Handwriting Practices and Procedures

Handwriting Practices and Procedures
Minimum expectations In P5 – P8, our minimum expectations for final handwritten products: 1- Correct letter formation
- 2Letters sitting on the lines
- 3Adequate spacing between letters and words
- 4Consistency in size
- 5Consistency in slant
- 6Correct format
- 7Correct use of lower / upper case
- 8Reasonable speed of writing
Not all work that will be displayed on the wall needs to be a final product. It is also possible to display first drafts or the results of group work which will not necessarily meet all minimum expectations described above .
Posture Students need to sit comfortably while writing. In order to facilitate a comfortable position, teachers should encourage students to 1- Sit straight
- 2Keep both feet flat on the floor
- 3Sit on a comfortable distance from the desk (a fist should fit loosely between the table and the body )
- 4Tilt the paper either to the left for right-handed writers or to the right for lefthanded writers
Left-handed writers Left-handers may have particular difficulties with handwriting. The following practical considerations all help: 1- Light: Ideally a left-hander needs the light to come over her right shoulder so that she is not writing in the shadow of her one hand .
- 2Paper: A left-hander needs to have paper on the left side of the centre of the body. The paper needs to be titled to the right side so that the writer can see what she is writing .
- 3Pencil hold: Encourage a left-handed writer to hold the pencil or pen a little further from the point than a right-hander so that the writing is not obscured. It may be helpful to introduce children to a pencil grip to find the right place for their fingers .
- 4Position: make sure that a left-hander is not sitting too close to the righthander when writing. This will avoid their arms colliding. Seat a left-hander on the left, a right-hander on the right .
- 5Speed: Allow for slower writing until competence increases .
- 6Teaching: Demonstrate to left-handers with your left hand whenever possible .