Teaching Beginning Cursive
As a child I remember Mrs. Thompson, my first grade teacher, gently putting her hand over mine and guiding me in forming the letters. We wrote on green lined paper with dotted lines down the middle. After we had practiced for a whole week we were allowed to use the white paper to prove how beautiful our handwriting was becoming. We made sticks and balls and from a to z we learned to print.
When I taught in Costa Rica, I learned a method for teaching cursive. We learned not to go from a to z but to start with motions. We learned letter e with l and letter i with t. Letter c was an ocean wave and as we learned each letter we began to put them together to spell words. It was here in Costa Rica that I fell in love with handwriting and teaching it to children.
Since then I have taught many, many children how to write and have gone from just paper and pencil to activities that involve texture, artistry and physical movement. It's fun to learn to write...
Cursive Table of Contents
Steps and Activities for Learning Cursive
- Teaching Cursive
- Writing Tools and Surfaces
- Cursive Letter e
- Cursive Letters in the Air
- Practicing Cursive Letters on Paper
- The Palmer Method
- Cursive Letter Order
- Cursive Methods and Textbooks
- Jan Brett's Cursive Alphabet
- Cursive Alphabet
- The Importance of Teaching Good Handwriting
- Cursive Centers
- The Pudding Center
- Zen Cursive Center
- Scribble Center
- Playdough Cursive Letters
- Learning Cursive with Wooden Trains
- Writing with Glue and Glitter
- Pre-Cursive
- Chef Keem's Blog: Make your own Handriting Font
- Cursive Handwriting Worksheets
- So what, you might ask, do I suggest that the children write for practice?
- How is your handwriting?
- About the Teacher who Still Teaches good Penmanship
Teaching Cursive
Writing Tools and Surfaces
Materials for Teaching How to Write in Cursive
The basic materials needed to learn to write are simply a writing tool and a surface to write on. Of course you can start with a paper and pencil but I prefer chalk and a chalkboard. Standing up and writing with big motions is exciting for children and it helps them to feel the motions of the letters.
I have many other materials available in the handwriting centers around the room that can be used as soon as the children have finished their paper and pencil practice.
Cursive Letter e
Demonstrating how to form the letter e.
First I demonstrate how to form the letter. When teaching cursive, for example, I often start with the letter e. We point to the letters of the alphabet and recite the Alphabet song. We then repeat it until we get to the letter e. We quickly mention the sounds that the letter e makes and then I show them how the letter e starts at the bottom line, curves to to the middle line and then curves back to the bottom line. Cursive Letters in the Air
Writing Cursive Letters on your Partner's Back
in the air while pointing to the letter that I wrote on the board. We write it very large with very large motions. and each time we form the letter in the air we say the sound of the letter, in this case a short e sound. Next I have all the children find a partner and write the letter on the other one's back. Then they turn around and it's the other's turn.Writing in the air helps the children internalize the motions involved in making the letters. Saying the sounds aloud reinforces the letter sound relationship and will help them as the learn to read and spell words.
Practicing Cursive Letters on Paper
Moving on to Handwriting Learning Centers
Now I give each of the children a chance to write the letter
on the board. I check each of the children individually to make sure that they have understood how to form the letters and that they start at the bottom line, touch the middle line and then curve back down to the bottom line.Those who are able to form the letter correctly are allowed to take a paper and pencil to practice at their desks. Those who are having difficulty work longer with me at the board. Any child that finishes writing on their paper can choose one of the handwriting centers set up around the room.
I have 6 to 10 handwriting centers set up around the room. I allow 2 - 4 children at a center and they are allowed to clean up and then change centers at will.
The Palmer Method
Watch the Cursive Letters being Formed
Palmer Method
Palmer Method cursive demonstration...you can take the girl out of Catholic school, but you can't take the Catholic school out of the girl.
curated content from YouTube
Cursive Letter Order
What Order do you Teach the Letters?
I don't teach the letters in order from A to Z; instead, I teach them according to the type of strokes that are used to form each letter.
I first teach u, i, and t.
These are the simplest letters and when the children practice them they can write the words it and the Spanish word for you: tu. Point out to the children that they do not pick up their pencils until the have finished the whole word and then go back to dot the i's and cross the t's and that you use a backward stroke to cross the t's.
Children love to write long lines of i's and t's and then go back to dot and cross.
Next and l.
Then I teach the letters c, a, and d.
I tell the children that the letter c looks like an ocean wave and as we form the letter we chant ocean wave. Notice that the letter c starts at the bottom line, curves up to the middle line and then tips half way over before tracing it's way back exactly along the first line and then continues the curve down touching the bottom line and reaches out for the next letter.
The letter a is just like the c except that it ends with the same stroke as the letter c.
The letter d is just like the a but continues up above the middle line.
Note that the letters d and t both stop half way between the middle line and the top line and are the only letters to do that.
Finally we go on to letters n and m. These are confusing to children because they each have one more hump than they do in print.
Now we go back and pick up the letters that combine shapes.
h and k Be sure they go all the way to the top line.
Then f is the first letter to go below the line. Be sure it has a straight back all the way from the top to the bottom. With q which has the same kind of tail as the f.
x,y and z all start with humps like an n'
r and s start like an i.
Up to this point all the letters reach their hands out at the bottom to hold hands with the next letter in the word but now we go on to the ones who hold their hands at the top.
b and w . o and v.
These last four take lots of practice as the children learn how to connect them to letters that follow.
Now you're ready for the Capitals!
Cursive Methods and Textbooks
Cursive Workbooks
These are books that offer page by page instructions in how to teach cursive. It can be very helpful to use a textbook as a guide. It will help you to teach each letter in a uniform way.
For the children, however, this is the most boring way, and often leads to certain children never mastering the art of cursive writing. I suggest these books only as a guide for the teacher.
Jan Brett's Cursive Alphabet
Cursive Alphabet Bulletin Board Set
I love Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations and the children love the animal themes.
Turn these beautiful pieces of art into a Penmanship Learning Center: Copy each letter of the alphabet onto cardstock and have them laminated. The children can practice tracing the letters using dry erase markers or grease pens.
- Cursive Alphabet by Jan Brett
- Jan Brett's Alphabet Line Bulletin Board Set
Use letters together as an alphabet line or separately as flash cards
Cursive Alphabet
Cursive Letters to put over the Board
Photo Credit: Cursive Workbook
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
I like to have one set of the Alphabet over the board and another set that I have laminated for children to use with dry erase markers. Children trace over the letters, erase and write again.
ALPHABET LINES CONTEMPORARY CURSIVE
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/07/2009) 
BB SET CURSIVE ALPHABET
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Expo Dry Erase Markers 81047, Chisel Tip 20 Pack Assorted Colors
Amazon Price: $23.31 (as of 12/07/2009)
The Importance of Teaching Good Handwriting
Is handwriting still important?
The other day I went to the doctor's office and she handed me a list of things she wanted me to do to improve my health. I looked at the list and it was completely illegible. I even asked her secretary to translate it for me and the secretary had to go to the doctor to find out what it said.
Don't you think that your doctor should have good handwriting?
Is it still important to teach good handwriting?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byNo, handwriting is not that important anymore.
tandemonimom says:
Well, not really. My husband and I both gave up cursive a long time ago. He writes in block capital letters (a habit from an architecture course he took), and I have a speed print that has a few cursive elements. Being able to read it is important, but as long as one has a legible hand, print or cursive is a choice.
Posted May 05, 2009
Yes, people should be ones handwriting.
Pastiche says:
Handwriting is artful and important. Your signature and handwriting are a part of who you are that you show to the world.
Posted October 30, 2009
kitty222 says:
P.S. It won't let me post in your guestbook but I think that pudding idea is an awesome one, if you can keep the children from eating it all. Even in this era of video games and all sorts of indoor entertainment, I never met a child who didn't like to do something messy.
Posted August 26, 2009
kitty222 says:
I think handwriting is still important for those situations when you can't get to a computer, a phone with a keyboard, or another typing tool and want to be able to jot down a legible note. I'll admit my typing is better than my handwriting, and my printing is more legible than my cursive, but I still run into situations where I have to put pen to paper.
Posted August 26, 2009
NAIZA says:
I think the youngsters still consider the importance of having a good handwriting no matter how technology becomes more accessible nowadays. I believe that in handwriting reflects the personality of a person.
Posted June 06, 2009
C-Joy says:
My nephew just took his ACT: although it was on a computer, the last bit was writing a paragraph in cursive. He said it was the hardest part & EVERYONE struggled with it! No matter how computerized we get, I think we will still need the ability to communicate with pen & paper.
Posted April 23, 2009
Cursive Centers
The Pudding Center
Learning Cursive while writing in Pudding
Practicing your cursive letters in chocolate pudding spread out on a cookie sheet may seem messy but that can be just the thing to get some kids motivated. Fingers slip through the pudding and reveal the cookie sheet below forming the letter he or she is writing.
Make a mistake and just wipe it smooth again with a spatula.
Note:I usually have the kids make their own pudding so that they get a chance to practice measuring and fractions.
Baker's Secret Basics Nonstick Medium Cookie Pan
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Jell-O Sugar-Free Instant Pudding & Pie Filling, Chocolate Fudge, 1.4-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 24)
Amazon Price: $24.60 (as of 12/07/2009)
Mini Spatula, 6"
Amazon Price: $2.95 (as of 12/07/2009)
Zen Cursive Center
Japanese Garden Cursive Center
Zen Rock Garden, Ryoanji Temple, Kyoto, Japan
Photographic Print
Cornell, Linc
Buy at AllPosters.com
Set up a Japanese Zen Garden Handwriting Center where children write their letters in the sand.
Japanese Gardens have sand that is raked into beautiful patterns. Hang a poster of a Japanese Garden over the Handwriting Center. Offer children the choice of writing with their fingers, a stick or a small rake.
TOWN & COUNTRY LANDSCAPE 100-0092-00 ACE" PLAY SAND
Sand for filling your Japanese Zen Garden handwriting tray. Spread a layer of sand and gently shake the tray to even out the sand. Use a stick to practice writing cursive letters.
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Baker's Secret Basics Nonstick Medium Cookie Pan
Tray for holding the sand for the Japanese Zen Garden.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Let's Learn Hiragana: First Book of Basic Japanese Writing (Kodansha's Children's Classics)
Some children like to go beyond just practicing their cursive letters. Providing a book of Japanese Hiragana gives them the opportunity to learn the easiest of the three Japanese scripts.
Amazon Price: $9.23 (as of 12/07/2009)
Scribble Center
Drawing a Continuous Line
When transitioning from print to cursive children need to learn to write the whole word without picking up the pencil. At this center, children are given the opportunity to pick the marker of their choice and draw a picture without picking up the marker.
Provide lots of paper and a variety of markers in different shapes and sizes.
Pentel Color Pen Set, Set of 36 Assorted Colors (S360-36)
Amazon Price: $21.58 (as of 12/07/2009)
Playdough Cursive Letters
Rolling Playdough to form Cursive Letters
Rolling Clay to form Cursive Letters
Many children love to use playdough. This center helps children form the letters and reinforces the idea that the letters are made with one continuous line, that the letters are connected within a word and that cursive is a beautiful art.
Roll long snakes out of playdough or clay and use those snakes to form the cursive letters and words.
Once the children have been introduced to most of the letters, this center can be used to practice spelling or vocabulary words.
Some children like to write words in cursive clay, take pictures of them and use them on the covers of their books as titles to the stories they write.
Learning Cursive with Wooden Trains
Here is the letter a:
1. Put together wooden train tracks in the form of the letters.
2. Drive the red engine along the tracks saying the sound of the letters as you go.
BRIO Beginner's Expansion Pack
Amazon Price: (as of 12/07/2009)
BRIO Smart Track Starter Set
Amazon Price: (as of 12/07/2009)
BRIO Red Engine
Amazon Price: $6.92 (as of 12/07/2009)
Writing with Glue and Glitter
Glitter Glue Words
Photo Credit: Glitter Glue Words
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
I realize that you can now get glitter and glue already mixed but there is just something satisfying about the way the glue flows on so smoothly, the feel of the glitter sprinkling through your fingers and the roughness of the letters once the glue has dried that makes writing cursive in glue and glitter so satisfying.
16 oz. Glitter w/ Shaker Top - Gold
Amazon Price: $6.09 (as of 12/07/2009)
Pre-Cursive
Children Who are Not Ready for Cursive
What can you do with children who's fingers are not yet strong enough for learning to write? C Joy has some fun suggestions to help strengthen little fingers.-
Too Young For Scissors? Punch Outs Are the Answer!
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Students come into my Montessori classroom at age 3. A few have the fine motor skills to use scissors or hold a pencil correctly, but most are not yet ready. What they can do are paper punch outs! Using a simple push pin and a basic outline, you can...
Chef Keem's Blog: Make your own Handriting Font
The Inspiration behind writing this lens
Notice Chef Keem's beautiful signature written in cursive. If you go to his blog you can learn how to make your own handwriting font. With practice you may even be able to make it in cursive.- Make Your Own Handwriting Font - For Free!
- Neat-oh! Your handwriting as a regular font - that's so cool!
A very cool tool! You can even digitize your signature here.
Cursive Handwriting Worksheets
Make your own Cursive Handswriting Worksheets
Photo Credit: Cursive Alphabet
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
CaraOakley has created cursive fonts for helping children learn to write in cursive. I especially like the open or outlined fonts. It invites children to follow the path of the letters and fill them in with paint, glue and glitter or use them as tracks for driving cars, trucks or trains.
- Cursive Writing
- Cursive writing provides fonts and handwriting worksheets to help children learn to write in a flowing, joined-up style.
"The quick brown fox
jumped over the lazy dog."
So what, you might ask, do I suggest that the children write for practice?
Writing in Cursive and Unit Studies
As soon as your children know enough letters to start writing words they can begin to write spelling and vocabulary words related to their unit studies. As they begin to learn the Capital Cursive Letters they can write proverbs, important facts or famous quotes related to their unit studies. Here are some fun unit study suggestions:-
Lemmings: Falling into the Sea of Knowledge
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When the winds start to howl and the snow begins to blow you can capture your student's attention with this innovative Arctic Unit Study focusing on lemmings. Your little lemmings will be excited to learn with a theme that includes little furry crea...
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Bluebirds of the Meadow
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Summer nears and the bluebirds start nesting along the fenceline. The children are fascinated with the way they fly back and forth to build their nests. They become the focus of our next Unit Study, Bluebirds of the Meadow. As your little bluebirds...
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Beaver Unit Study
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Paddy the Beaver knew perfectly well that he would have visitors just as soon as he began to build his dam. He expected a lot of them. You see he knew that none of them ever had seen a Beaver at work unless perhaps it was Prickly Porky the Porcupine,...
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Frog Unit Study: Hopping to Learn
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Take trips to the frog pond. Become a frog and play games and sing songs, gobble up the insect words and swat the fly verbs. This lens will give you dozens of ideas, resources, hints and tricks to create frog-themed activities for both homeschool fam...
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Woodchucks Under the Porch
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Woodchucks chuck wood and Groundhogs determine the coming of spring. They eat your garden, dig holes under the porch but look adorable when they are first born and start to venture out of their dens. Watching the woodchuck babies venturing out from...
How is your handwriting?
Are you teaching your child cursive?
Three Year Old Child Writing About What He Likes to Do
Photographic Print
Leen, Nina
Buy at AllPosters.com
Tell us about your experiences learning cursive or teaching others. Did you use a certain method? Which of the learning center activities would you like to try?
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- theraggededge theraggededge Dec 2, 2009 @ 10:25 am
- I know I should be doing this with my kids... I really do. But {sigh} they hate practising. At the moment they both print and seem to be improving. My daughter writes lots - she makes up TV scripts. I will try cursive again soon - I promise! Lovely lens!
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Dec 2, 2009 @ 11:44 am
- I have found that when handwriting is big, messy and silly the kids have a great time learning it. Try writing in the bathtub with colored soap markers, writing with glue and gold glitter or writing with lemon juice to send secret messages that can be read after heating them over a lightbulb.
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- Pastiche Pastiche Oct 30, 2009 @ 11:07 am
- I started cursive writing in 2nd grade, but the teacher hadn't begun that so she punished me with a ruler handslap for my crime. I loved penmanship, and when we started to use ink pens with real inkwells for penmanship in the higher grades, I was delighted. I love letterforms and fonts and calligraphy. This is a fabulous teaching lens with so many creative ideas for teaching handwriting and penmanship. I'm lensrolling it to several lenses, including Printable Alphabet Letter Posters and a WIP Alphabet Letters Coloring lens.
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- CaraOakley CaraOakley Sep 14, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
- This is a super lens - really interesting and full of practical tips for teaching cursive writing. I love the style of cursive in your examples, especially the cursive capitals. Here in the UK very few schools teach cursive capital letters, but cursive seems to be getting more popular here. There are some [url=http://www.cursivewriting.org]cursive writing[/url] fonts and resources here.
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- MiaBellezza MiaBellezza Aug 21, 2009 @ 10:07 am
- Great lens. They stopped teaching penmanship when I went to school and I wish they hadn't - 5*!
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- NAIZA NAIZA Jun 6, 2009 @ 8:58 am
- Terrific lens! Very educational and it brought me some fond memories on the first day I learned to write.. Good times. Def, a fab five!
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- charlino charlino May 13, 2009 @ 8:53 am
- Bravo! This is a great lens. Everyone should at least know how to communicate by hand.
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- charlino charlino May 13, 2009 @ 8:52 am
- Bravo! This is a great lens. Everyone should at least know how to communicate by hand.
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- tandemonimom tandemonimom May 5, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
- Very helpful lens! Welcome to The Homeschooling Group!
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- C-Joy C-Joy Apr 23, 2009 @ 5:48 am
- Funny you should ask- my kindergartners started begging me to teach them cursive. I of course complied with that request! I use the D'Nealian style letters to teach them to read, so cursive is a natural progression for them. I haven't used playdough yet - I think it's a fabulous idea & they will get to use it today!
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- AndyPo AndyPo Apr 22, 2009 @ 9:29 am
- Excellent lens
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- groovyoldlady groovyoldlady Apr 20, 2009 @ 2:28 pm
- Oh dear, In our homeschool, my handwriting is clearly a case for "do as I say, not as I do!"
And now I'm going to study arabic...and learn how to write it.
HAHahahahahahaha!
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- robertkoger123 robertkoger123 Apr 20, 2009 @ 4:10 am
- This lens is worthful children.
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- sorana sorana Apr 19, 2009 @ 1:41 am
- Another great lens. Kids are not learning cursive writing anymore these days, it's all printing. What a pitty ... but ... I suppose that's life: things change all the time.
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- nightbear nightbear Apr 18, 2009 @ 2:25 am
- Remarkable lens. Excellent information from an excellent teacher. I love your lenses.
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- lakeerieartists lakeerieartists Apr 18, 2009 @ 1:56 am
- I love your lenses because they are always so thorough, complete, and entertaining. Blessings from a Squidoo Angel.
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- chefkeem chefkeem Apr 17, 2009 @ 5:36 pm
- If you want to learn, see Evelyn - Squidoo's #1 teacher par excellence! 5*s and a hearty SquidAngel Blessing for another masterpiece of yours. :-)
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- Apr 17, 2009 @ 5:44 am
- The Cursive Letter order is very nice...
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- oliviabrooks123 oliviabrooks123 Apr 17, 2009 @ 2:28 am
- Nice Lens...For Handwriting Improvement
Thanks to the Lensmaster
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- Jimmie Jimmie Apr 17, 2009 @ 2:07 am
- We used Handwriting without Tears for my daughter. It worked. But cursive is another story! My handwriting teacher, Mrs. Covington, would faint if she saw my daughter's cursive.
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- WhitePineLane WhitePineLane Apr 16, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
- Evelyn-- this is a great lens. My son had sensory integration problems, and (still has) poor fine motor skills. He had an extremely difficult time learning to write. A few things helped him: He had a fabulous occupational therapist who suggested using fat pencils and a special writing tablet where the green lines and dotted lines were slightly raised to help him get a better feel for where the letters were to start and stop.
While learning cursive, she also had him stand up and write at the board-- but it was a white board with dry erase markers, which helped make cursive much more smooth for him. He actually picked up cursive much more quickly than printing.
Even six years later, though, he still struggles mightily with any handwriting-- especially having to quickly take notes in class. He is now allowed to keyboard almost everything-- thank goodness! There are some people who, try as they might, will never have good handwriting. And that's OK, too! :-)
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- papawu papawu Apr 16, 2009 @ 2:25 pm
- Growing up, I was always praised for my penmanship, but after my cancer surgery on my writing arm, I literally had to relearn how to write. I can honestly say that it is still pretty good, but not quite as refined and exact as it once was.
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Apr 16, 2009 @ 1:49 pm | in reply to TheWhistler
- My mother too was forces to learn to write with her right hand. Our system of writing discriminates against left handers but thankfully they are no longer forced to switch.
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- TheWhistler TheWhistler Apr 16, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
- My handwriting is atrocious. My mother on the other hand is complimented on her penmanship, and justly so it is beautiful. She comes form a generation when great emphasis was placed on handwriting. I think a very good idea. On the other hand, no pun intended, my grandmother came from a generation when being left handed was not a good idea. She would be practicing her penmanship and, forgetting she was suppose to write with her right hand, would be struck over her knuckles by a ruler of blackboard pointer for doing something that was perfectly normal to her. She would go home with a blood hand and not a word was heard from her parent. Thanks for the lens.
About the Teacher who Still Teaches good Penmanship
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Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher
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My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...
by Evelyn_Saenz
My passion is teaching... (more)
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