4th Grade Remedial Handwriting

[Leav97]

I have a 4th grader.  He had very nice handwriting in K-1.  Then he went off to PS for 2nd, home for 3rd, back to PS for 4th.  His handwriting is horrible.  Letters shaped wrong, sized wrong, not staying on the line, no punctuation, starting sentences in random places on the page, and random capitals.  OK, not all of that is handwriting.  His writing and spelling skills also need some remediation. 

I'm looking for a manuscript handwriting that doesn't look like it's written for Pre-K and K.  No cutesy animals.  Words sized correctly for 4th graders.  Not cursive.

Does it exist?

[TheAttachedMama]

I would check out can-do print.  https://shopping.lwtears.com/product/DP/5thGrade

 

[HomeAgain]

That's rough. My advice would be to skip a book altogether.  Print off free sheets and go very slowly through your expectations with each letter: it starts here, it goes around like this, it ends here.  You need to hit this line and this line.  Have him do one, then examine it critically together.  Then another, then another, then set him on a row of them.  Work up to words.

Can I ask why no cursive?  I would think a change of writing might help eliminate the bad habits.

[goldenecho]

So, I suggest these resources because they were designed specifically for remediation....

This one was was designed for 3rd and 4th graders who were moving from 3 lines to smaller lines, but I used it for my 12 year old last year because it also has a lot of remediation for misformed letters, spacing, letters not sitting correctly, etc. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Handwriting-Practice-3rd-4th-grade-Handwriting-Without-Tears-STYLE-FONT-1423658

I also used this which was for 2nd graders but had some  things I used for re-enforcement (it is on 3 lines though...sometimes I just cut the page in half and had him copy on regular lined paper.  Though they had instruction for how to write things when there's no lines which I found helpful.   Again, the other resource has all this but this was just for extra practice.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Grade-Handwriting-Instruction-and-Handwriting-Practice-HWT-STYLE-FONT-3218336

This was something I didn't use which also might be helpful...

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Occupational-Therapy-Blocked-and-Random-Handwriting-Intervention-for-Dysgraphia-2219674

[Leav97]

Thank you,

I've been skipping workbooks and just working on making letters correctly.  I get a lot more resistance from things made by Mom.  Somehow a workbook gets a different response.

I have no desire to work on cursive.  IMO cursive won't exist in another generation.  I'd rather switch to typing.

 

[CTVKath]

Interesting - because I Google-searched your exact post title this morning for my 9yo daughter. She started with Zaner-Bloser manuscript, moved on to ZB cursive but while her cursive improves, her manuscript gets worse and worse. Letters not on lines and all different sizes and crooked. I think hers is mostly a pencil grip and using the wrong muscles issue. She tries and tries to do what I suggest but it just doesn't happen.

I found this blog post that suggests a slant board and using the Handwriting Without Tears Double Narrow lined paper. I'm going to order and try both suggestions. https://www.missjaimeot.com/middle-school-and-handwriting-how-to-help-your-child-improve-their-legibility-after-elementary-school/

[PeterPan]

My ds has SLD writing, and in my reading they seem to pretty much say after the kid has been writing 2 years to hang it up. The motor planning is memorized and it is what it is. So I get why you're wanting to and am with you, but there's possibly more going on, that issues are becoming more obvious as the demands increased, and that it is what it is. 

Fwiw, we had an OT working with my ds who was very gentle and would doodle, have him do crossbody stuff, do grid drawing, that kind of thing, and he started writing for pleasure (lists, single words mostly) and was making progress. Then we changed therapy locations and tried this DRAGON OT who was like here's a worksheet, now you will write! He totally clammed up and stopped. Now we're back with the previous OT and she's just going at it so gently. She had him build a simple machine and then write 3-4 sentences talking about how it worked. He dictated those sentences to me and then copied them. Lots of context, lots of motivation for why his writing had communicative value.

My dh had "ok" handwriting as an elementary student (2nd grade, etc.) but only because he was forced to and tried SO HARD. It's basically non-functional now and he types everything. There are people for whom this is a losing battle. My ds' IEP says scribe for anything longer than a sentence. Everything goes to tech now. You mentioned typing, and yes that would be a good plan. If he seems to have any discomfort or frustration with your efforts, I would also consider an OT eval from someone who specializes in handwriting.

Adding: For some kids it's a vision issue. An eye exam with a developmental optometrist wouldn't hurt. My ds has been checked up and down and his developmental vision (eyes to brain) is fine. He has very poor visual-motor integration. But for some kids, yeah, vision can be involved. It can show up as a really tight grip on their pencil. Their eyes can be alternating and shutting off to resolve convergence issues, so the all over the page, etc. is because of their eyes. It's definitely something to check, sure. COVD is how you find a developmental optometrist.

Edited February 28, 2019 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

10 minutes ago, CTVKath said:

I think hers is mostly a pencil grip and using the wrong muscles issue.

You can be onto something with the muscles and which muscles they're using. My dd was leaning on her arm due to weak core. It wasn't something I could tell just by watching her, but the OT spotted it right away. Also there are retained reflexes that affect the hands. There's one (Babinski? I forget) that is across the palm of the hand. Maybe Palmer? Haha. Anyways, you stroke their hand and if it drives them crazy or their hand curls, boom. Also the reflexes show up with how the fingers separate or don't separate but curve together. You do finger touches to integrate that reflex. Both reflexes are known to be associated with handwriting problems, sure, and can show up as grip issues. The reflexes were made to help the baby grasp and suckle to nurse and don't always get integrated, even if the baby did nurse. My ds had some of those. About 3-4 weeks of the hand stroking and finger touches and the symptoms poofed.

Edited February 28, 2019 by PeterPan

[jboo]

I know it's not what you asked... but one thing I have seen suggested for children with letter formation problems is to switch to cursive, one of the principal advantages being the kid doesn't have to unlearn their old, bad way of doing things. 

My second grader is working with an OT on his manuscript handwriting right now. She was very helpful in the initial diagnosis  - similar to PeterPan's kid, a large portion of his issues were related to his lack of physical strength and endurance. Remediation for these issues has helped improve his writing a lot, even though his baseline skills are still terrible.  Need to spend more time with him (sigh).

[City Mouse]

I like the Can Do printing (there is also a Can Do Cursive) linked above  as it does not look babyish at all. It also includes some practice in reading cursive which is can be a good thing even if you are not interested in having him learn who write in cursive right now.

[birchbark]

Smithhand.

[Targhee]

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