Remediating handwriting

[Piper]

Needing some advice on this. I'm not looking for remediating handwriting in terms of kids having difficulty with the physical actions required or anything. I just have two kids (middle schoolers) whose handwriting closely resembles chickens scratching in dirt and I'm really sick of it! I taught them proper letter formation but they have gotten hasty and lazy and are frequently illegible as a result. Yes, they can write tidily when they "really try" but as soon as they stop concentrating like mad on being tidy, they descend to chicken scratch again.

So, I'm hoping to give them some exercises/programs to use daily over the summer, such that they can practice, practice, practice, and practice some more until writing tidily becomes easier/more instinctive. I'm not focused on cursive (although that would be a bonus). At this point I'd just like to be able to read their printing without having to squint! And to be confident that if they submit work to external teachers, those teachers won't have any trouble reading it!

Any tips/pointers/words of hope??

Thanks for any help you can offer this highly frustrated parent. :) 

[Miss Tick]

What about having them write a letter everyday that you read for clarity before sending? Pick a topic, write about it to 2 or 3 people, leave a note for Dad, etc. Explain upfront that you've noticed their handwriting is getting difficult to read and send to need some remediation. Maybe at the end of each week of successful writing you could have a small celebration or reward.

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, Piper said:

At this point I'd just like to be able to read their printing without having to squint! And to be confident that if they submit work to external teachers, those teachers won't have any trouble reading it!

I tell my teens that AP exams are handwritten (other than this year due to COVID19) so they need to be able to write in a legible manner and fast for exams. 
I also tell them I can’t help them if I can’t read their handwriting.

Most of my kids assignments for external classes are typed so for those that are handwritten, my kids do try to make sure the handwriting is legible after scanning.

If you can’t read their handwriting easily, then get them to rewrite so you can read. A teacher would either give zero credit or make them resubmit anyway so a parent can do the same. 

[Emily ZL]

If it were me and I cared about making an improvement, I think I would focus on cursive, and then ask for their assignments to be done in cursive or typed. I think it's hard to make print look nice without it becoming chicken scratch unless you're really concentrating hard. I don't think fast, attractive print is a real thing. IMO, most adults who print nicely on a label or grocery list can't keep it up for a long document in longhand without it degenerating into a messy print-cursive hybrid. But with some work, you can improve both style and speed with sustained practice in cursive. Just my two cents.

[goldenecho]

I used Raise the Roof by Print Path with my middle schooler with illegible writing over the summer, and while it didn't make his writing perfect, it did improve it (I could read it!).

It's actually meant for helping kids move from KG lines to regular lined paper, but it addresses other handwriting issues on the way (I just skipped used that stuff), and is not babyish.  It's made by an occupational therapist and I love everything she does for handwriting.  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Handwriting-Review-Refinement-Raise-the-Roof-Handwriting-Without-Tears-style-1423658
 

[mathmarm]

I made up HW drills that my kids use(d) to achieve a level of fluency in. penmanship. Some of the handwriting drills that we do are:

--using ink pens (because ink-pens are more consistent)
--deliberately practicing the correct formation of sets of alphabet in groupings each day, (for example, doing all the letters that start with a line, or from a curve. We typically did in reps of 5. So writing each letter or grouping 5, 10,15, or 20 times.)
--doing copywork as a way to practice writing.
--doing timed handwriting sprints (some days we only do 1 sprint. Others we might do 2 or 3 sprints.)
--looking over a previous days work and having them critique it for a specific feature (spacing, alignment, sizing, etc)
--completing select handwriting drills/exercises by the timer
--drilling and automating letter combinations
--drilling the X most common words to the point of automaticity

 

[Gil]

 

On 5/20/2020 at 11:51 AM, Piper said:

Needing some advice on this. I'm not looking for remediating handwriting in terms of kids having difficulty with the physical actions required or anything. I just have two kids (middle schoolers) whose handwriting closely resembles chickens scratching in dirt and I'm really sick of it! I taught them proper letter formation but they have gotten hasty and lazy and are frequently illegible as a result. Yes, they can write tidily when they "really try" but as soon as they stop concentrating like mad on being tidy, they descend to chicken scratch again.

So, I'm hoping to give them some exercises/programs to use daily over the summer, such that they can practice, practice, practice, and practice some more until writing tidily becomes easier/more instinctive. I'm not focused on cursive (although that would be a bonus). At this point I'd just like to be able to read their printing without having to squint! And to be confident that if they submit work to external teachers, those teachers won't have any trouble reading it!

Any tips/pointers/words of hope??

Thanks for any help you can offer this highly frustrated parent. 🙂

At this stage in the game, I would explain to them I'm not going to accept half-a$$ed work from them. It sounds like they are old enough and capable enough to write neatly and legibly the first time around, so they need to do it. Sloppy writing literally fulfills none of the purposes of writing as a form of communication.

I would have them copy in their best handwriting a paragraph from a book. Then, using that paragraph as their bench-mark, any written work that you deem doesn't meet that standard, tear-up and throw-out.  Really. Every time they turn in sloppy work tell them "This isn't acceptable, and I won't even grade it" then tear the page in two and throw it in the trash and make them do it again. Immediately. They will now work by the motto "Do it right, or do it over."

This is the fastest way to make them care. This is the fastest way to make them attentive and develop diligence.

Of course, they also need to be doing some manual writing every day (note: Saturday is a day, so is Sunday). You can have them copy a paragraph, or quote, convert an outline to sentences, or write a letter to the editor for the local news paper. It doesn't matter what they write, but they need to write each and every day for about 5-10 minutes in the morning and 5-10 minutes in the evening.

"Do it right or do it over" was the standard that I used on The Boys when they were younger and to this day, they have some of the best handwriting I've ever seen in children.

The same way I don't put up with The Boys walking around grunting and butchering their speech like willful idiots, I don't put up with them going about jotting scrawling randomly on a page and calling it writing either.

But "the basics done to the highest standard" was my "Hill to Die On" when my boys were little. Like you, I'd taught them to write properly and they could write neatly but often wouldn't. I finally explained to them one last time that practice makes permanent, so it's too important to cut corners with the fundamental skills. I told them that since they knew how to write, that they had to consistently do high-quality work on their papers or they'd have to do them again.

Than I began to tear up their sloppy work and make them do it again. There was no bargaining, no 2nd chance, or opportunity to adjust anything. If it was sloppy, I'd tear it up and throw it away. If it looked half-a$$ed, it was trashed. Period.

I had tears initially, but it wasn't something I had to do for months on end, I assure you that.

It hurt's in the early days, but it works. 

Explain to them the new standard. Use a sample of their best  handwriting as a model, make them write for a short period of time each day and judge their output against their "best" model. Immediately tear-and-trash all the half-a$$ed work that they turn it. Rinse and repeat.