a line for the letters to sit on. This is important as it establishes the relation of one letter to another so that letters can be written in proportion to each other. It also helps their work to look neat and tidy and avoid line confusion, which is common when children start to write without lines to write on.
As you teach each letter, talk them through it's direction.
E.g. 'See it starts at the top, comes down to the line and up and over (h).
Or: We start at the side and go round to touch the line at the bottom and back to close the circle and down to the line for the stick. (a)
Tell them that all letters start at the top, never at the bottom.
I use one line for young children, but age 5/6 onwards I do some formal work in a proper handwriting book with 4 lines to help them 'see' and 'feel' how letters are proportioned.
Having taught the correct formation, letter by letter, then be vigilant to make sure that the child is doing them properly. Watch over them as they write, as it is possible for a letter to have been drawn incorrectly, but still look right. Watch and keep watching, even until they are 7 or 8. Occasionally look over a piece of writing to see if they do look right. Pick up on any that slip and re-teach, stressing how important it is to get them right, for ease of writing and so that it looks good. I am a great believer in neat handwriting.
Use paper and pens for pre-schoolers as pens make a good solid mark on the page, whereas achieving the right firmness with a pencil is hard for young children.
Stages in learning to write
Obviously, holding the pencil and forming letters correctly must come first and this will need much practice, so make it enjoyable and always keep the sessions short. Ideally you would teach the formation of each letter with the sound it stands for. This is the basis of spelling. Without the ability to spell, all the letter formation in the world is of no use.
Very young children may want to try and 'pretend' write and this should be encouraged. Children may continue to 'pretend' write once they obtain some writing skills, with a desire to practice their new skills and having the effect of making them feel like writers. Again, this is good. Sadly, for some children, this 'pretend' writing is left to 'emerge' into proper writing, with minimal guidance from an adult. With this I disagree. There must be formal times of teaching, of letter formation, spelling and subsequently, grammar, form and style. The two approaches need to be kept in balance, but with the aim of the formal teaching underpinning the 'pretend' writing, until the child's skills are such that the two merge together.
Once a child can form many letters correctly, and can write their name in the correct case (capital to start each name and the other letters in lower case), then my approach is to have the child give me a short sentence, maybe to write under a picture. I then write on the top line, with capital letters in the correct places and proper punctuation, and then ask them to copy under my writing. This gives them a standard and a model to work to. With regular practice it also introduces them to common words like 'the' and 'here' which some will easily pick up and learn to spell for themselves. It teaches them to leave spaces between words - but you may need to encourage them to use a finger to leave a space between their words as they copy.
It models good punctuation. Look at how they have copied. Are the letters correctly formed. Are they sitting in the right place relative to the line? Give feedback to the child and pick out just 2 or 3 letters for them to practice, or one word to write again, giving guidance as to how they can improve their work.
Only once they are blending 3 or four sounds together and writing dictation sentences should they be asked to write for themselves and that only for the reading/spelling lesson, where the words they need will only be ones they have the knowledge to be able to spell.
Lots of 'copy work' is great at this stage too. Find good quality books for your child to begin copying, starting with a short sentence a day. Read it to them if it is beyond their reading ability, or let them read the words they can read. You will be surprised how delighted they will be to find words they can read. 'Oh look, it says ....!' they will be thrilled with their page of REAL writing. Children know when they are not writing properly. We are naturally delighted with their attempts when they are 3/4 years old, but if they are still writing in play writing aged 7/8 (unless special needs) then you will have a frustrated child on your hands who if they haven't already, will soon give up on writing and declare they can't do it!
Once they have sufficient spelling skillls then they can be asked to write more and more by themselves, but never overwhelm them. If you feel your child is retracting into thinking they can't write, back off and let them copy again until their confidence returns.
Very young children may want to try and 'pretend' write and this should be encouraged. Children may continue to 'pretend' write once they obtain some writing skills, with a desire to practice their new skills and having the effect of making them feel like writers. Again, this is good. Sadly, for some children, this 'pretend' writing is left to 'emerge' into proper writing, with minimal guidance from an adult. With this I disagree. There must be formal times of teaching, of letter formation, spelling and subsequently, grammar, form and style. The two approaches need to be kept in balance, but with the aim of the formal teaching underpinning the 'pretend' writing, until the child's skills are such that the two merge together.
Once a child can form many letters correctly, and can write their name in the correct case (capital to start each name and the other letters in lower case), then my approach is to have the child give me a short sentence, maybe to write under a picture. I then write on the top line, with capital letters in the correct places and proper punctuation, and then ask them to copy under my writing. This gives them a standard and a model to work to. With regular practice it also introduces them to common words like 'the' and 'here' which some will easily pick up and learn to spell for themselves. It teaches them to leave spaces between words - but you may need to encourage them to use a finger to leave a space between their words as they copy.
It models good punctuation. Look at how they have copied. Are the letters correctly formed. Are they sitting in the right place relative to the line? Give feedback to the child and pick out just 2 or 3 letters for them to practice, or one word to write again, giving guidance as to how they can improve their work.
Only once they are blending 3 or four sounds together and writing dictation sentences should they be asked to write for themselves and that only for the reading/spelling lesson, where the words they need will only be ones they have the knowledge to be able to spell.
Lots of 'copy work' is great at this stage too. Find good quality books for your child to begin copying, starting with a short sentence a day. Read it to them if it is beyond their reading ability, or let them read the words they can read. You will be surprised how delighted they will be to find words they can read. 'Oh look, it says ....!' they will be thrilled with their page of REAL writing. Children know when they are not writing properly. We are naturally delighted with their attempts when they are 3/4 years old, but if they are still writing in play writing aged 7/8 (unless special needs) then you will have a frustrated child on your hands who if they haven't already, will soon give up on writing and declare they can't do it!
Once they have sufficient spelling skillls then they can be asked to write more and more by themselves, but never overwhelm them. If you feel your child is retracting into thinking they can't write, back off and let them copy again until their confidence returns.
