by Dr. Kristy Goodwin     Despite the proliferation of computers and other digital technologies in classrooms today, many teachers would argue that handwriting is not an obsolete skill. While many children in today’s classrooms appear more comfortable with a keyboard and mouse than a pencil, handwriting is still considered by teachers to be an important skill that children need to acquire.

In fact, it is one of the most important foundational skills that a child needs to develop in order to be successful at school. Even as schools adopt new digital technologies, it is predicted that handwriting will continue to be an important skill.

Why is it important to develop good handwriting?

Handwriting is one of many fine motor skills that students are required to develop in the first years of formal school.  The development of handwriting skills is an important foundation for success across all curriculum areas.  Research has demonstrated that mastering handwriting has long-lasting and significant effects on a child’s academic performance at school, as it impacts their confidence and shapes their perception of themselves as a learner.

Like all early learning pursuits, activities that are perceived as ‘fun’ and ‘easy’, often result in improved student learning outcomes, as students are eager to undertake these tasks.

Is early success with handwriting crucial?

Anecdotally, many Kindergarten teachers report the decline in young child’s fine motor skills upon school entry. It appears that many preschoolers are not developing important skills that are a pre-requisite for handwriting.

This may be attributed to changes in young children’s play activities: children are engaged in more screen-based and sedentary activities as opposed to more ‘traditional’ craft and recreational activities that relied on fine motor skills. Well-developed fine motor skills are required for handwriting and for a range of other peripheral, ’academic’ skills such as cutting and pasting.

Too often, young children enter school with poorly developed fine motor skills and/or an incorrect pencil grip (for example, some children have a club grip or fist grip). These ineffective grips stifle young children’s ability to master correct letter formation and makes learning to write a very tedious and frustrating process. This often results in task avoidance.

An incorrect pencil grip is difficult to rectify later in the learning process, once it has become habitual. In contrast, those children who start school with well-developed fine motor skills and a correct pencil grip, often find learning to write an enjoyable process and thrive in a classroom situation: they are eager to express their ideas in writing (or drawing), as this is perceived as easy and fun. In turn, these children write more frequently and can produce more lengthy pieces of writing. This has positive implications for their overall academic ability.

There is a significant body of research that shows the ‘Matthew Effect’ (i.e. the ‘rich get richer and the poor get poorer’) often occurs with handwriting development. This phenomenon suggests that those students, who have mastered a correct pencil grip and letter formation, can leverage these skills to gain even more skills and become even more proficient. However, those students who find writing a difficult process are often frustrated and avoid opportunities to write, exacerbating their difficulties.

Unfortunately, differences between successful and unsuccessful writers are not restricted solely to writing ability and performance. In the early years of formal schooling the curriculum expectations are significant: children are expected to compose stories, produce factual pieces of writing, draw, record algorithms and document their mathematical thinking in a written format. Therefore, poorly developed handwriting skills can lead to poor academic performance in other subject areas.

When learning to write, there are significant demands placed on a child: they require finger strength and dexterity, visual skills and perception to form letters. In addition, they must think carefully about their intended written message. When their cognitive energies are directed towards holding and manipulating the pencil, they have fewer mental resources left to attend to the other skills and thinking about the message they are trying to convey. Well-developed handwriting skills allow young learners to focus on the content of the written message.

What can parents do to support their child’s handwriting?

As with all areas of child development, parents, teachers and educational resources assist children to develop and refine these essential skills over time. It is essential that children develop the correct ‘tripod’ grip (thumb and first two fingers) and learn the correct letter formations from the outset, as these re difficult to rectify. In addition, developing your child’s fine motor skills is important and can be achieved through simple, incidental activities such as:

• Using pegs
• Playing with play dough or Lego
• Completing jig-saw puzzles
• Colouring in and completing dot-to-dots
• Clicking
• Threading beads or pasta on string
• Finger painting
• Paper folding activities
• Using finger puppets
• Using their fingers to draw shapes and letters in shaving cream on a flat surface

It is crucial that young children have a dominant hand by the time they are three years old. If your child does not have a preferred hand by this time, a Paediatric Occupational Therapist may provide some additional assistance. In addition, if your child displays any difficulties with fine motor development or handwriting, an assessment by an Occupational Therapist is recommended to identify if the child has poor muscle tone or any other issues hampering their development.

About the author:

Dr Kristy Goodwin is the Director of Every Chance to Learn, an educational consultancy business that provides a range of services to parents, teachers and students. With eleven years of teaching experience, Kristy has worked extensively as a teacher in the early years classrooms. She works as a University Lecturer at Macquarie University and has published research papers. Kristy has presented at Australian and international conferences and has delivered several keynote presentations. In 2004 Kristy was awarded a New South Wales Quality Teaching Award for her extensive contribution to education. She is also a member of the Australian College of Educators.

Every Chance to Learn is currently developing a range of e-books that parents can purchase and download from their online store. These books cover a range of topics related to the ways in which parents can support their child’s learning at home.  One e-book is currently available in the online store: A Parents’ Guide to School Readiness.

Link: Every Chance to Learn

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