Pencil to Paper Reasons and Rationale Why Handwriting Matters Bev - - PDF document

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Pencil to Paper Reasons and Rationale

Why Handwriting Matters

Bev Wolf, Bonnie Meyer

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• to Bessie Stillman and Anna Gillingham who started us all on this

journey

• To Beth H. Slingerland, who adapted the[r approach for classroom

use

• To Virginia Berninger and her research teams,

supported in part, by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the University of Washington Learning Disabilities Research Center.

Special thanks to those who made this presentation possible:

Has handwriting been left behind?

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People have thought that electronics would eliminate the need to write by hand.

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From the Greeks and Romans 428 B.C. to 100 A.D.

• Plato instructed the master to draw letters for the

student to copy

• Seneca had the teacher guide the student’s hand as

letters were traced

• Quintilian stressed learning the name and shape

simultaneously

• Late 1800’s. early 1900’s -- Penmanship was taught as

a separate subject

• 1940’s --

Emphasis on language arts

• The computer age made many think they need not

teach handwriting

• As a result: Many schools have discontinued

handwriting instruction. Research is helping change those attitudes. The Zaner Bloser Company has worked to educate schools about the importance of handwriting.

• Many states now mandate handwriting instruction

 The Idaho Senate passed a resolution requesting the addition of a cursive handwriting requirement to their state standards.  North Carolina passed a “Back to Basics” bill that would make cursive handwriting a part of the curriculum in state elementary schools.  The Indiana Senate voted to advance a “cursive bill” requiring schools to teach cursive writing.  The Kansas State Board of Education unanimously adopted a policy statement encouraging public schools to teach cursive.  Georgia now requires student proficiency in cursive handwriting.  Ohio is looking at requiring handwriting instruction

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The Need For Multisensory, Multimodal Approaches

Handwriting underlies all levels of written language— letters, written words constructed from letters, and written sentences constructed from multiple words. Teachers often judge students’ abilities and grade them based on the appearance of their written work.

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The Common Core Standards have virtually ignored handwriting.

• Common Core standards do not appear to be grounded in

research on handwriting or writing development and effective writing instruction (Berninger & Wolf, 2016).

• Research supports direct, explicit instruction in letter

formation and guided practice to become proficient in the task of handwriting across the grades. In grade 1, children should be taught to form the letters so others can recognize them. In grade 2 they practice until they can form each letter automatically. This is not the case in the standards.

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The Standards

• Kindergarten:
• Print many upper- and lowercase letters
• Capitalize the first word in a sentence
• Write own name (first and last) and the first names of some friends or

classmates

• Write most letters and some words when they are dictated
• First grade:
• Print all upper- and lowercase letters (letter style is not indicated)
• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English –
• capitalization, punctuation and spelling when writing.
• Capitalize dates and names of people.
• Use end punctuation for sentences.
• Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series.

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What Is Handwriting?

Handwriting is partly a motor skill but not only a motor skill Letter forms stored and processed in working memory (temporary memory that supports language learning and use) also play a role. The ORTHOGRAPHIC LOOP from the MIND’S EYE (where letters and written words are stored and processed in working memory) to the MOVING HAND/FINGERS

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The truth is …

1 in 5 children, with or without dyslexia, may struggle with handwriting and sometimes keyboarding. All children may benefit from handwriting instruction that

teaches automatic letter formation because the brain uses its limited resources more efficiently when letter formation is automatic.

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• Some poor handwriting may be caused by students not

having enough training to form letters automatically when rapid writing is needed. (Hamstra‐Bletz & Blöte, 1990).

• For most students, grapho‐motor skills (planning and

sequencing and fine motor control) used in handwriting can be improved with correct models and guided practice.

• The part of the brain involved in these grapho‐motor

processes is very near the somatosensory region of the brain that receives sensory input from sequential movement (kinesthetic sense).

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The act of writing letters with a writing tool not only draws on motor output but also kinesthetic sensory input. A multi-modal approach to handwriting instruction integrates: Visual input from letter form Oral motor output from naming letters and producing their corresponding sounds

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• The associated auditory input from hearing those

names and sounds from writing the letters

• Kinesthetic input from writing the letters

Moreover, these multimodal approaches need to be taught for the goals of producing written language to express meaning via words, sentences, and text.

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WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US 6 LESSONS

More than two decades of research at the University of Washington have shown that handwriting is one of the most important skills in learning to express ideas in written language.

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• Students with grade-appropriate handwriting skills

are more likely to complete written assignments (McMenamin &Martin, 1980).

• Handwriting legibility contributes to better spelling

skills (Strickling, 1974).

• Students whose notetaking is slow because of

poor handwriting have difficulty with lecture comprehension (Blalock, 1985).

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The first research lesson:

Manuscript handwriting helps children learn to read.

• It leads to improved word reading, even when only

handwriting is taught.(Berninger and colleagues 1997).

• Most of our reading material on paper and electronic

format is in manuscript format. Learning to produce letters in the format children encounter when they read will help them read words which they identify more readily because they have learned to form and name (identify) the component letters.

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They’re words, Tommy, assembly required.

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The second research lesson: Production enhances perception

Producing letter forms stroke by stroke makes it easier for the brain to perceive the letters in written words during word reading (James, Jao, & Berninger, 2015, Longcamp, Richards, Velay, & Berninger, 2017). When first learning to identify letters, forming letters stroke by stroke results in greater transfer to improved word reading than does keyboarding (selecting formed letter on a keyboard).

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This does not mean that keyboarding is never

• appropriate. They do call attention to the

contribution of handwriting to the process of learning to read and write, even in individuals experienced in using thumbs and fingers for pressing to operate phones or laptops.

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The third research lesson

Teach both manuscript and cursive.

Students in first and second grades learning handwriting were studied (Wolf and colleagues, 2016). First grade students taught manuscript handwriting embedded in structured, multi-modal language system were compared to a business as usual control group.

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In second grade students who received a second year of manuscript instruction were compared to second grade students who received an initial year of cursive handwriting instruction; in both cases the handwriting instruction was embedded in structured, multi-modal language system. Results showed the benefit of teaching manuscript in both first grade (to learn to write correctly formed letters that are legible to others) and second grade (an additional year of review and practice helps them learn to write the letters automatically).

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Introducing cursive instruction without this additional year

• f manuscript instruction to develop automatic as well as

legible handwriting was not as effective. Automaticity allows developing writers to use their limited working memory resources for generating ideas, choosing words, spelling words, and creating sentences rather than devoting their attention to how to form the letters (Berninger, 1999).

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The fourth research lesson: Daily practice and review helps build automatic performance.

• In the first grade, 15 minute handwriting lessons, with an

additional 5 minutes to compose are effective in learning to form letters and apply letter formation to their own writing for communication with others (Berninger et al., 1997). Some students require more daily practice and instruction may be adjusted.

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• A short daily handwriting warm up, just as athletes warm-up

with exercises before a game, followed by spelling and composing instructional activities, was effective in developing automatic handwriting in later grades as well (Berninger et al., 2008).

• Each letter of the alphabet can be practiced in a warm-up but

not the same order every time. in a different order in each lesson, using the previous strategy. Then move onto spelling and composing activities which handwriting enables.

• Periodic tune-ups benefit students in grades 4 and above

(Berninger et al., 2008) Without periodic practice, handwriting becomes less legible and/or more effortful for many students.

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The fifth research lesson: cursive writing means better spelling

Cursive was invented to speed up handwriting before we had typewriters or computers. When cursive handwriting instruction is introduced in grades 3 and 4 the connecting strokes between letters help link letters into word spelling units and also to increase speed of writing words.

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For those introduced to cursive in third grade and reviewed in fourth grade, cursive alphabet writing skill (ability to find, access, and produce cursive letters legibly and automatically in alphabetic order) contributed to better spelling and composing in grades 4 to 7 than did either manuscript or keyboarding on the same alphabet writing task (finding, accessing, and producing legible, automatic, ordered letters) (Alstad, et al 2015).

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The sixth research lesson: Alphabetic Order Matters

Developing writers need to learn to find

• rdered letters in memory both when

they read passages silently (Niedo, Lee, Breznitz, & Berninger, 2014) and when they compose (Berninger et al., 1995). Beginning in the third‐fourth grade transition developing writers benefit from brief games in which they find and write the letter that comes before or after other letters in the alphabet (Berninger, Abbott, Whitaker, Sylvester, & Nolen, 1995).

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School success depends on completing many tasks, which require integrated reading‐writing, for example:

• taking handwritten notes
• using them to generate handwritten summaries or reports

(Altemeier and colleagues 2006) Although laptops may be used for homework assignments, they are not always available in the classroom. Most importantly, currently many technology tools now use handwriting—letter formation by index finger, stylus, or electric pen directly on screen or pad rather than a keyboard.

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In grades 2 to 6, children write more, write faster, and express more ideas when composing by pen than than keyboard.

A close relationship exists between letter production and letter perception—both motor and visual regions are involved in handwriting, and handwriting may enhance visual perception (James & Gauthier, 2006; Longcamp et al. 2003).

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I RE REAL ALLY ENJOY WRITING ITING L LETTE TTERS BY BY HAND HAND

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The Executive Juggling Act of Writing

May place greater demands on internal working memory than reading does, but writing externalizes cognition making thought visible via written language to become an object for reflection and repair.

(Berninger & Winn, 2006; Fayol, 1999).

As a result, writers gain conscious access via writing to what they are thinking in unconscious implicit memory.

(Hayes & Flowers, 1980).

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• Initial handwriting instruction should focus on accurate

formation of letters so that they are legible to others.

• Once children can form legible letters, the goal of writing

instruction should be to form letters automatically—quickly with minimal effort so that mental resources can be devoted to generating thoughts, translating those thoughts into written spelling, sentence structures, and text

• rganization.

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Manuscript, Cursive, and Keyboard

• Longitudinal research at the U of W, individual differences

predicted who did best with manuscript, cursive, and keyboarding.

• No clear research evidence supports either manuscript or

cursive being better than the other. University of Washington brain imaging showed that finger sequencing engages the thinking parts of the brain. The advantage of handwriting over keyboarding during middle childhood evened out during early adolescence. *

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Manuscript

• Slingerland teaches manuscript in the primary grades rather

than cursive as in Orton Gillingham

• Printing letters transfers to the kinds of letters in books and on

monitors.

• Children encounter more written materials in manuscript fonts

than cursive fonts, whether they are reading hardcopy books and written texts or viewing written language on their computer monitors or e‐book readers.

• Printing letters transfers to the kinds of letters in books and on

monitors.

• First graders with low handwriting skill improved whether

taught cursive or printing.

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Cursive

In Europe preschoolers and children in the early grades learn to write in cursive from the outset. Orton-Gillingham begins with cursive too. Cursive can:

• increase the speed of handwriting
• Reduce reversals
• Provide more consistency about where to start a letter

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Keyboard

• Five activated brain regions with the dominant hand were

significantly correlated with written composition, written spelling, and writing the alphabet (by handwriting but not keyboarding).

• Finger sequencing may play different roles in performing

the series of strokes for forming letters using one hand and in using two hands and all fingers to operate a keyboard.

• Individual differences occur during early and middle

childhood and adolescence as to whether students can do touch typing without looking at the keys. These may be related to individual differences when myelination

• ccurs in frontal lobes affecting self-regulation of

behavior.

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Secure motor patterns eventually allow handwriting to be such a habitual skill that the mind is free to think while the arm and hand automatically produce the words chosen by the mind.

Getman (1984)

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The goal is to provide an automatic, legible tool that enhances all aspects of language.

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References

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Berninger, V. Abbott, R., Jones, J., Wolf, B., Gould, L., Anderson-Youngstrom, M., Shimada, S., & Apel, K. (2006). Early development

• f language by hand: Composing-, reading-, listening-, and speaking- connections, three letter writing modes, and fast mapping in
• spelling. Developmental Neuropsychology, 29, 61-92

Berninger, V., & Richards, T. (2002). Brain literacy for educators and psychologists. New York: Academic Press. Berninger, V., & Winn, W. (2006). Implications of advancements in brain research and technology for writing development, writing instruction, and educational evolution. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 96- 114). New York: Guilford. Berninger, V., & Wolf, B. (2009). Teaching students with dyslexia and dysgraphia: Lessons from Teaching and Science. Baltimore: Paul

• H. Brookes.

Berninger, V.W. & Wolf, B. (2016) Dyslexia, dysgraphia, owl LD, and discalculia: Lessons from science and teaching. Baltimore: Paul

• H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Birsh, J.R. (Ed.). (2018). “Multi-Modal Handwriting Instruction for Pencil and Technology Tools” Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills (4th Edition). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Fayol, M. (1999). From on-line management problems to strategies in written composition. In M. Torrance & G. Jeffery (Ed.), The cognitive demands of writing (pp. 13-23). Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press. Fayol, M., Alamargot, D., & Berninger, V. (Eds.) (2012). Translation of thought to written text while composing: Advancing theory, knowledge, methods, and applications. New York: Psychology Press/Taylor Francis Group. Fayol, M., Alamargot, D., & Berninger, V. (Eds.) (2012). Translation of thought to written text while composing: Advancing theory, knowledge, methods, and applications. New York: Psychology Press/Taylor Francis Group. Graham, S., Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Abbott, S., & Whitaker, D. (1997). The role of mechanics in composing of elementary school students: A new methodological approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(1), 170−182. Hayes, J. R., & Flowers, L. (1980). Identifying the organization of the writing process. In L. W. Gregg & E. R. Sternberg (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing (pp 3-30). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Hooper, S.R., Swartz, C.W., Wakely, M.B., de Kruif, R.E.L., & Montgomery, J.W. (2002). Executive functions in elementary school children with and without problems in written expression. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 37-68. James, K. & Gauthier, I. (2006) Letter processing automatically recruits a sensory–motor brain network Neuropsychologia Volume 44, Issue 14, 2006, Pages 2937–2949 41 Marieke Longcamp, Jean-Luc Anton, Muriel Roth, Jean-Luc Velay Visual presentation of single letters activates a premotor area involved in writing. Institute for Physiological and Cognitive Neurosciences, Marseille cedex 20, France.

• Strickling, C.A. (1974). The effect of handwriting and related skills upon the spelling scores above average and

below average readers in the fifth grade. Dissertation Abstracts International, 34(07), 3717A.

• Wolf, B., Berninger, V., & Abbott, R (2016, July 23 on-line). Effective beginning handwriting instruction:

Multimodal, consistent format for 2 years, and linked to spelling and composing. Reading and Writing. An Interdisciplinary Journal, pp. 1-19. DOI: 10.1007/s11145-016-9674-4 NIHMS 805554 Available as ‘Online First’ http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-016-9674-4

• McMenamin, B., & Martink M. (1980) Right Writing Spring Valley, CA: Cursive Wriiting Associates.
• Niedo, J., Lee, Y. L., Breznitz, Z., & Berninger, V. (2014, May; 2013, October 28 on line). Computerized silent

reading rate and strategy instruction for fourth graders at risk in silent reading rate. Learning Disability Quarterly, 37(2), 100-110. DOI 10.1177/0731948713507263 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4047714

• Slingerland Institute for Literacy. (2008). The Slingerland multisensory approach: A practical guide for teaching

reading, writing and spelling. Bellevue, WA: Author.

• Strickling C.A. (1974) The effect of handwriting and related skills upon the spelling scores above average

and below average readers in the fifth grade. Dissertation Abstracts International 34(07), 3717A.

• Wolf, B., Berninger, V., & Abbott, R. (2016, July 23 on line.) Availaable as “Online First” http://link,

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