Every parent essentially wants the best for their child when it comes to education. What the parents have to realize is that they too play an important role in their child’s education. Handwriting is a significant part of a child’s learning, it opens their ability to be able to communicate and express themselves. Often, parents neglect their child’s handwriting and do not offer them new ways to improve their handwriting. While on the other hand, some parents ask, ‘What are some ways I can help improve my child’s handwriting?’ In Steve Graham’s article Want to Improve Children’s Writing? : Don’t Neglect Their Handwriting, he offers several points about how teachers and parents can contribute to helping children improve their handwriting abilities.
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Struggling with handwriting can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which students avoid writing, come to think of themselves as not being able to write, and fall further and further behind their peers” (Graham, 2010, p.49) This statement is very accurate for any individual who struggles with writing, they easily become frustrated with the aspect and end up giving up because it becomes too hard for them. Writing is very demanding for young children, they often have to focus all of their attention on it. Once they have been writing for years, it becomes more fluent and automatic. A major implication when it comes to writing, is student’s legibility. Parents and teachers often have trouble deciphering what they wrote, and also students struggle with reading their own notes sometimes. Graham remarks that, “All beginning writers struggle with fluency and legibility to some extent, and that inevitably affects their approach to composing. Young writers typically cope with the multiple demands of handwriting and composing by minimizing the composing process (planning, organizing, etc.)” (Graham, 2010, p.50). If there is early attention put into handwriting about student’s legibility there will be a decrease in the likelihood of them becoming poor writers in the …show more content…
A method that was stated in the article for children to hold their pencil was the tripod method, “in which the pencil is held between the thumb and index finger, resting on the distal phalanx of the middle finger, about an inch from the point, as soon as they start school” (Graham, 2010, p.53). Therefore, it is a comfortable position for the child and they will be less likely to complain about being fatigued or show discomfort when asked to write. While paper position depends on whether the child is right-handed or left-handed. Right-handed children should place their papers directly in front of them with the left side of the paper center to their body, while left-handed children should place their paper partially clockwise and hold their pencil slightly farther
Struggling with handwriting can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which students avoid writing, come to think of themselves as not being able to write, and fall further and further behind their peers” (Graham, 2010, p.49) This statement is very accurate for any individual who struggles with writing, they easily become frustrated with the aspect and end up giving up because it becomes too hard for them. Writing is very demanding for young children, they often have to focus all of their attention on it. Once they have been writing for years, it becomes more fluent and automatic. A major implication when it comes to writing, is student’s legibility. Parents and teachers often have trouble deciphering what they wrote, and also students struggle with reading their own notes sometimes. Graham remarks that, “All beginning writers struggle with fluency and legibility to some extent, and that inevitably affects their approach to composing. Young writers typically cope with the multiple demands of handwriting and composing by minimizing the composing process (planning, organizing, etc.)” (Graham, 2010, p.50). If there is early attention put into handwriting about student’s legibility there will be a decrease in the likelihood of them becoming poor writers in the …show more content…
A method that was stated in the article for children to hold their pencil was the tripod method, “in which the pencil is held between the thumb and index finger, resting on the distal phalanx of the middle finger, about an inch from the point, as soon as they start school” (Graham, 2010, p.53). Therefore, it is a comfortable position for the child and they will be less likely to complain about being fatigued or show discomfort when asked to write. While paper position depends on whether the child is right-handed or left-handed. Right-handed children should place their papers directly in front of them with the left side of the paper center to their body, while left-handed children should place their paper partially clockwise and hold their pencil slightly farther