Writing by Hand

With so much technology at our fingertips – and close at hands for children as young as toddlers – the art of writing by hand has seemed to steadily decline over the past few decades. 

New research shows, however, that handwriting is one of the most powerful tools to help young students for reading, writing and having strong cognitive abilities. 

A study published last year in Neuroscience News found that young children learn letters and word structures more effectively through handwriting than through typing.  The study worked with 5 and 6 year olds using unfamiliar letters and words taught either by manual writing or by keyboards. The children who learned the letters and words by hand performed significantly better on tests of recognition, writing and pronunciation than those who learned via keyboard.
 
Researchers conclude that the practice of handwriting helps kids to better learn letters and words because it engages multiple senses all at once – requiring visual, auditory and physical output from the brain. The coordination of hand and eye movement to produce letters – called graphomotor movement – helps to solidify the letter’s identity in the child’s brain and allows them to better remember it. 

So how to encourage young learners to divert back to pencil and paper instead of a keyboard or tablet? Writing a short shopping list before heading to the store is an easy and attainable task that can help encourage formation of new words. Drawing a simple family tree with family member’s names is another fun way to explore letter combinations that your little one may not have visually seen, but only heard. And of course lots of alphabet practicing – the key is repetition! 
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Though it may seem like a lost art, writing by hand is an essential part of development for young brains on their way to building strong foundational literacy skills. 

Melissa Hermiston, Co-Executive Director 
Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy