How do primary grade teachers teach handwriting? A national survey

Graham, Steve; Harris, Karen R.; Mason, Linda; Fink-Chorzempa, Barbara; Moran, Susan; Saddler, Bruce

doi:10.1007/s11145-007-9064-z

Cited by 147 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…We also learned that the D"Nealian students struggled more with all four features, but especially with adding extra strokes, forming letters with missing strokes, and distorting the letters. Teachers who taught using traditional ball-and-stick or D"Nealian reported most of their students" errors resulted from letter formation (57%), reversals (52%) and overall neatness (76%) (Graham, et al, 2008). In contrast, the results of this study show Sunform students have significantly reduced errors.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 79%

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The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on Kindergartners’ Letter Formations

Shaw

2011

Early Childhood Educ J

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Abstract:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D'Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners' letter formations. Forty-one participants received D'Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end of school year asked kindergarten students to write the letters of the alphabet from memory. The letter formations were scored on a 4-point rubric for directionality and integration. The results showed the Sunform group had significantly higher scores on all but three letters of the alphabet. The D'Nealian students had considerably lower scores on missing or extra strokes, distortions and open letters. The findings of this study support the value of using an integrated, meaningful curriculum which appeals to young children and promotes a strong motor plan by requiring students to cross the midline to form counter-clockwise circles and diagonal lines. Implications for future research are included.Massengill . The effect of two handwriting approaches, D'Nealian and Sunform on kindergartners' letter formations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(2), 125-132. Publisher's Official Version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0444-2. Open Access version: http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/ KINDERGARTEN HANDWRITING 2 In recent years, handwriting instruction in elementary schools has been neglected due to numerous causes such as the use of technology, lack of time, inadequate teacher knowledge, and emphasis on standardized testing (Bennett, 2009;DuPree, 2009;Pressler, 2006;Suddath, 2009).So does handwriting instruction really matter? Is there value in teaching penmanship? Research states handwriting instruction is important for academic purposes (Graham, Berninger, Abbott, Abbott, & Whitaker, 1997). It should be taught through a structured process that allows students to develop automaticity much like reading fluency (Graham, et al., 1997) because the ease and speed of writing impact a person"s academic career and life. Sheffield (1996) stated teaching handwriting is a critical skill for three reasons: it allows access to kinesthetic memory, spontaneous handwriting allows students to concentrate on higher-level thinking and expression, and the world judges people based on their handwriting. Handwriting is too important to be left for chance learning; every child deserves the benefits of legible handwriting (Zaner-Bloser, 2004).This article attempts to contribute to the research base by comparing D"Nealian handwriting with a new method known as Sunform taught to kindergartners in rural Mid-western school districts. D"Nealian is a handwriting system that minimizes formational differences between manuscript and cursive; letters are slightly oval and slanted with ending strokes. D"Nealian letters are abstract and may challenge students to remember distinct motor plans, which results in open, distorted and illegible letters. D"Nealian handwriting is taught separately f...

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 79%

“…Common errors are letter formations (57%), reversals (52%) and overall neatness (76%) (Graham, Harris, Mason, Fink-Chorzempa, Moran & Saddler, 2008). "Often children avoid…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on Kindergartners’ Letter Formations

Shaw

2011

Early Childhood Educ J

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“…Plus précisément, des études ont déjà relevé que les pratiques enseignantes à l'égard de l'écriture étaient souvent peu propices au développement optimal du geste graphomoteur chez les jeunes élèves, notamment sur la base de connaissances professionnelles limitées (Graham, Harris, Mason, Fink-Chorzempa, Moran et Saddler, 2008;Vander Hart, Fitzpatrick et Cortesa, 2010).…”

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Quelle place est accordée à la composante graphomotrice de l’écriture dans les classes au début du primaire? Enquête auprès d’enseignants québécois

Labrecque

Morin

Montésinos‐Gelet

2014

ncre

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Cette enquête traite d’une habileté de base, qui, comme tendent à le démontrer plusieurs recherches, serait nécessaire au développement de la compétence à écrire, mais qui reste pourtant négligée dans le curriculum scolaire actuel, soit l’aspect graphomoteur de l’écriture. Cent quatre-vingt-deux enseignants québécois du 1er cycle du primaire ont répondu à un questionnaire qui a permis de décrire, d’une part, leurs connaissances déclarées au regard de l’enseignement-apprentissage de la composante graphomotrice de l’écriture et, d’autre part, leurs pratiques déclarées en classe relatives à cette composante. L’analyse des résultats a fait ressortir que les connaissances des enseignants ne semblent pas s’appuyer sur une instruction formelle ou sur les connaissances scientifiques actuelles et que leurs pratiques sont assez diversifiées.This study deals with a basic skill which, as a great deal of research shows, appears to be necessary for developing the competency of writing and yet remains neglected in the current school curriculum, namely the graphomotor aspect of writing. One hundred eighty-two first cycle primary teachers in Quebec answered a questionnaire aimed at describing, on one hand, their declared knowledge about teaching-learning the graphomotor component of writing; and, on the other, their declared in-class practices relating to this component. The analysis of results reveals that the teachers’ knowledge does not seem to be based on formal instruction or on current scientific knowledge, and that their practices are fairly diversified.Esta encuesta trata de una habilidad base, la cual, como tienden a demostrarlo varias investigaciones, sería necesaria al desarrollo de la competencia de la escritura, pero de la cual, sin embargo, el currículum escolar actual hace poco caso, es decir el aspecto grafomotor de la escritura. Ciento ochenta y dos docentes quebequenses del primer ciclo de la primaria contestaron a un cuestionario que permitió describir, por una parte, sus conocimientos declarados ante la enseñanza-aprendizaje del componente grafomotriz de la escritura y, por otra parte, las prácticas declaradas en clase relacionadas con este componente. El análisis de los resultados hace resaltar que los conocimientos de los docentes no parecen apoyarse en ninguna instrucción formal ni en los conocimientos científicos actuales, y que las prácticas son bastante diversificadas

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“…Although a child's pencil grasp pattern is commonly implicated in handwriting problems, this implication is not evidence based (Graham et al, 2008;Rigby & Schwellnus, 1999;Rosenblum, Dvorkin, & Weiss, 2006). Historically, the dynamic tripod (DT) pencil grip has been promoted as the optimal grasp pattern because it allows for the fine dexterous movements of the fingers to create letters (Elliott & Connolly, 1984).…”

Section: Pencil Grasp Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Writing Forces Associated With Four Pencil Grasp Patterns in Grade 4 Children

Schwellnus

Carnahan

Kushki

et al. 2013

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy

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OBJECTIVE. We investigated differences in handwriting kinetics, speed, and legibility among four pencil grasps after a 10-min copy task. METHOD. Seventy-four Grade 4 students completed a handwriting assessment before and after a copy task. Grip and axial forces were measured with an instrumented stylus and force-sensitive tablet. We used multiple linear regression to analyze the relationship between grasp pattern and grip and axial forces. RESULTS. We found no kinetic differences among grasps, whether considered individually or grouped by the number of fingers on the barrel. However, when grasps were grouped according to the thumb position, the adducted grasps exhibited higher mean grip and axial forces. CONCLUSION. Grip forces were generally similar across the different grasps. Kinetic differences resulting from thumb position seemed to have no bearing on speed and legibility. Interventions for handwriting difficulties should focus more on speed and letter formation than on grasp pattern.

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How do primary grade teachers teach handwriting? A national survey

Cited by 147 publications

References 21 publications

The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on Kindergartners’ Letter Formations

The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on Kindergartners’ Letter Formations

Quelle place est accordée à la composante graphomotrice de l’écriture dans les classes au début du primaire? Enquête auprès d’enseignants québécois

Writing Forces Associated With Four Pencil Grasp Patterns in Grade 4 Children

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