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Teaching cursive handwriting to young children? Here’s how they learn, and resources for instruction
Good handwriting is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a means to literacy that fundamentally transforms the human experience. Developing control over the shape of the 26 letters of the alphabet ultimately unlocks the ability to engage in the world of fact, fiction — and endless possibilities of the imagination afforded by written communication.
Legible, fluent handwriting makes this possible. Legible handwriting can be achieved by the vast majority of young learners by the end of Grade 2, given direct instruction and ample opportunities for practice. Fluency can follow in a similar fashion with continued instruction and practice.
Currently, far too many young children fail to achieve handwriting benchmarks to succeed with the academic written demands of Grade 4.
Cursive handwriting was reintroduced on the Ontario Grade 3 curriculum in June 2023, soon followed by California. Yet school instruction in cursive is bound for failure unless strong resource support is provided for kindergarten to Grade 3 teachers.