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Workshop stresses importance of handwriting

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Handwriting is something that needs to be taught in the schools so that the skill becomes natural and automatic. That’s the message of Paula Heinricher, an occupational therapist and speaker at the Handwriting Without Tears workshop held May 16 at Crowne Plaza in Bethel Park for area teachers and occupational therapists.

“Handwriting remains the primary tool of communication and knowledge assessment,” said Heinricher, who is with Handwriting Without Tears, a Gaithersburg, Md., company that helps educators teach children how to print and write cursive without getting frustrated. It was founded by an occupational therapist whose son had trouble learning how to write because his teacher had no training in how to properly teach the skill.

Besides training, the company offers workbooks and guides for kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as online materials. Locally, Upper St. Clair School District uses the curriculum developed by Handwriting Without Tears, Heinricher said.

It is important that children be proficient in both handwriting and keyboarding, said Heinricher, noting teachers need to be “hands on” with students and not just give them something to copy.

“Reading, writing, language use and critical thinking are helped by handwriting,” said Heinricher, whose company is aligned with the Common Core Standards Initiative.

The key for educators to teach good handwriting is to start with capitals and work for the top, meaning teach letters where a child has to start at the top and work down, she said. Plus, teachers need to remember to make the handwriting lessons visual, tactile and auditory and plan to spend 10 minutes a day on the subject.

“One of the greatest tools is demonstration,” Heinricher said. “We have to show them what we want them to do.”

Also, teachers needs to make sure their students have the foundation skills in place such as posture, proper paper position and pencil grip, she said.

“Make sure the kids have their feet on the floor and the paper is at a slight slant,” she said. “Make sure they use a tripod grip (thumb and first two fingers). The writing tool has to extend above the web space on the child’s hand for proper support.”

To make sure the child remembers the proper grip, Heinricher said to make sure he drops the pencil and picks it up several times.

“Also, it is important to make sure they know their left from their right,” she said.

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