![]() ![]() The students took so much time drafting their notes, um letters, wanting to perfectly spell each word and use their best handwriting! It took several afternoons before I was able to mail off the letters! The students were all in the same grade and the penpals were random. One year, my students wrote letters to another teacher’s class in a different state. I would also include writing activities that utilized students’ natural affinity to passing notes to friends, only this was a teacher-sanctioned snail mail penpal experience. When I taught high school, I incorporated skill writing like grammar and paragraph construction, along with teaching writing about literature. For example, I would have students write about math concepts they learned both skill-wise (explain in writing a common denominator) and creatively (write 4 word problems that show elapsed time).įor social studies, I would have students write from the perspective of a famous, significant person in history like Harriet Tubman or Abraham Lincoln. To remedy this conflict, I used writing as a tool for learning other content. But it was difficult to focus on it when pressure is put elsewhere (math and reading particularly, as these are the most state-tested content areas). As a teacher, I recognized the significance of children being able to write well. In my experiences teaching at all levels of education from elementary to high school, writing has always been a struggle. This de-emphasis on writing is to the detriment of children. In a time when schools are under pressure to include more than academics such as social-emotional curriculum yet still are held to rigorous standardized testing mandates, it’s not surprising that the importance of handwriting and writing instruction has gone by the wayside (after all, handwriting and writing ARE not traditionally tested subjects). A 2014 study found that high school students who hand wrote their notes performed much better on conceptual questions than those students who typed their notes on a laptop. This benefit of hand writing versus using keyboards extends beyond the primary grades, too. ![]() James and Laura Engelhardt, provides a correlation between the process of handwriting and reading acquisition not found in comparison to when children type letters. ![]() It requires more cognitive function and brain power than ‘writing’ with with technology.Ī study by psychologists, Karin H. This report from Psychology Today explains that handwriting may actually make you smarter. Due to the significance of writing, I’d say writing is second only to reading in importance, in my humble teacher-opinion. Writing is necessary for success in higher education, and almost any career a child can imagine. Teachers will tell you that writing is painstaking to learn for many children (and for many teachers to teach)! Though the actual acts of printing and cursive writing (handwriting), as well as the content of writing, are probably the most important skills students learn in school. Three year old Kayleigh works on her ‘letters’ when writing to Oma (that’s me). ![]()
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