How to teach handwriting
1. What style do you teach?
1.1. There are three styles of handwriting:
A) Printing: Every letter is separated from one another.
B) Simple cursive: It is taught in British Schools and many American Schools. Letters are written separately but somehow joined together.
C) Full cursive: Adults use this kind of writing and it’s difficult to understand.

2. Teaching a new letter:
Imagine you are teaching a new letter which of these steps are important and which are not important?
A) Draw lines on the board
B) Write the letter clearly on the board.
C) Describe how the letter is formed?
D) Say the name of the letter.
E) Give the sound of the letter.
F) Students repeat the name of the letter.
G) Students repeat the sound.
I) Students draw the letter in the air.
J) Students copy the letter in their books.

There are 2 components in handwriting:
1. Correct letter formation
2. Uniform letter size

Important:
Oversee practice so children don’t fill a page with improper work simply to finish quickly. Praise letters and words written well and have the students erase and rewrite anything unacceptable. While this may seem time consuming, remember that it will actually take more time to undo bad habits.

What can be done for a better control?
Young children should use large writing or painting tools for better control. Don’t be concerned about letter size at first, instead emphasize form, letting them draw on blank paper with easy-to-hold “fat” markers, crayons, or paintbrushes which allow less pressure to be used in drawing a solid looking line. Be sure the children use the same grip required later for paper and pencil work.

How can we begin?
Begin with lines and shapes. Encourage children to draw all vertical lines from the top to the bottom.
All circular shapes should begin at 2 o’clock position, moving up, left, and around-like the letter c. (Kids tend to start at the top and make egg shapes.)
Every line should be drawn left to right or top to bottom. Vertical lines are drawn first, left side, then right side, and then the connecting horizontal lines. The horizontal on top are first, and all horizontal lines should begin at the left. Kids have their own short cuts, so these basics do need to be taught.

Lower case-letter or upper-case letter?
Teach a few lower-case letters and short words.

What can be done after teaching letter formation?
Once letter formation is acceptable, children should practice on paper with wide guide lines in order to learn to control size as well as to develop uniformity in size. For a better result four-lined note books are suggested. Write the letter or word on the paper few times for the students to trace and then copy.
Important:
Handwriting does not have to be a battleground. By targeting specific and narrow objective, praising efforts that are well-done as well as pointing out errors to be corrected, and scheduling regular, supervised practice, progress can be made much more rapidly than if children are left on their own to complete handwriting workbooks. Young children want to write well, but are often frustrated by their own lack of coordination and discouraged because it requires so much more effort to please either the teacher or themselves than they taught it would. Older students often rush to complete assignment and argue that neatness is irrelevant. In either case, the teacher must be patient, choose reasonable objectives, and stand firm. Legible handwriting is a worthy cause.

For more information visit this site:

www.handwritinghelpforkids.com