Owls and Bees
Language Arts for January 18-22
Don't Forget-- Spring Pictures
Spring Pictures
Home Reader Quiz on Thursday, January 21
Spelling Test on Friday, January 22
My Thoughts on Cursive Instruction
I made a booklet for each student to keep in the front of his/her binder. If your child is doing homework and can't remember how to form a certain letter, the booklet shows how to form the letter step-by-step. I told my students that they should not guess at letter formation because if they guess incorrectly, they will develop bad habits that are hard to break. I encourage them to use their booklets if they have any doubts.
I also told them that writing in cursive may be slow and awkward for a few weeks, but as they practice, they will speed up and find that cursive is actually faster than printing.
Many schools no longer teach cursive as a part of direct instruction, and that makes me sad. Research shows that cursive positively affects reading and writing. I've attached a link to short article about what researchers say about this dying art:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/68799/argument-cursive-handwriting-and-clearer-thinking
Here's a link to another article about how writing by hand impacts the brain differently than using a keyboard to write:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html?_r=0
I have also told my students that they can now do something that many adults cannot do. They should feel proud of their progress as cursive writers!