Rahul Education

Importance of handwriting

THE IMPORTANCE OF HANDWRITING

Handwriting is a basic tool used in many subjects — taking notes, taking tests, and doing classroom work and homework for almost every content area as well as in language arts classes — poor handwriting can have a pervasive effect on school performance.

Moreover, when handwriting is perceived as arduous and time-consuming, motivation to write may be greatly reduced, leading to a lack of practice that may further compound difficulties with writing.

Finally, handwriting in the earliest grades is linked to basic reading and spelling achievement; for example, when children learn how to form the letter m, they can also be learning its sound. Attention to the linkages among handwriting, reading, and spelling skills can help to reinforce early achievement across these areas.

Practicing writing helps a child learn vocabulary words, sentence structure, spelling, and story structure, which all help in building a stronger reader.

Learning handwriting at an early age helps children become more successful in school and life!

The pen and paper approach also enables children to express themselves more imaginatively once they have mastered the skill of writing.

Most important reason to teach handwriting in school is that having illegible handwriting can have a serious impact on a child’s self-esteem and can hinder their learning irreparably.

mamta singh

Dr. Mamta Singh

B.A | B.Ed | M.A | Persuing M.Ed
School Principal at Rahul Education, Queen Mary’s High School

FAQS

Handwriting reinforces our reading and language processing skills. Writing by hand allows time to slow down the thought process enabling the writer to think about the words, how they are spelt and the structure of the writing; all making the writer more adept at the language they are using. Handwriting activates the brain more than keyboarding. Good handwriting contributes to reading fluency because it activates visual perception of letters. Handwriting is a predictor of success in other subjects, because good handwriting has a positive impact on grades.

When you write your notes by hand, you develop a stronger conceptual understanding than by typing. Handwriting forces your brain to mentally engage with the information, improving both literacy and reading comprehension. On the other hand, typing encourages verbatim notes without giving much thought to the information.

Handwriting activates a specific part of the brain, which researchers believe is important for learning and memory. Researchers believe it’s vital that children are taught handwriting at school to establish the neuronal patterns in the brain that are beneficial for learning.

Maximizing memory is a process, one that can’t be rushed. Although typing notes is convenient and quick, handwriting allows learners to activate parts of the brain that typing does not. Writing by hand helps learners synthesize information and retain more of it.

 Because handwriting is such a complex skill, there are many children who have difficulty mastering it. This may cause frustration and distress and affect a child’s desire to write. It may also cause anxiety for the parents and teachers who watch the child struggle to put his or her ideas on paper.

Writing experts have also shown that handwriting is a crucial foundation for writing success. The ‘Writer Effect’ reveals that unless handwriting is fluent and automatic, it interferes with the act of skilled writing. For Noah, along with many pupils, handwriting effort can take up too much mental bandwidth.

Handwriting is part of our daily lives. It is on show to others and may be used to make judgments about us. However, despite the increased use of computers for writing, the skill of handwriting remains important in education, employment and in everyday life.

The brain engages differently when we write something by hand as opposed to typing it on a keyboard or by touching a screen. Studies show that writing improves memory; students retain learning better when working with new ideas through handwriting instead of typing.

Origins-The earliest example of systematic writing is the Sumerian pictographic system found on clay tablets, which eventually developed around 3200 BC into a modified version called cuneiform which was impressed on wet clay with a sharpened reed.

Each person has their own unique style of handwriting, whether it is everyday handwriting or their personal signature. Cultural environment and the characteristics of the written form of the first language that one learns to write are the primary influences on the development of one’s own unique handwriting style.

According to the graphic, the size of someone’s handwriting can determine the type of personality they have. People with small handwriting tend to be shy, studious and meticulous, whereas outgoing people who love attention will have larger handwriting

Yes. It is absolutely normal. Writing includes signals from brain and it is affected by mood. The way you hold a pen, how much pressure you are applying, everything is decided by brain which is influenced by your mood.

Handwriting starts with scribbling and drawing then moves on to forming letters and words. You can encourage your child to develop an interest in handwriting by giving them opportunities to draw, scribble and write. This prepares your child for the formal handwriting they’ll learn at school.

  • Legible: adhering to the characteristic letter shapes.
  • Fluid: writing with an even, quick writing rhythm.
  • Fatigue-free: writing with little and balanced pressure.
  • Efficient: quick and yet fatigue-free writing.
  • Individual: a personal writing style.

The study found out that writing skills are influenced by multifaceted factors that include remuneration of teachers, teacher training, external forces, workplace conditions, in-service training, motivation to teach and emotional factors.