I have never taught cursive and we don't have workbooks for each child, but I have a master copy to make for each child. Do you teach lower case first? Any suggestions? I have been putting this off for too long!
We always start with the Magic (lowercase) c. Because once they can do that they can make lowercase a, d, o, g, q and so on. We use Handwriting Without Tears program.. We then do l because then you can make f, b... Then on to tow truck letters -- ones that have a little tail coming off that connect to another letter... This is just a general overview. If you want I can give you the exact sequence when I get to school tomorrow???
That would be great! Thanks so much. I'm not the original poster, but I'm in a similar boat. Last year I just taught it A-Z, but I'm looking for something better!
My kids love dry erase markers. I am planning to laminate or use sheet covers over regular worksheets and have them practice at their learning centers. Then they can practice tracing the worksheets and completing them. Then erase and you don't have to make a million copies. It seems weird, but my kids love doing anything with those markers.
I have 3rd and used to always start after Christmas. This year I started the first week and it has worked out just as well. I usually start with i , t, l and e so they can immediately write words ( it, tie, tell, let, little ). They get so excited to be "really" writing and reading cursive.
I've been teaching cursive for over 25 years without a workbook, and I'll post my order (using Zaner Bloser) for anyone who is being asked to teach it with no reference, as often seems to be the case. I always start having them write their letters two-spaces high so they have that middle guide line to use.
Start with the lower case letters. There are several "families" of letters. I teach the families in this order: Under Curves (l, i, t, e, h, r, s, b, j, u, k, p, w, f), Over Curves (n, m, y, v, z, x), and Down Curves (a, c, g, d, o, q). I try to start with easier letters first so they don't get discouraged. There are also various tricky connection which I teach as needed. The various "hook" connections(br, be, or, os, wr, etc.) can be a real problem for some. The medial "u" is another one to watch. Getting two line in the "u" instead of one or three can be a problem.
Then teach the capitals. I start with A, C, and E. Then with the main family, which is the Cane Stem (N, M, U, V, W, Y, H, Z, K, X, Q). The rest don't have as much in common, so I teach them in any order until I am finished.
Finally, when the kids have a pretty good grasp of all the letter formations and connections, I work on shrinking the writing to one-space high, making sure that the "tall" letters touch the top line and the half-space letters aren't too big or too small.
Last year I purchased the computer program Start Write, which allows me to make my own worksheets, print the direction arrows, provide dotted-line samples, etc. I love it. Here's the url for a demo: http://www.startwrite.com/download_demo_form.php
Of course, this takes forever. Looking over this post, I can see why the cursive lessons that I used to be finished with by Christmas 20 years ago are only half done today. There is so much more in the third grade curriculum than there used to be. I know the question of which subject could be left out has appeared on one of these boards. There certainly isn't enough time to do justice to this one.
Hope this helps someone. It took me several years of trial and error to get the teaching of cursive write.
I've been teaching cursive for over 25 years without a workbook, and I'll post my order (using Zaner Bloser) for anyone who is being asked to teach it with no reference, as often seems to be the case. I always start having them write their letters two-spaces high so they have that middle guide line to use.
Start with the lower case letters. There are several "families" of letters. I teach the families in this order: Under Curves (l, i, t, e, h, r, s, b, j, u, k, p, w, f), Over Curves (n, m, y, v, z, x), and Down Curves (a, c, g, d, o, q). I try to start with easier letters first so they don't get discouraged. There are also various tricky connection which I teach as needed. The various "hook" connections(br, be, or, os, wr, etc.) can be a real problem for some. The medial "u" is another one to watch. Getting two line in the "u" instead of one or three can be a problem.
Then teach the capitals. I start with A, C, and E. Then with the main family, which is the Cane Stem (N, M, U, V, W, Y, H, Z, K, X, Q). The rest don't have as much in common, so I teach them in any order until I am finished.
Finally, when the kids have a pretty good grasp of all the letter formations and connections, I work on shrinking the writing to one-space high, making sure that the "tall" letters touch the top line and the half-space letters aren't too big or too small.
Last year I purchased the computer program Start Write, which allows me to make my own worksheets, print the direction arrows, provide dotted-line samples, etc. I love it. Here's the url for a demo: http://www.startwrite.com/download_demo_form.php
Of course, this takes forever. Looking over this post, I can see why the cursive lessons that I used to be finished with by Christmas 20 years ago are only half done today. There is so much more in the third grade curriculum than there used to be. I know the question of which subject could be left out has appeared on one of these boards. There certainly isn't enough time to do justice to this one.
Hope this helps someone. It took me several years of trial and error to get the teaching of cursive write.
Lowercase:
c (called the magic c)
cadg (made with magic c)
htp (familiar from printing)
elf (this group doesn't look like printed letters)
uyij (look like priniting- made with similar strokes)
krs (challenging group)
owbv(called tow-truck letters because they don't end at bottom line)
mn (bumps and bumps are tricky)
xzq (infrequently used and can be challenging)
Then we do upper case letter.
If you need/want more info let me know.
Amy
I need help. I would like to teach cursive to 5th/6th graders and teachers who want to learn English. What is Zaner Bloser? Is it accessible to me in Korea. Thanks!
01-19-2006, 11:36 AM
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