As we know, letter recognition and spelling are key components to literacy. By incorporating handwriting into our 'Literacy Through Letters' program, PartnershipUs seeks to increase students' letter recognition and spelling, through which their literacy skills are expected to improve. Many studies have found a link between handwriting letters and words (instead of typing or looking at them) and the ability to read.

The Guardian reports that states who have decided to continue teaching cursive writing have argued that without this skill, children won’t be able to read items written in cursive, such as cards or letters written by their grandparents, teacher’s comments on assignments, or historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence. Two researchers at the Aix-Marseille University studied letter recognition in 76 children aged three to five. The group of children that learned to write letters by hand were better at recognizing them than the group that learned to type them on a computer. They repeated the experiment on adults, teaching them Bengali or Tamil characters. The results were much the same as with the children. In the early 2000s the French ministry of education instructed schools to start teaching cursive writing when pupils entered primary school. The rationale behind this decision was that the joined-up writing style of cursive writing teaches children words as blocks of letters, which aids in spelling.

Additional studies back the decision of the French ministry of education. Reviews by Richey (2008) and Vander Hart, Fitzpatrick, and Cortesa (2010), point out that learning how to write individual letters and spell words has been shown to reinforce the skills of letter naming, phonemic awareness and word reading. Levy, Gong, Hessels, Evans, & Jared found that practicing handwriting is important for the development of early reading abilities because early print exposure is an important component of learning language code.

If all of these scientific findings aren’t enough to convince you that reading is inextricably linked to handwriting, we will leave you with one last study. Indiana University researchers published in 2012 their study that conducted brain scans on pre-literate 5-year olds before and after receiving different letter-learning instruction. In children who had practiced self-generated printing by hand, the neural activity was far more enhanced and "adult-like" than in those who had simply looked at letters. The brain’s “reading circuit” of linked regions that are activated during reading was activated during hand writing, but not during typing. These findings demonstrate that handwriting is important for the early recruitment in letter processing of brain regions known to underlie successful reading. Handwriting therefore may facilitate reading acquisition in young children.

 References:

Handwriting vs typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

The Guardian  |   By Anne Chemin

• States that have decided to continue teaching cursive writing have argued that without this skill, young Americans won't be able to read items written in cursive, such as birthday cards from their grandparents, comments from teachers on assignments, or original handwritten texts, such as the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.

• Marieke Longchamp and Jean-Luc Velay, two researchers at the cognitive neuroscience laboratory at Aix-Marseille University, carried out a study of 76 children, aged three to five. The group that learned to write letters by hand were better at recognizing them than the group that learned to type them on a computer. They repeated the experiment on adults, teaching them Bengali or Tamil characters. The results were much the same as with the children.

• Edouard Gentaz, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Geneva thinks that giving up handwriting will affect how future generations learn to read. “Drawing each letter by hand substantially improves subsequent recognition." Drawing each letter by hand improves our grasp of the alphabet because we really have a “body memory”, Gentaz adds. “Some people have difficulty reading again after a stroke. To help them remember the alphabet again, we ask them to trace the letters with their finger. Often it works, the gesture restoring the memory.”

• In the early 2000s the French ministry of education instructed schools to start teaching cursive writing when pupils entered primary school [aged six]. “With joined-up writing children learn words as blocks of letters, which helps with spelling,” school inspector Viviane Bouysse explains.

• As we know, letter recognition and spelling are key to literacy. By incorporating handwriting into our program, we increase students' letter recognition and spelling, through which their literacy skills are expected to improve.

Strategies to Develop Handwriting and Improve Literacy Skills

Tamara McEachern, Hon. B.Sc., MA and Dr. Jan C. Frijters

• Learning how to write individual letters and spell words has been shown to reinforce the skills of letter naming, phonemic awareness and word reading.

• Writing and reading appear to share a close and reciprocal relationship; oral language and reading contribute uniquely to written composition in early primary school years.

• Others have found that practicing handwriting is important for the development of early reading abilities because early print exposure is an important component of learning language code.

• The connection between handwriting and reading is discussed in the reviews by Richey (2008) and Vander Hart, Fitzpatrick, and Cortesa (2010), wherein they point out that learning how to write individual letters and spell words has been shown to reinforce the skills of letter naming, phonemic awareness and word reading.

  • Ritchey, K. D. (2008).The building blocks of writing: Learning to write letters and spell words. Reading and Writing, 21, 27-47. doi: 10.1007/s11145-007-9063-0 (I could not find the journal article in its entirety)

  • Vander Hart, N., Fitzpatrick, P., & Cortesa, C. (2010).In-depth analysis of handwriting   curriculum and instruction in four kindergarten classrooms. Reading and Writing, 23, 673-699. doi: 10.1007/s11145-009-9178-6 (I could not find the journal article in its entirety)

• Writing and reading appear to share a close and reciprocal relationship

  • Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2011).Writing to read: A meta-analysis of the impact of writing and writing instruction on reading. Harvard Educational Review, 81(4), 710-744.

  • This is seen in Abbott and Berninger’s (1993) structural equation modeling approach to analyzing writing skills when they found that oral language and reading contribute uniquely to written composition in early primary school years.

    • Abbott, R. D., & Berninger, V. W. (1993).Structural equation modeling of relationships among developmental skills and writing skills in primary- and intermediate-grade writers.Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(3), 478-508. (I could not find the journal article in its entirety)

• Practicing handwriting is important for the development of early reading abilities because early print exposure is an important component of learning language code (Levy, Gong, Hessels, Evans, & Jared, 2006).

  • Levy, B. A., Gong, Z., Hessels, S., Evans, M. A., & Jared, D. (2006).Understanding print: Early  reading development and the contribution of home literacy experiences. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93, 63-93. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2005.07.003. (I could not find the journal article in its entirety)

Why Writing by Hand Could Make You Smarter

Psychology Today   |   William R. Klemm Ph.D.

• Indiana University researchers conducted brain scans on pre-literate 5-year olds before and after receiving different letter-learning instruction. In children who had practiced self-generated printing by hand, the neural activity was far more enhanced and "adult-like" than in those who had simply looked at letters. The brain’s “reading circuit” of linked regions that are activated during reading was activated during hand writing, but not during typing.

  • James, K.H. and Engelhardt, L. (2013).The effects of handwriting experience on functional brain development in pre-literate children. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 2012 December ; 1(1): 32–42. doi:10.1016/j.tine.2012.08.001. (I could not find the journal article in its entirety)

    • These findings demonstrate that handwriting is important for the early recruitment in letter processing of brain regions known to underlie successful reading. Handwriting therefore may facilitate reading acquisition in young children.