cursive

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cursive
By KT

I usually wait until all or most of the kids have their small motor printing an appropriate size for binder paper which differs every year...usually before Christmas. They get so anxious if you don't start they start inventing
their own which is a problem. I usually start out by reading Beverly Cleary's Muggie Maggie about a little girl who is reluctant to learn cursive. Also, I find it helps to send a copy of whichever style you teach home so parents have a reference. It may be different than they learned. Each publisher teaches it differently...consult your manual for actual stroke directions. I usually

teach the letters in groups that start with a similar stroke : i, t, e tall loops l,k, h, "2:00 letters": a, o, g, d. This enables them to write several words right away too. I do all the lower case and then the capitals. One letter a day seems much too slow. They can usually do 2-4 similar letters a day and then have follow-up practice. Our distric uses D'Nealian which is a very simplified cursive. I usually do not require cursive writing for all the students until the last quarter...then their spelling test must be cursive and selected paragraphs I may assign. Those who are ready and able can chose to write other things in cursive. Some kids just need time to develop a pace fluent enough to finish assignments on time and this takes a great deal of practice. Others take right to it just like anything else you teach. But if you never assign anything that HAS to be in cursive some will never chose to make that transition. You may want to check with the 4th grade teachers and see what they expect when the kids walk in the door to 4th. I tend to get wordy..I hope this helps.