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The Great Handwriting Debate - Cursive vs. Print

What are some considerations when deciding which style of handwriting to teach?

Sharp, Laurie & Brown, Tiffany (2015). Handwriting Instruction: An Analysis of Perspectives from Three Elementary Teachers. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, Volume 3 (Issue 1) https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1110830.pdf

  • "In order to teach cursive handwriting effectively, teachers must be skilled with cursive handwriting and have pedagogical understandings about handwriting instruction (Arslan & Ilgin, 2010)." pg. 31
  • "Therefore, in order for students to master any style of handwriting, teachers must provide an appropriate amount of instructional time, as well as time for students to practice handwriting skills." pg. 31

Van Cleave, William. Handwriting in a Modern World: Why It Matters & What To Do About It. Found online 2022, February 16.  https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/Literacy/Literacy-Academy/Literacy-Academy-On-Demand/VanCleave_Handwriting-in-the-Modern-World.pdf

  • Whatever decision is made, students require at least two years of instruction in a stroke before it is automatized, and manuscript and cursive should not be taught simultaneously (Berninger, Wolf, and Abbott, 2016).”

Coomes, Barbara G. (1997, April). A Descriptive Study on Natural Stroke Tendencies in Manuscript and Cursive Handwriting. University of Dayton, School of Education. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3111&context=graduate_theses

    • Recommendations are that: “Students should also be given a degree of freedom in handwriting with legibility as the major objective. The research also recommends more research in the area of handwriting in relationship to where the child is developmentally.” pg. 29

    What about starting with one style and then transitioning to another style when a child gets older?

    Coomes, Barbara G. (1997, April). A Descriptive Study on Natural Stroke Tendencies in Manuscript and Cursive Handwriting. University of Dayton, School of Education. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3111&context=graduate_theses

    • “It is known that learning two different forms of handwriting requires time, and the transition interferes with the development of students’ skills in written composition (Duvall, 1985). Findings by Roberts & Samuels (1993), “indicated that when students are learning new aspects of the handwriting task that their speed of writing decreases.” pg. 18

    Blazer, Christie (2010 March). Should Cursive Handwriting Still be Taught in Schools? Information Capsule, Vol. 0916. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544702.pdf

    • One could reverse the logic of the following quoted statement, given the scenario that a child starts with using cursive first and then transitions to a school where cursive is not used or not allowed by a teacher. “The transition from manuscript to cursive writing interferes with the development of students’ handwriting skills. Students typically learn print in kindergarten, with instruction in cursive handwriting beginning in the third grade. Studies suggest that the process of transitioning from print to cursive handwriting interferes with children’s ability to compose and diminishes the number of words they write and the number of ideas they generate (Wallace & Schomer, 1994).”

      What are some benefits to teaching cursive writing from the start?

      Semeraro, Cristina, Copolla, Gabrielle, Cassibba, Rosalinda, & Lucangeli, Daniela. (2019, Feb. 7). Teaching of Cursive Writing in the First Year of Primary School: Effect on Reading and Writing Skills. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209978

      • Cursive style, besides being predictive of better writing skills, seems easier to learn for young children in primary school.“

      • “Considering writing type, we can observe how students who learn every type simultaneously do not achieve results as good as those achieved by cursive-only students. This finding supports the idea that the development of writing abilities in primary school is better favored by the teaching of a single type of handwriting, namely cursive handwriting.“

      Are there any benefits to teaching manuscript instead of cursive?

      Blazer, Christie (2010 March). Should Cursive Handwriting Still be Taught in Schools? Information Capsule, Vol. 0916. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544702.pdf

      • "Steve Graham (2009), one of the nation’s foremost researchers of handwriting, believes that students’ fluency in handwriting is more important than the style of handwriting that is taught. He recommends, however, that instruction start with traditional manuscript, or block, letters for the following [4] reasons:"
      1. "Before starting kindergarten and first grade, most children have already learned to write some letters from their parents or preschool teachers. Instruction in cursive writing means that children have to relearn many of the letters they can already write."
      2. "Some research suggests that once manuscript writing is mastered, it can be written as fast as cursive, and usually more legibly."
      3. "The teaching of traditional manuscript writing may facilitate reading development, since the material students read in the early grades is written in manuscript, not cursive."
      4. "There is some evidence, though dated, that traditional manuscript is easier to learn than cursive writing."