Writing is an art form, given how many different ways to express oneself through letters. Cursive writing stands out as a writing style that emphasizes connecting the letters to make words. Cursive writing uses a fluid hand movement to tie the letters together, making it faster to write and simpler to read than printing, which retains each letter separately and solely present on the page. Here are ways for you to teach cursive writing to children.
The benefits of teaching cursive letters to your child
Today’s digital era is all about sending communications verbally and by typing out text. Although writing is still used in all aspects of life, parents know the value of teaching their children to write in cursive. Beyond just being able to write the alphabet, mastering that talent is essential.
Most parents decide to teach their children the craft of print letter writing. That does demonstrate that you grasp the alphabet. However, just as kids master that technique, they are suddenly forced to switch to cursive handwriting. By beginning with cursive writing, this could have been prevented and a higher level of difficulty was created.
Multiple strokes and movements are used to create a single letter in the conventional printing manner of writing. Some children tend to remember it in order, making it challenging to recreate when writing words. The rhythm of cursive writing links one letter to the next, linking the shape to muscle memory. Therefore, it is ideal to start teaching cursive writing to children early.
The ability to space out letters correctly is a crucial writing skill for children to master their handwriting. This makes it difficult to distinguish between words and letters, even when reading. Due to its fluid character, cursive writing, which children can quickly learn, provides organic space.
Know the teaching strategy for cursive writing
Start with the fundamentals
Start your child’s learning of cursive when they are in the third or fourth grade, or when they demonstrate a desire to do so. As cursive handwriting can be quite challenging to read at first, having a sheet with every letter written in cursive, both in capital and lowercase, and having the students practice reading it is preferable.
If your child starts reading it first, you can show them an example of what cursive writing normally looks like, how it’s connected, and what letters are. Then, if you desire, you can start your child on writing cursive.
Encourage your kid to begin writing
Have your youngster start practicing writing cursive once they can read it. Make sure they are writing both uppercase and lowercase letters as they begin by using resources like cursive practice sheets that demonstrate how to write the letters.
It’s better to have them attempt writing each letter before identifying which ones they found challenging. Find out which letters your child found the most difficult to write, and then help them practice. Be mindful that your youngster may discover an alternative way to write a letter, such as creating a lowercase F with the lower loop on the left side of the line. Don’t correct them; as long as you can still identify the letter, there is no need to do so.
Encourage your kid to start writing sentences. Your youngster will practice letter connections when they write sentences. Teach your child how to connect letters and which cannot be joined. For example, when your child feels confident writing in cursive, a wonderful statement to teach them is “The swift brown fox jumps over the slow dog.” Your child can try connecting all the letters because it contains every letter in the alphabet.
To understand how to connect all letters or which letters typically don’t get connected, children should have the opportunity to use both capital and lowercase letters.
Start by following teacher modeling
Most kids are developmentally prepared to learn cursive when they are around the third-grade level or eight. Typically, kids this age are adept at letter printers. In addition, they have the agility required to begin learning cursive.
Explicitly and directly teach handwriting
- Focus on teaching each letter individually.
- Consistently practice each letter.
- Teach students the lowercase letters first.
Students may benefit from organizing the letters by pattern and formation difficulty. Teach the alphabet’s lower case letters next.
Establish a regimen
Create a routine where kids routinely practice writing in cursive after they have learned how to write letters. Having them write their spelling words or just write freely in cursive is a terrific idea. This cursive journal is an excellent complement to morning work, schoolwork, or an early finisher assignment.
Teaching cursive writing to students is not an easy job for any teacher. Teachers have to make a certain strategy to teach cursive handwriting to them. Especially when you are teaching online the strategy should be stronger and this article will help you with the same.
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