Handwriting as Written Output

Proper letter formation is important. It uses many parts of our brain and body. We use many EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONs and also equally important is ATTENDING TO TASK. It is not just putting pencil to paper and printing letters that make words, It is Orthographic processors , letter recognition, phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, prior knowledge, retrieval, recall, based in experience, memory (both long and short term), it involves language,  sound/letter correspondence, auditory processing, visual processing, fine motor, vocabulary, vocabulary, organize ideas, sequential processing, conventions of print, spatial awareness,  automatic letter form, accuracy, punctuation, vision, concentration, and time to name a few. Eye-hand co-ordination and sensory integration are basic to good penmanship. Efficient, legible printing is a motor activity that involves…

visual-motor integration,
fine-motor skill,
pressure,
proper position of the pencil and paper,
posture,
both hands (one to hold the paper, the
other to hold the pencil)…and
balance.     

Here is a short video where a teacher is helping a student learn proper pencil grip. The video is from the Handwriting Without Tears website. It includes a "catchy" song to help students remember how to get a proper grip. The second video talks about  proper posture when printing.

Many students experience difficulties with various stages of the writing process and the physical task of printing. Whether it is a physical reason that they are unable to grasp the tool to physically print, or that they just can't seem to get their thought together to complete the process, adaptations  and differentiation in instruction can be made to support the students with the various parts of the  process. After reading the article ,"Take the Pencil

Out of the Process by Leslie Broun, I was reminded that "handwriting is not an essential component of literacy. It is actually only an exercise in drawing. It is a manual way of enabling a symbol system that allows thoughts to be expressed in a visual format." Through the advances in technology we have computers, iPads, and programs that allow such functions as picture symbols for words, voice to text dictation,  word predictions, graphic organizers with or without question prompts and all of the high interest story makers.