Concise Notes on Handwriting and Sentence Composing

Handwriting and Sentence Composing

Importance of Handwriting

  • Handwriting fluency correlates with the length and quality of writing (Graham et al., 1997)

  • Cognitive resources are heavily taxed when relying on memory for letter forms (Coker & Ritchey, 2015)

Components of Writing

  1. Working Memory: Idea generation and text generation

  2. Self-Regulation: Planning, revising, goal setting, and evaluating

  3. Transcription: Handwriting and spelling

  4. The Not-So-Simple View of Writing (Berninger et al., 2002)

Recommendations for Improving Writing

1. Daily Writing Practice: 30 minutes for K-2 students daily to develop skills.

2. Fluent Basic Skills: Teach handwriting, spelling, sentence construction, typing as foundational skills.

  • Automaticity in these skills aids idea communication.

  • Address issues with spelling and handwriting that hinder comprehension.

Teaching Young Writers

  • Correct Pencil Grip: Teach pencil holding and letter formation.

  • Explicit Instruction: Use diagrams and structured lessons (10 minutes) with practice opportunities (3-4 times per week).

  • Monitor Handwriting Problems: Address issues with grip strength, stationary paper, and spacing.

Sentence Composing Strategies

1. Sentence Frames: Provide structures for students to build sentences.

  • Example: “I like to ___.”

  • Gradually fade frames as students gain independence.

2. Combining Sentences: Help students create complex sentences from simpler ones to enhance syntax.

  • Teach linked words (e.g., and, because).

  • Use kernel sentences for practice.

3. Unscrambling: Mix words and phrases for students to piece together sentences.

  • Develop logical and syntactic connections.

4. Imitation: Introduce well-crafted sentences and allow for substitution of content words.

5. Sentence Expansion: Start with a simple sentence and add descriptive elements using parts of speech.

Supporting Sentence Construction

  • Utilize word cards and sentence banks to support various learning needs.

  • Allow oral responses and collaborative sentence building to ease handwriting challenges.

Assessment Methods

1. Holistic Scoring: Evaluates overall quality but not specific elements.
2. Analytic Scoring: Assesses individual components, beneficial for targeted instruction.

Writing Genres

  • Persuasive: To convince the reader (e.g., opinion essays).

  • Informative: To provide details and new information.

  • Narrative: Storytelling that includes elements like setting, characters, and emotion.

Writing Instruction Strategies

  1. Model writing elements through examples of good and poor samples.

  2. Use rubrics for progress assessment in the associated writing genres (Appendices A-E for grading references).