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foráis sa bhunscolaíocht ENGLISH | WRITING | Stage 1 - Stage 4
Cursive Writing
children’s handwriting. Fine Motor Skills
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Children develop concepts,
Fluency is an important goal Fine motor skills are
PRIMARY LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
dispositions and skills in in teaching handwriting and essential for children
relation to: cursive (joined) writing helps to form letters. These
• Handwriting to fulfil that goal as it involves skills include both an
a continuous, natural left to ability to control the
Cursive Writing from right movement. small muscles of the
the Beginning
body and to
Young children love to make With cursive writing, words co-ordinate the
marks and to see themselves are written in an unbroken actions of the eyes
as capable and competent movement similar to and hands (hand-eye co-ordination). Children
writers. They use letters, children’s continuous pre- need motor control to form patterns and letter
words, numbers, signs, writing patterns. Spaces are shapes, and they also need perceptual skills for
pictures, colours, and shapes used mainly to separate one letter size, spacing and orientation.
to give and record information word from another. Instead
and to describe and to make of learning print first and Just as is the case with gross motor skills (large
sense of their own and cursive later, children can be muscle movements such as crawling, walking,
others’ experiences. Along supported to learn the cursive running, jumping, swinging, throwing, kicking and
style from the outset – which skipping), children develop fine motor skills at
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with supporting children’s
emergent writing through supports them to focus on different times.Teachers need to model these
pretend play, the teacher other aspects of literacy skills and provide daily opportunities for children
has a key role in planning development as they progress to practise and develop them as a first step to
and teaching a structured through primary school. developing handwriting.
approach to developing
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foráis sa bhunscolaíocht ENGLISH | WRITING | Stage 1 - Stage 4
Cursive Writing
Fine motor skills and Teaching Cursive Writing
children with SEN
Transition into
PRIMARY LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
Children with Special conventional writing
Educational Needs (SEN) may Providing adequate time and
encounter difficulties with space for children to explore
gross or fine motor skills, and enjoy the transition into
or both. For some children, conventional writing are
sensory processing difficulties key to children developing
may result in delays in reaching positive dispositions toward
particular progression steps. writing. Opportunities
Ensuring children have upper- for pretend play, and for • To develop fine motor and shapes such as a
body stability and have both drawing and writing using skills using a range of circle (clockwise and
hands free are important different mark-making/tracing hand exercises, involving anti-clockwise), a square
measures in supporting them materials such as crayon, imaginary activities. A list and a triangle.
to complete a fine motor paint, sand and shaving foam, of activities is provided
task. Planning and organising below. • To experiment, practise
are important for children and improve new
regular, engaging activities in to engage in meaningful
short, snappy sessions provides • To practise basic pattern movements.
early writing experiences. handwriting
time for children to process, In planning and teaching for • To practise over-curve
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consolidate and improve their movements such
cursive writing, the teacher as vertical, horizontal and under-curve
skills. Providing practice on provides opportunities for movements. Size,
vertical or sloped surfaces will and diagonal lines,
children: intersecting lines to uniformity and slant
also benefit children. come later.
make a cross or an ‘x’,
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foráis sa bhunscolaíocht ENGLISH | WRITING | Stage 1 - Stage 4
Cursive Writing
Pencil Grip
The pincer grip involves lifting and holding objects
PRIMARY LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
between the thumb and index finger. For young
children, the pincer grip replaces the palmar grip,
i.e., holding an object (such as a baby’s rattle) in the
palm and wrapping fingers around it. The goal of
children’s early writing is the tripod grasp – the
ability to hold a pencil with the tip of the thumb
• To understand the rationale and index finger and to rest the pencil against the
for the various pattern side of the third finger.
exercises, such as the anti-
clockwise circular movement A faulty pencil grip can become more difficult
for the letters a, c, d, g, q and o. to correct the longer it progresses. For older
children, poor pencil grip impacts when the volume
• To practise and copy of writing increases, and can lead to tiredness as
letters, with modelling and well as slow/poor letter formation. Children who
examples from the teacher. have difficulty forming the tripod grasp, despite
• To introduce ‘cursive writing’ having plenty opportunities to do so, may require
specialist assistance from an occupational therapist.
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in Junior Infants by showing In Stage 2, children can begin to
the child how to ‘lead in and join their letters, in line with the
out’ of letters, e.g., the flick school’s Literacy policy as part of Posture
at the end of a letter, to create their School Self Evaluation. Developing good posture for writing is as important
separate but flowing letters. as a correct pencil grip. Good posture provides
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foráis sa bhunscolaíocht ENGLISH | WRITING | Stage 1 - Stage 4
Cursive Writing
SUPPORTING LEFT-HANDED ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP FINE MOTOR SKILLS
CHILDREN WITH THEIR
Finger and Hand Exercises
PRIMARY LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
WRITING
• Place the paper to the left of • Bend and straighten your fingers. Fan-out and then close
the body. your fingers.
• Angle the paper. • Flick each finger away from your thumb.
• Ensure there is enough space • Clap your hands and ‘clap’ your fingertips.
(and that the child is not
• Make a ‘circle’ (pincer) shape by joining your thumb and
obstructed by a right-handed
first finger in each hand. Interlock both ‘circles’ and pull.
child).
• Help the child to hold the pencil • Place your hand on the desk (palm facing downwards)
and raise each finger in turn.
further up from the point.
upper-body stability which is • Place your hand on the desk (palm facing upwards) and
essential for good mobility of Hand Dominance raise each finger in turn to touch your thumb.
the arms, wrists, hands and By the age of four, most • Rotate your thumb around each finger-tip (clockwise and
fingers. For writing, children children will have developed anticlockwise).
should be seated with both a clear hand preference, i.e., Imaginative Approaches
feet on the floor at a desk of hand dominance. The • Use your fingers as a scissors to cut some string.
appropriate height (a desk too dominant hand develops • Play the drums on your desk.
high or too low could affect expertise in performing tasks • Play piano in the air and on the desk.
pencil pressure). Children use while the non-dominant hand
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• Stir the porridge quickly and slowly.
their non-writing hand, which assists, e.g., cutting paper with a
also bears some body weight, • Wring-out the wet clothes.
scissors. However, just as there
to steady their paper. are some children who may • Put on and remove your gloves.
not have reached this stage, • Turn the front-door key using your thumb, first and
middle fingers.
there are others who may be
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foráis sa bhunscolaíocht ENGLISH | WRITING | Stage 1 - Stage 4
Cursive Writing
Monitoring Development of Cursive
Writing
PRIMARY LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
The following pointers may be useful in monitoring
and supporting children’s development of cursive
writing:
• Posture • Letters properly
• Upper-body stability rounded
• Fine motor skills • Spacing of letters/words
• Pencil-grip • Slant of letters
• Pencil pressure • Uniform letter size
quite proficient using both hands (ambidextrous). The non-
• Paper position • Position of letters on
writing arm/hand should be steadying the paper and also bearing
• Ability to trace/copy the line
some body weight.
• Letter formation • Speed of writing
Many left-handed people write with their hand above what they • Leading in/out
write and, in order to see their writing, may develop a hook
which can range from insignificant to quite severe. People who
are right-handed write in a movement away from the body,
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while left-handed children write towards the body.
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foráis sa bhunscolaíocht ENGLISH | WRITING | Stage 1 - Stage 4
Cursive Writing
References
Amundson, S. (2005). Prewriting and handwriting skills. In Case-Smith
PRIMARY LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
(Ed.) Occupational Therapy for Children. London: Mosby.
Blumenfeld, S. (1994). How Should we Teach our Children to Write?
Cursive First, Print later. In Blumenfeld Education Letter, Vol. 9 No. 9).
www.howtotutor.com/cursive.htm.
Corson, L. (2009). Teaching Cursive, this method works. PCB Press: Oregon.
Cotton, P. (1992). Let’s all join up. In Child Education. April edition.
Leamington Spa: Scholastic Publications.
Graham, S., Struck, M., Richardson, J.,& Berninger,V. (2006). Dimensions
of good and poor handwriting legibility in first and second graders.
Developmental Neuropsychology 29: 43-60.
Landy, J. & Burridge, K. (1999) Fine Motor Skills and Handwriting Activities
for Young Children. New York: Centre for Applied Research in Education.
Troia, G.A. (2006). Writing instruction for students with learning
disabilities. In C.A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.),
Handbook of Writing Research. New York: Guilford.
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www.curriculumonline.ie Developed in collaboration with
www.ncca.ie/primary Brendan Culligan, Marino Institute of Education (Retired) 6
