Oops! I forgot to teach cursive

[purplejackmama]

Guess I was so busy concentrating on the 3 R's I forgot to teach my 6th grade son, cursive. What to do? Got a quick fix? (Crossing fingers and hoping)

 

Thanks much!

[kiwik]

How often is cursive actually used?

[Ellie]

How often is cursive actually used?

 

Cursive should be used every time we write, because it is how English well-educated people have written for hundreds of years. I see no reason not to teach our children to do so.

[purplejackmama]

No clue, but I feel like my students should at least be able to sign their name. Maybe?

[Ethel Mertz]

We're using New American Cursive by Memoria Press. I want DS to be able to write and decipher cursive. I also think it's faster for note taking purposes.

[Ellie]

No clue, but I feel like my students should at least be able to sign their name. Maybe?

 

I should hope so.

[Arcadia]

Got a quick fix? (Crossing fingers and hoping)

Two PDFs for you to try. My boys use HWOT and it took them less than a summer.

(ETA; 1st link is free from publisher, 2nd link is copyrighted and link here to see if it is worth for OP or anyone else to get the ebook)

http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/assets/extras/0001/2067/Grade_3_Handwriting_Workbook.pdf

 

http://www.cnusd.k12.ca.us/cms/lib/CA01001152/Centricity/Domain/4240/Daily%20Handwriting%20Practice%20Traditional%20Cursive-791e.pdf

[dsmith]

Memoria Press has a new cursive book for older learners.

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/penmanship/teach-yourself-cursive

[MiMi 4under3]

Cursive should be used every time we write, because it is how English well-educated people have written for hundreds of years. I see no reason not to teach our children to do so.

 

     :iagree:

 

 

But... who still writes in cursive even half the time? Or some of the time? (except for students)

 

When actually writing with a pen or pencil, most people use their own combination of print and cursive. Even I do - and I have absolutely perfect Catholic school penmanship - but it's too laborious. I only use it for writing a thank-you note or the like.

 

The rest of the time people enter notes on their smart phones, record voice memos, send texts/emails, use laptops/iPads, etc.

 

All that to say, unfortunately, cursive is slowly going extinct.  :crying:

 

 

Purplejackmama - find a workbook with the simplest cursive you can find and have DS start it. At his age, it should be a breeze to get through.

[Ellie]

     :iagree:

 

 

But... who still writes in cursive even half the time? Or some of the time? (except for students)

 

When actually writing with a pen or pencil, most people use their own combination of print and cursive. Even I do - and I have absolutely perfect Catholic school penmanship - but it's too laborious. I only use it for writing a thank-you note or the like.

 

The rest of the time people enter notes on their smart phones, record voice memos, send texts/emails, use laptops/iPads, etc.

 

All that to say, unfortunately, cursive is slowly going extinct.  :crying:

 

 

Purplejackmama - find a workbook with the simplest cursive you can find and have DS start it. At his age, it should be a breeze to get through.

 

I do. I write almost everything in cursive. I cannot imagine not doing so.

 

[Livelovelearn]

I'm going to ask a stupid question. In the UK we were taught 'joined up handwriting'. Is this the same thing as cursive?

[Arcadia]

In the UK we were taught 'joined up handwriting'. Is this the same thing as cursive?

According to Oxford dictionary, it's the same

"Definition of joined-up in English:

joined-up

 

ADJECTIVE

 

chiefly British

1(Of handwriting) written with the characters joined; cursive."

[purplejackmama]

Fantastic resources! Y'all are the best. Thank you!!

[City Mouse]

Handwriting Without Tears has a book for older kids called CAn Do Cursive. My 7th grader is working on it this summer.

[Hunter]

Here are links to some of my favorite free cursive writing curricula in several different styles.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/508287-a-crisis-plan-for-language-arts-lots-and-lots-of-free-links/

 

I always write in cursive, unless it's on a form requesting block print, or to a person who cannot read cursive.

 

I'm currently playing around with the idea of switching from Spalding to French cursive. I've been practicing French cursive every day, and doodling in the margins with doodles and colors that seem to match this more superfluous style. I'm torn between enjoying it, and feeling like I don't have the right to inflict it on vulnerable people who might appreciate it's beauty but be unable to read it. How much do I owe others, especially vulnerable others, compared to being able to have something of beauty in my world that otherwise is often a bit stark. But that's off topic for this thread.

 

Using a little white out and a black pen I made a few changes to this chart.

http://cp.lakanal.free.fr/ressources/ecriture/lettresetchiffres_lak.pdf

 

There are so many pros and cons to handwriting choices. There are no one-sized-fits-all answers.

[OneStepAtATime]

Memoria Press has a new cursive book for older learners.

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/penmanship/teach-yourself-cursive

DS10 started with the younger kid version and we both like it.   DD13 was using it a bit but I am switching her to the older version.  If you don't mind religious content this is a great system.  Make sure you get the Start Write software, too, so you can type out vocabulary, and passages to read that apply to other subjects.  Great reinforcement.  Love the software.  Gives tons of options for copywork, reading, etc. in New American Cursive....

[Hunter]

nm

 

 

[Spryte]

I found this post by Ed Week interesting.

http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?DISPATCHED=true&cid=25983841&item=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.edweek.org%2Fteachers%2Fteaching_now%2F2014%2F07%2Fdoes_the_decline_of_cursive_limit_students.html

 

It talks about college students that are unable to read historical documents. I cannot imagine being unable to read the Declaration of Independence unless it was in print form.

 

We plan on using Getty-Dubay Cursive Italics.

HWT has books for older kids called Can Do Cursive. Also I'm sure there are handwriting practice workbooks in stores for summer. They are boring though. Scholastic has cursive practice books that use quotes or jokes.

 

Glad you posted this.  The saddest part of not learning cursive, to me, is that it limits a student's access to primary historical documents.  I don't want to do anything that will limit my child, or lock him out of a field or any type of research.

 

Even if one is not going to be a historian, what happens when those kids are adults, and they are going through our attics, after our deaths?  And they find letters from great grandma to great grandpa?  What if they can't read their own family history?  (In our case, we do have these letters, so it would be sad if our children couldn't read them, I imagine many people have letters stashed away.)

[Jayne J]

Has anyone seen this?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html

 

I use cursive virtually every time I write anything, and am amazed that others don't. Not judgey-amazed, just genuinely surprised. Cursive is just faster for me. Also I find that it is harder to remember things I don't write down or take notes on, and writing is a vital part of my thought process. Even if the final product is to be typed, I have to rough it out in handwriting--cursive. My print is just awful unless I really concentrate--I write print for my younger kids to copy when they do copywork and I find it a chore.

[gardening momma]

We're using New American Cursive by Memoria Press. I want DS to be able to write and decipher cursive. I also think it's faster for note taking purposes.

:iagree:  :iagree:

 

We also use NAC by MP.

[gardening momma]

 

 

But... who still writes in cursive even half the time? Or some of the time? (except for students)

 

I do.

[OneStepAtATime]

Kids asked me to ask you to "Get New American Cursive".  They wanted you to know they endorse it, too, not just a mom thing.  :)

[ajfries]

I do. I write almost everything in cursive. I cannot imagine not doing so.

 

 

Me too. My printing looks slightly messy, but my cursive is very nice. 

[kahlanne]

Our public schools teach it but my brother's schools in MS have removed it from their schools entirely. I couldn't believe it. My nephew, age 12, cannot read or write in cursive at all.

[Hunter]

Cursive is faster for SOME people. Writing in cursive is a multitasking activity. It is very difficult for people with some particular sets of strengths and weaknesses. There is a reason more men return to manuscript as soon as they are allowed to; the male brain is not always as proficient at multitasking as the female brain.

 

The more I learn about handwriting, the more I am convinced that there is ABSOLUTELY not a one-sized-fits-all solution.

[TammyS]

 

 

I really do think its nice to learn but really this idea that it is necessary or essential... nah.

 

I guess it depends on what one considers necessary.  Students remember far better notes taken by hand, rather than typed: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/to-remember-a-lecture-better-take-notes-by-hand/361478/

 

Cursive is an easy way to write faster with less hand fatigue, and so makes the above easier.  It also removes the obvious computer distractions when one is listening to a lecture that they find less than fascinating.

 

[Hunter]

HANDwriting is critical; cursive is not. Cursive is a tool that may or may not be a useful tool depending on the circumstances.

[boscopup]

I take notes by hand in a semi-connected manuscript. If I try to take notes in cursive, they are completely illegible, and my brain gets confused as to when to stop the repetitive motions, like the humps in 'm' and 'n'. I do use cursive a lot to keep it up, but for taking notes that I intend to read later, manuscript it is. I can write faster in manuscript, and it's legible.

 

I was an engineer prekids, and I fit in with the men Hunter was talking about. :)

 

I'm also not sure how learning modern cursive helps much with reading founding documents of our country. The cursive at that time is so different from what we use today. I have no trouble reading a grandmother's cursive, but reading some of those old documents is incredibly difficult.

[winoelle]

I have never taken notes in cursive, it always slowed me down. I use cursive only occasionally as an adult.I didn't really teach it to my daughter, we sort of looked at it briefly, she can read it, sign her name, that's about it.

[KrissiK]

My writing is a hybrid of cursive and print. I dropped the ball with cursive and my kids, so this year we are using Rod and Staff's handwriting books and will all learn cursive together.

[LabRat]

I take notes by hand in a semi-connected manuscript. If I try to take notes in cursive, they are completely illegible, and my brain gets confused as to when to stop the repetitive motions, like the humps in 'm' and 'n'. I do use cursive a lot to keep it up, but for taking notes that I intend to read later, manuscript it is. I can write faster in manuscript, and it's legible.

 

I was an engineer prekids, and I fit in with the men Hunter was talking about. :)

 

I'm also not sure how learning modern cursive helps much with reading founding documents of our country. The cursive at that time is so different from what we use today. I have no trouble reading a grandmother's cursive, but reading some of those old documents is incredibly difficult.

I can see why it may be easier for you to use manuscript.  My step-dad was an civil engineer, and he almost never wrote in cursive.  This was due to his engineering background as so much manuscript was required. I think it just became second nature to him to print although he could write in cursive.  He had some of the most beautiful and perfectly formed letters that I have ever seen.  

 

I, on the other hand, would be lost without cursive.  I write everything...well, almost everything in cursive.  I will only print when absolutely necessary, and even then, it ends up a mixture of manuscript and cursive.  :lol:

[OneStepAtATime]

Cursive is faster for SOME people. Writing in cursive is a multitasking activity. It is very difficult for people with some particular sets of strengths and weaknesses. There is a reason more men return to manuscript as soon as they are allowed to; the male brain is not always as proficient at multitasking as the female brain.

 

The more I learn about handwriting, the more I am convinced that there is ABSOLUTELY not a one-sized-fits-all solution.

 

 

HANDwriting is critical; cursive is not. Cursive is a tool that may or may not be a useful tool depending on the circumstances.

I agree with Hunter, for some cursive is an extremely difficult task and not very efficient.  Definitely not one size fits all.  Learning to write, whenever possible (and I know that for some just writing at all is challenging if not impossible), IS a critical skill, but cursive is not critical, IMHO.  I do want my kids to learn it, though, if it is within their power to do so.

 

I feel that learning cursive, when possible, is a useful tool for many reasons, some of my reasons having been mentioned by others on this thread and other threads where this topic has come up.  And we are learning it and I hope the kids will achieve fluency in both their handwriting and in reading it.  But if they reach a point further down the road where they choose to go back to straight print or print/cursive hybrid, then so be it, as long as they can write legibly and that when turning in something or filling out something official that they present their best penmanship in whatever form is required.

[kiwik]

Cursive should be used every time we write, because it is how English well-educated people have written for hundreds of years. I see no reason not to teach our children to do so.

But all forms have to be filled in with print. I have nice cursive but only people who learnt the same style as me can read it easily. My brother 4 years younger was taught joined italics and can't read my writing at all.

 

Ideally cursive should be taught but unless your child wants to learn it I would say at 12? there are probably higher priorities.

[Another Lynn]

I've tried and failed teaching cursive.  I've used a couple different workbooks (mostly HWOT, but also Cheerful Cursive, and something from MP), but I haven't been successful in requiring it across the board, so they don't do it.  For the coming school year I'm thinking about just adding very simple cursive copywork.  I figure the problem is fluency.  I'm thinking about having them write their names in cursive every day for a week or two, then giving them a simple sentence to write in cursive every day for two weeks.  Then a longer sentence - for two weeks.  Then two sentences for two weeks.  Then three.  Then a short paragraph.  I'm hoping that writing the same thing every day for a couple weeks will build fluency, speed, and confidence.  .... Just a thought....

[Hunter]

I've tried and failed teaching cursive. I've used a couple different workbooks (mostly HWOT, but also Cheerful Cursive, and something from MP), but I haven't been successful in requiring it across the board, so they don't do it. For the coming school year I'm thinking about just adding very simple cursive copywork. I figure the problem is fluency. I'm thinking about having them write their names in cursive every day for a week or two, then giving them a simple sentence to write in cursive every day for two weeks. Then a longer sentence - for two weeks. Then two sentences for two weeks. Then three. Then a short paragraph. I'm hoping that writing the same thing every day for a couple weeks will build fluency, speed, and confidence. .... Just a thought....

Will the practice exercises in Direct Path to Cursive work for you? The free pdf includes letter formation instructions, but the exercises can be used with any hand.

http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/direct_path_to_cursive.pdf

[Another Lynn]

Will the practice exercises in Direct Path to Cursive work for you? The free pdf includes letter formation instructions, but the exercises can be used with any hand.

http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/direct_path_to_cursive.pdf

 

Yes, I think this will be helpful.  Thank you!

 

[Ad astra]

I would think that if you weren't taught cursive then reading it would be equally problematic as writing it. So you can choose to not take notes in it, not write letters in it, and not pick fonts with it... but if you run into something you want to read, then what? You have to ask someone else to read it to you? I'd hope it wasn't a love letter.

This is precisely my problem. I'd learned English as a foreign language in other country and been never taught cursive writing. I've written and read everything in clear manuscript all my life and it'd been never a problem until I came to the U.S. At first I thought those cursive writings were just messy, but later I realized I never properly learned how to read/write that way. I'm still having difficulty reading anything written in cursive. Think I should practice cursive, too, when my kids do.

[Spryte]

I posted earlier in this thread (about primary resources and not limiting my child - I think learning cursive is important), but thought I'd come back and add a few thoughts:

 

Dropping cursive is not completely new.  My recent college grad did not learn cursive.  He's 22, so obviously it's been some time since he was in elementary school and we'd expect that cursive would have been taught.  He attended PS, in a county ranked as one of the very best in the US.  He's recently graduated university, and still cannot read/write cursive.  (May I add that this was not my choice?  I'm stepmom, not mom, and did not make educational choices.)  He still has to ask someone else to translate when his grandmother sends him a card!  Aaaarrrrghhhh!  

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm using LOE cursive books with my entering 5th grader. He's been learning cursive since 3rd but he hates it. My oldest also hates it. Sigh. I'm going to start insisting all their hand written work be cursive.

 

I'm using LOE Foundations with my 5 yr old and *starting* him with cursive. He's doing great, and I hope this will eliminate the argument over using cursive later on.  

[City Mouse]

I don't think there is anything wrong with a person choosing the style of handwriting that works best for them. However, if some form of cursive is not taught, then there is no choice because that is all they know.

 

For those who can't read cursive and have no interest in writing cursive, HWT has a book called Can Do Printing for 5th grade and up that teaches how to read and "translate" cursive into print. (Can you tell that I really liked the HWT workshop that I went to this summer?)