How to Incorporate Handwriting Instruction in the Classroom Daily
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I don’t know about your day, but my classroom schedule is tight.
Like every minute of the day is accounted for because there’s so much to fit in!
And because time is so tight, if a lesson takes more time than I planned or our students come in 5 minutes late from recess, somethings gotta give…
And it usually ends up being handwriting practice.
Handwriting instruction has a critical role in literacy development (and fine motor skills). But, many teachers struggle with fitting it into their busy schedules or feel that their districts curriculums don’t offer enough practice for their students to master handwriting.
But it’s not a lost cause!
By finding creative and manageable ways to incorporate handwriting instruction into your daily classroom routine, it is possible to enhance your literacy outcomes without overloading your day!
The Importance of Incorporating Daily Handwriting Practice
Research tells us that handwriting is an important component of literacy because it strengthens writing skills by strengthening letter recognition and recall. When student write by hand, it supports our students’ cognitive development and can boost spelling accuracy as well as reading fluency.
Not to mention - students need to be fluent writers!
Fluency of letter formation supports composition in the fact that it reduces some of the cognitive load placed on students as they write because they only need to think about what they want to write about, and not also how to write.
It sounds pretty important, right?
Even so, handwriting practice is often quite minimal - if done at all.
Many of the purchased curriculums that our districts use may include handwriting practice, but minimally, leaving teachers try to find time in an already packed schedule. (Which is definitely easier said than done!)
Not to mention the struggle of planning for and providing meaningful practice for the wide range of stages of writing development in your classroom. While some students in our classes will be off and running, fluently writing perfect letters with ease, others are still struggling with finding their pencil grip. Where does that instruction fit in?
I do have to interject here and mention that this conundrum is exactly why I love the Daily 5 framework. There are so many components to an effective literacy lesson, and the Daily 5 framework provides a structure to “get it all in” without feeling like you’re gonna pull your hair out. (Don’t have your copy of The Daily 5 book? CLICK HERE to order your copy!).
It is possible to bring meaningful and practical daily handwriting practice into your day without feeling overwhelmed with trying to make it all work.
Easy Ways to Incorporate Handwriting Instruction in the Classroom Daily
Yes…Daily handwriting instruction and practice are important.
But what does it look like?
And is there a way to do it where it isn’t time consuming and stressful? (I get it, adding another thing to prep to your day isn’t gonna happen…)
Teacher friend, I got you! Here are a couple of my favorite ways to bring daily handwriting practice into my classroom (and the best part - they are stress-free and zero prep!).
Letter-Specific Practice for Targeted Support
Targeted, letter-specific practice is the “bread and butter” of handwriting instruction.
When time and attention is devoted to providing students time, daily, to practice letter formation, it aids our student’s overall writing fluency, which supports composition (down the road). But, even though the phonics curriculum that my district adopted did include letter formation instruction, I felt like my students needed more practice. Not to mention that students who needed time to review letters that they have not yet mastered.
In my Daily 5 structured literacy block, I provided additional practice during the Work on Writing center, or I provided targeted instruction/remediation during small group.
Since my students were working independently, I used worksheets that targeted one letter at a time. This allowed me to see my students progress as well as easily differentiate for my students.
Here’s a pro tip! Laminating the worksheets for center work is a great way to save time prepping.
Themed Sentence Writing Practice
Once students have gained fluency with letter formation, we can take it one step further…
Sentence writing!
Dictation is a common practice for beginning writers to learn sentence structure. But, since it’s teacher lead, it limits when this practice can be woven in, which is why I love incorporating traceable sentence writing practice.
With traceable sentences, my students could focus on neatness and accuracy, while also reinforcing proper sentence structure. And the best part, it could be done independently and was perfect for Work on Writing (or as a bellringer or as an activity for early finishers).
It’s also a great way to incorporate vocabulary building!
I used themed sentences with facts about baby animals, which really kept my students engaged! They loved learning new facts about animals while also practicing their handwriting skills.
It was a win-win!
Cursive Writing Practice for Older Students
Let’s talk about cursive.
Cursive writing seems to be a “right of passage” for our upper elementary students, and it even has shown to enhance letter connections.
But, with the expansive amount of content that is covered in upper elementary, finding time for students to practice cursive can be tricky, and it can easily fall by the wayside. Which is why having easy, independent practice available is important.
For my fifth graders, I incorporated cursive writing practice worksheets as either a daily bell ringer choice or as an option for Work on Writing so my students could build fluency in their cursive writing skills.
Keep Handwriting Instruction Manageable and Low-Prep
Integrating daily handwriting practice and instruction doesn’t have to be stressful!
Having simple, independent tasks that can seamlessly fit into my Daily 5 centers has taken the guess work out of when I’d be able to build in additional practice or remediate handwriting skills.
I bundled my go-to handwriting resources into a ready-to-use resource that you can start using, today!
In the bundle, you’ll get…
Letter-specific formation practice
Themed sentence writing practice
Looking for cursive writing practice? It’s not included in this bundle, but you can CLICK HERE To download your copy of this resource.
Tips for Making Planning for Your Literacy Centers Easier
The Daily 5 framework transformed how I taught literacy.
Not only did it make it possible to cover everything that I needed to, it also increased student engagement without me feeling overwhelmed!
Curious on how you can bring the Daily 5 into your literacy block? These YouTube videos can get you started!