Handwriting Today

number 8 autumn 2009 Handwriting Today

Journal of the National Handwriting Association

Registered charity No. 1051157

Website: www.nha-handwriting.org.uk

Chair: Angela Webb Vice Chairs: Anna Barnett and Gwen Dornan

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor: Dr. Carolyn Dunford Research Editor: Dr. Anna Barnett Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Department of Psychology York St John University Oxford Brookes University Lord Mayor’s Walk Gipsy Lane York YO31 7EX Oxford OX3 0BP Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

NHA News: Reviews of Books and Resources: Mary Chambers Jessica Falconer School of Education 32 Ellerker Gardens University of Leeds Richmond Leeds LS2 9JT TW10 6AA

Handwriting Today is published annually and is mailed free to NHA members. Notes for contributors

General l The journal is published annually and will normally be distributed to members during the autumn term. l All copy should be sent to the editor no later than mid July in the year of publication. Copy will need to be circulated to individual section editors well in advance of this date in order to allow for any changes that need to be made. l Every attempt is made to agree changes with individual contributors. However, last minute changes may need to be made in order to allow for aspects of layout and design. l All copy should include the following details: name of contributor, profession and place of work. l All copy should be sent electronically via disc or email.

Format l All documents should be produce in Word and should be PC compatible. l The preferred font is Times New Roman size 12. l All copy should be free from justification or tabs and single line spacing should be used. l Headings should be in bold print using lower case lettering.

Articles & research papers l There should be a maximum of 3000 words, excluding references (unless otherwise agreed). l References should be submitted in APA format:

Books: Argyris, C. (1990). Overcoming organisational defences: Facilitating organisational learning. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Journals: Bartram, P. & Wolfendale, S. (1999). Educational Psychology Services: The pursuit of quality assurance. The role of service level agreements. Educational Psychology in Practice, 15 (1), 30-45.

Reviews l The following details should be included at the beginning of each review: – Title – Author – Publisher (including address and other contact details) – ISBN – Price l Reviews should be a maximum of 500 words (unless otherwise agreed). l Please include an overview of the product, its purpose, its intended audience and its usefulness. l Constructive criticism is welcomed. However, reviews should be positive and respectful in tone. ISSN 1744-036X

Handwriting Today – Number 8 2009

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Contents

Editorial 2

Review and research articles 3 I Why handwriting is still important in the age of electronic writing – Steve Graham 3

I An investigation of the influence of the transcription skills of handwriting and spelling on the quality of text writing by girls and boys in Key Stage 2 – Rhona Stainthorp & Nafisa Rauf 8

I Impact of children’s handwriting skill on text composition – Thierry Olive, Rui A. Alves, Sao Luis Castro, and Marta Branco 14

Research digest 19

Current issues 25 I The National Curriculum in England 25

I The National Curriculum and Handwriting –– Help or Hindrance? 26

I Handwriting in the news 29

Tips for teaching 31 I Another Tips for Teaching 31

I Tips for Grasp/Grips 36

I Satips’ National Schools’ Handwriting Competition 40

Reviews of books and resources 45

Changes to Which Handwriting Scheme? – October 2009 50

NHA news 51 I Chair's report 51 I In-service training (INSET) 52 I Corporate members and friends of the NHA 52 I AGM minutes 53 I Farewell 55

Conferences and courses 57

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Editorial editorial

This is my first issue as editor and I want to start by In the new Current Issues section we aim to include thanking Anna Barnett for her unflagging support pieces relating to legislation, guidelines and policies and patience as I find my way into this role. We have to keep you up to date on any developments in made a few changes to the journal including the these areas relevant to handwriting. In this issue we order of the contents and a new section called focus on the National Curriculum for England and Current Issues. Your feedback is welcome as always articles on handwriting from the press. on any aspect of the journal. The Tips for Teaching section includes a new We are pleased to start with three research articles addition to our series called Basic Steps and Tips on handwriting. In this section we aim to present to for Grasp/grips which will become another addition you high quality articles with relevance to health to the series in the near future. Our thanks to Gwen and education professionals working with children Dornan for all her diligent work on these. with handwriting difficulties. Many thanks to our authors Steve Graham, Rhona Stainthorp, Nafisa There are reviews of Clever Fingers, Doodle Sticks, Rauf, Thierry Olive and colleagues for their articles. Coming Alive Phonics – Playing with Sounds and Letters, the Lego Classic pen and Smart Moves. Steve Graham’s article eloquently explores the Many thanks to Jessica Falconer for all her hard reasons for the continuing importance of hand- work in compiling the reviews and to all those who writing whilst acknowledging the significant wrote them. contribution that technology has to offer those with handwriting difficulties. Rhona Stainthorp and Mary Chambers has compiled the NHA news Nafisa Rauf’s article investigates how spelling and section where we keep you up to date on NHA handwriting contribute to text writing and also business. Finally we have a section that provides highlights differences between boys and girls. reviews of recent conferences and information on Thierry Olive and colleagues’ article investigated future events which may be of interest to NHA the developmental process of the online dynamics readers. of written production. We hope you will all find something of interest in The research digest section aims to give you an this issue and may consider contributing something overview and précis of relevant publications over yourself to the journal in the future. the last year to give you an overview of pertinent articles. Thanks to Anna Barnett for compiling and Carolyn Dunford editing this section and saving us all so much time. [email protected]

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research articles Review and research articles compiled by Anna Barnett

In this section we are pleased to include contributions from leading researchers in the USA and in Europe. First, in a review article, Steve Graham outlines the continued importance of handwriting skill, with reference to the individual journey of his daughter and to the wider research literature. This is followed by two new research articles examining the relationship between handwriting skill and text composition. Rhona Stainthorp and Nafisa Rauf consider age and gender differences in transcription and text writing quality performance in the context of an English primary school. They use a new test (the DASH) to measure handwriting speed. In our final article, Thierry Olive and his Portuguese colleagues extend this line of research by comparing a written and a dictated composition task and by including on-line recording, to examine specific pause and execution patterns of the writing process.

This teachers’ first assumption was valid. Word Why handwriting is still processors allow youngsters to convert ideas into important in the age of legible words that can be printed without messy smudges, mark-outs, and erasures that sometimes electronic writing accompany their handwritten papers. Text can easily be changed, as it can be moved, rewritten, Steve Graham eliminated, or added without laboriously rewriting it. Word processors contain spell checkers and other Contact details: helpful software. Computers can be connected Steve Graham to the web, and the writer can share their message Vanderbilt University with distant others almost instantaneously. Not Peabody College Box 228 surprisingly, school-aged children who use word Nashville TN processing as their primary writing tool make 37023, USA greater gains in writing than students who continue [email protected] to write by hand (Bangert-Drowns, 1993; Graham & Perin, 2007). My daughter attended a very progressive school, where they did a fabulous job of creating an engag- Even though it is 17 years later, the second assump- ing learning environment, but they were adamantly tion has not been realised. The teacher’s prediction opposed to systematically or explicitly teaching any that the electronic age of writing would lead to the skill, including handwriting. By the end of first demise of handwriting has yet to occur. grade, my daughter hated writing. She avoided it whenever she could and was very vocal about why This is not to dispute the obvious fact that word this was the case. Writing the letters in words processing and even newer writing programs such was a painstaking exercise that required her full as speech synthesis are used in business, at home, attention, draining her of the will to sustain any and in school. In the United States for example, extended writing effort. most households have at least one computer (US Census Bureaus, 2003), and adults and children Her teacher’s response to this situation was to alike use them to write for a variety of purposes, prescribe dictation as the cure to my daughter’s including emailing and blogging. Nevertheless, transcription difficulties. When my wife and I much writing still takes place by hand, with some of argued that it would be better to just teach hand- it so illegible it bedevils those who must read it, writing, as she could not always rely on a scribe, the ranging from postmen who cannot figure out the teacher’s response was: “Why do you care so much. address on a letter to pharmacists who cannot deci- No one will be using handwriting in the future. She pher doctors’ handwritten prescriptions (Aspden, will do all of her writing on the computer and be Wolcott, Bootman, & Cronenwett, 2007). better for it.” The assumptions underlying her statement were: (1) word processing is superior to For the most part, word processing and other writ- writing by hand, and (2) handwriting would shortly ing machines play a relatively small role in writing at disappear as a means for writing. school, especially with younger students. In the

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research articles United States for instance, 80% of primary grade processing or even newer writing tools become as teachers (with students aged 6 to 9) reported that common as pen and paper, handwriting is unlikely they never or only rarely (several times a year) used to disappear from the classroom or the world at computers for writing in their classrooms (Cutler & large. Graham, 2008). Word processing was more common at the high school-level (students aged 15 to A 21st century update to Toad’s writing adventure 18), but 50% of teachers still indicated that students would involve him abandoning pen and paper for never or only rarely used word processing for pen and virtual paper – basically a laptop computer writing (Kiuhara, Graham, & Hawken, 2009). Just that doubles as legal pad. This newest innovation is 16% of high school teachers reported students used a testament to the staying power of writing by hand. computers weekly to complete writing assignments. Toad and the rest of us will continue to enthusias- Simply put, very few schools have enough com- tically embrace the next best writing tool, as we puters to make word processing students’ primary should, but for some time to come – Toad’s children writing tool, much less their exclusive one. and our children must learn to write legibly and fluently by hand. Otherwise, they will be at-risk aca- In all fairness to my daughter’s teacher, she was not demically. I examine why that is the case next. the first person or the last to predict the demise of handwriting. Over the years, I have been asked Handwriting and students’ grades repeatedly by reporters about the death of hand- Even highly experienced writers sometimes suffer writing, looking to eulogise its passing in print. I the consequences of poor handwriting. The hand- often answer this question with a tongue-in-cheek writing of Horace Greeley, one of the greatest response by asking: “Do you know exactly where editors of all time, was so illegible that a note to handwriting is buried?” or “When did this happen? paint “Entrance on Spruce Street” over his door I would like to mark it on my calendar.” These was interpreted and written as “Editor on a Spree”. concerns about handwriting’s health came long The almost illegible handwritten Circe episode before the advent of word processing, however, as from James Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses, was mis- they began with the advent of the portable type- taken for scrap paper and thrown into the fire prior writer. to type setting. Luckily for Joyce, his publisher was The supposed demise of handwriting was satirically able to find another copy of this section of the book captured in Time magazine more than 20 years ago (Hendrickson, 1994). (Morrow, 1986). In this modern day parable, the irrepressible Toad of Toad Hall from the children’s These literary examples illustrate two of the con- classic The Wind in the Willows enthusiastically sequences of handwriting. First, a reader cannot replaces pen and paper with a Smith-Corona adequately determine the writer’s message if the portable typewriter. This writing machine is text is illegible, as was the case with Greeley’s direc- abandoned for an electric writing machine with tions. Second, readers form judgments about the even more bells and whistles, an IBM Selectric. quality of text based on its legibility, as illustrated by the burned episode from Ulysses. Each of these con- Then one afternoon, Toad encounters the most sequences can influence students’ marks in school. amazing writing tool of all, a word processor. The Selectric is immediately forsaken for this marvel One reason why writing is important to school that will surely change his life. As fate would have it success is because it is a primary means by which though, he takes a disastrous spill while riding his teachers evaluate students’ learning. With writing bicycle, mangling his left thumb, making it difficult activities ranging from answering homework ques- to use either a typewriter or word processor, no tions to taking essay tests to composing reports and matter how shiny and new. He reluctantly picks research papers students are expected to demon- up a No. 1 Eberhard pencil, using it awkwardly strate what they have learned (Cutler & Graham, at first, but gradually falling again in love with 2008; Kiuhara et al., 2009). Students’ grades are writing by hand. The moral is that newer toys do not determined in large part by their performance on necessarily make older ones obsolete. Until word these activities. Since most of these writing activities

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are done by hand, a lower grade is inevitable, if part The consequences of these issues are minimised if or all of a writing assignment or test response is all students had legible and fluent handwriting. illegible or unreadable (Graham, 2006). Unfortunately, many students don’t even posses the first attribute. Close to one in every four students Even when text is legible, handwriting still influ- has difficult producing legible handwriting, with ences the marks teachers assign. Teachers form estimates as high as one in every two students judgments, positive or negative, about the literary in urban schools (Graham et al., 2008; Graham merit of text based on its overall legibility. Research & Weintraub, 1996). In addition, boys’ handwriting has repeatedly demonstrated this “handwriting is even less legible than girls (Hamstra-Bletz & effect”. When teachers rate multiple versions of the Blote, 1993). same paper differing only in terms of legibility, they assign higher grades to neatly written versions of the Handwriting and writing development paper than the same versions with poorer penmanship (e.g., Chase, 1986; Marshall & Powers, 1969). Handwriting influences more than students’ grades; it constrains and shapes the act of writing. This can Handwriting can also influence how students be illustrated with a Chinese typewriter (Graham, decide to approach a timed-writing assignment. 1999). This is a very complicated writing tool, con- They face a thorny dilemma with such assignments. taining almost 6000 characters. Experts only type Should they slow down and write more neatly or about 11 characters a minute. Because typing is to should they speed up to ensure they finish their word processing what handwriting is to composing response? If they speed up, legibility is likely to by hand, the Chinese typewriter provides a reason- decline, with the rater taking a harsher view of the ably good analogy for the potential effects of hand- value of their response due to the “handwriting writing on other writing processes, especially for effect” (Graham & Weintraub, 1996). If they slow developing writers who have not yet automatised down to write more neatly, the “handwriting effect” this skill. may enhance their grade, but they run the risk of not finishing their response, which will also have Suppose that you are asked to write the story of negative consequences. your life. As you compose your masterpiece, some of the ideas for what you plan to say or do next slip A second reason why writing is important in school from memory, as your typing is not fast enough to is because it is a valuable learning tool. It makes it keep up with your thoughts. Any time you have to possible to gather and organise information from stop and look for the next character you plan to lectures and text. It also facilitates thinking about type, your memory is taxed again, and some part of information, as the permanence of writing makes the sentence you are still trying to remember is lost. it easier to review, re-examine, connect, critique, The act of typing with this machine is so demand- and construct new understandings of content ing, you have limited cognitive resources to devote (Applebee, 1984). to planning, evaluating, sharpening, and improving Students with illegible or slow handwriting, how- text, because they are consumed with just typing it. ever, are less likely to enjoy the benefits of writing- to-learn activities. Studying for a test is more As this example illustrates, transcription skills such challenging, for example, if lecture and text notes as typing, or in our case handwriting, interfere with are illegible. Further, lecture notes may be incom- other writing processes (Berninger, 1999; Graham plete for students with slower handwriting. For & Harris, 2000). It is typically assumed that most instance, Weintraub and Graham (1988) found that people’s handwriting eventually becomes fluent and the copying speed of slower handwriters was 60% of automatic enough so that interference becomes the rate of typical students (Weintraub & Graham, minimal. When does this occur? It does not appear 1988). These students are likely to have trouble to happen before 12 years of age, as handwriting getting all of their lecture notes down quickly fluency still accounts for 42% of the variability in enough, and it will take them almost twice as long the quality of children’s writing between the ages of to complete writing assignments, making timed- 10 and 12 (Graham, Berninger, Abbott, Abbott, & writing assignments especially challenging. Whitaker, 1997). In addition, students’ speed of

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research articles handwriting continues to increase at least until (Graham, 2006) and the role that handwriting plays the age of 15 (Graham, Berninger, Weintraub, in shaping early writing development, an important & Schafer, 1998), suggesting that it takes a con- educational goal for young children is to help them siderable amount of time before this skill is fully master this skill, so they become legible and fluent automatised. There is even some recent evidence to writers. suggest that handwriting fluency still constrains the writing of college students (Connelly, Dockrell, & Resolution Barnett, 2005). All good stories require a resolution, which brings me back to my daughter. If her story was turned Handwriting does more than just interfere with into a Disney movie, then the teachers at her ele- other writing processes. It plays a role in shaping young children’s approach to writing. For beginning mentary school would have provided her with writers, the physical act of handwriting is very the handwriting instruction she needed. There is demanding, as are other writing processes like considerable scientific evidence, collected over a planning. How do young writers cope with these span of almost 100 years, demonstrating that multiple and possibly overwhelming demands? directly teaching handwriting enhances legibility They turn the act of writing into a knowledge telling and fluency (Askov, Otto, & Askov, 1970; Graham process. Because the physical act of handwriting & Miller, 1980; Graham & Weintraub, 1996; Peck, cannot be readily eliminated, they treat writing as a Askov, Fairchild, 1980). There is also a growing forward-moving idea generation activity. An idea is body of literature indicating that such instruction generated and written on paper, with each new idea enhances students’ writing too, resulting in better serving as the stimulus for the next one. Largely sentence construction skills as well as longer and absent from this approach to writing, are highly qualitatively better compositions (e.g., Graham, demanding meta-cognitive processes such as Harris, & Fink, 2000; Jones & Christensen, 1999). considering the needs of the readers, the organisa- tion of text, or the constraints imposed by the topic In the Disney version of my daughter’s story, she (McCutchen, 1988). would come to cherish writing and pursue a writing career. Alas, life is not a Disney movie. Such These two examples, illustrating how handwriting instruction was never provided. constrains and shapes children’s writing, demon- strate why developing handwriting fluency and So how does the story end? She is now a senior in automaticity are so important. An obvious down college, and quite a good writer. At about 10 years side to slower handwriting is the increased likeli- of age, she switched from mostly writing by hand to hood of interference with other writing processes. writing on the word processor. In contrast to her Conversely, as handwriting skills become more handwriting, her fingers fly across the keyboard, automatic and less demanding, attention and accurate and assured. In fact, she won her school’s resources for carrying out other writing processes writing award when she was 14. become available, including processes that require reflection and thoughtful activity. It is important I am sure you are saying: “Wait a minute now; this that this move to greater fluency and automitisation sounds just like the ending to a Disney movie. Why occurs early, as the longer the knowledge telling are you arguing that handwriting is still important approach to writing is in place, the more difficult it in the age of electronic writing? Even your daughter, is to get children to change their writing habits. who had poor handwriting and received no handwriting instruction, became a good writer?” Early attention to handwriting is especially important for children who experience difficulty learning Unfortunately, reality is a little more nuanced than this skill. They typically avoid writing whenever they a Disney movie. While my daughter became a good can, developing a mind set that they cannot write, writer, winning an award in middle school and later increasing the likelihood they will become poor scoring at the 99th percentile on a norm-referenced writers (Berninger, Mizokawa, & Bragg, 1991). technical writing exam in college, she does not like Given the importance of writing to school success to write and I doubt that she ever will. Her feelings

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about writing are so intense that she almost quit Cutler, L., & Graham, S. (2008). Primary grade writing college, when her advisor tried to pressure her into instruction: A national survey. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 907 – 919. taking a technical writing course based on her 99th percentile score. This negative view about writing Graham, S. (1999). Handwriting and spelling instruction for students with learning disabilities: A review. Learning has been unwavering, starting with her initial diffi- Disability Quarterly, 22, 78-98. culties with handwriting and continuing to this day. Graham, S. (2006). Writing. In P. Alexander & P. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 457-477). Even if my daughter’s story turned out to be the Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum. Disney movie I envisioned, it does not mean that Graham, S., Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Abbott, S., & this would be the case for other youngsters. The Whitaker, D. (1997). The role of mechanics in compos- problem with testimonials is that they are not ing of elementary school students: A new methodological approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 170-182. necessarily representative. The scientific evidence supports the contention that handwriting positively Graham, S., Berninger, V., Weintraub, N., & Schafer, W. (1998). The development of handwriting fluency and or negatively influences students’ performance in legibility in grades l through 9. Journal of Educational school and it plays a role in shaping young students’ Research, 92, 42-52. writing. Experienced teachers also agree with this Graham, S., & Harris, K.R. (2000). The role of self- contention. In a national survey in the United regulation and transcription skills in writing and writing States, most teachers of young children indicated development. Educational Psychologist, 35, 3-12. that handwriting has important consequences for Graham, S., Harris, K.R., & Fink, B. (2000). Is hand- students, as it influences their grades, the quantity writing causally related to learning to write? Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers. Journal of and quality of their writing, and time needed to Educational Psychology, 92, 620-633. complete writing assignments (Graham et al., Graham, S., Harris, K.R., Mason, L., Fink-Chorzempa, 2008). Ninety percent of them further reported that B., Moran, S., & Saddler, B. (2008). How do primary they taught handwriting, devoting about 70 minutes grade teachers teach handwriting: A national survey. a week to teaching it. Too bad my daughter’s ele- Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 21, 49-69. mentary school did not follow their lead. Graham, S., & Miller, L. (1980). Handwriting research and practice: A unified approach. Focus on Exceptional Children, 13, 1-16. References Graham, S., & Perrin, D. (2007). Writing Next: Effective Applebee, A. (1984). Writing and reasoning. Review of strategies to improve writing of adolescent middle and high Educational Research, 54, 577-596. school. Alliance for Excellence in Education. Washington, Askov, E., Otto, W., Askov, W. (1970). A decade of D.C. research in handwriting: Progress and prospect. Journal of Graham, S., & Weintraub, N. (1996). A review of hand- Educational Research, 69, 86-98. writing research: Progress and prospect from l980 to Aspden, P., Wolcott, J., Bootman, l., & Cronenwett, l l993. Educational Psychology Review, 8, 7-87. (2007). Preventing medication errors: Quality chasm series. Hamstra-Bletz, L., & Blote, A. (1993). A longitudinal Washington, DC: National Academies Press. study on dysgraphic handwriting in primary school. Bangert-Drowns, R. (1993). The word processor as an Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26, 689-699. instructional tool: A meta-analysis of word processing in writing instruction. Review of Educational Research, 63, Hendrickson, R. (1994). The literary life and other curiosi- 69-93. ties. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace. Berninger, V. (1999). Coordinating transcription and text Jones, D., & Christensen, C. (1999). The relationship generation in working memory during composing: between automaticity in handwriting and students’ Automatic and constructive processes. Learning Disability ability to generate written text. Journal of Educational Quarterly, 22, 99- 112. Psychology, 91, 44-49. Berninger, V., Mizokawa, D., & Bragg, R. (1991). Theory- Kiuhara, S., Graham, S., & Hawken, L. (2009). Teaching based diagnosis and remediation of writing disabilities. writing to high school students: A national survey. Journal of School Psychology, 29, 57-79. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 136-160. Chase, C. (1986). Essay test scoring: Interaction of relevant Marshall, J., & Powers, J. (1969). Writing neatness, com- variables. Journal of Educational Measurement, 23, 33-41. position errors, and essay grades. Journal of Educational Measurement, 6, 97-101. Connelly, V., Dockrell, J., & Barnett, J. (2005). The slow handwriting of undergraduate students contrain overall McCutchen, D. (1988). “Functional automaticity” in performance in exam essays. Educational Psychology, 25, children’s writing: A problem of metacognitive control. 99-107. Written Communication, 5, 306-324.

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research articles Morrow, L. (1986). Scribbel, scribble, eh, Mr. Toad? Time minister for Education and the onset of the 1997 [Electronic Version], 2009. Retrieved July 15 from Tony Blair Labour administration with David http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171, 960730,00.html Blunkett heading the education team. Tony Blair had declared that his top priorities for office were Peck, M., Askov, E., & Fairchild, S. (1980) Another decade of research in handwriting: Progress and prospect “Education, education, education” and David in the 1970s. Journal of Educational Research, 73, 282-298. Blunkett signalled his commitment to raising stan- US Census Bureau. (2003). Computer and Internet use dards by saying that he would resign if 80% of in the United States: 2003 [Electronic Version], 2008. Year 6 children did not achieve level 4 in the 2002 Retrieved October 1 from http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p23-208.pdf. Key Stage 2 SATs for English. As it turned out David Blunkett was moved to the Home Office after Weintraub, N., & Graham, S. (1998). Writing legibly and quickly: A study of children’s ability to adjust their hand- the 2001 General Election and Estelle Morris writing to meet common classroom demands. Learning became the cabinet minister for education, closely Disabilities Research and Practice, l3, 146-152. followed by Charles Clarke in 2002.

However, if he had remained in office David An investigation of the influence Blunkett would have had to resign. Figure 1 details the percentages of children achieving at least Level of the transcription skills of 4 in the Key Stage 2 English from 1997 to 2009. handwriting and spelling on the This shows that the target of 80% achieving at least Level 4 was not achieved until 2007 although the quality of text writing by girls linear trend (dotted line) over the years has been for and boys in Key Stage 2 a steady increase in performance.

Rhona Stainthorp – University of Reading Nafisa Rauf – Brunel University

Contact details: Rhona Stainthorp University of Reading * provisional Institute of Education, Bulmershe Court, Woodlands Avenue, Earley Reading RG6 1HY, UK [email protected]

Figure 1: Percentage of children achieving at least Level 4 in Key Stage 2 English SATs. Introduction Achievement of high levels of personal literacy Figures 2a and 2b, shown opposite, present these are a sine qua non of success in a post industrial data divided into the Reading and Writing compo- world. This means attainment of appropriate levels nents. These show a steady increase in both aspects of reading and writing. Concerns about levels of of literacy over the thirteen year period. Taken literacy therefore are not just the domain of educa- together, there are two significant features in these tion but have important political and economic figures which are central to the theme of this paper. consequences. Firstly, they show that performance in English is In recent years these concerns in England have considerably better for reading than for writing with manifested themselves in the introduction of the the mean difference in percentage of children National Literacy Strategy (1998) which straddled achieving Level 4 in reading being 20% higher than the end of the John Major (1992-97) Conservative for writing. This testifies to the view that writing is administration with Gillian Shepherd as the cabinet more difficult and demanding than reading.

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Figure 2a: Reading performance Figure 2b: Writing performance

However, when SAT performance is used to illus- of Writing proposed by Berninger (Berninger et al., trate this, a caveat has to be inserted. Comparing 2002; Berninger & Amtmann, 2003). percentages on two types of tests without z scores being available can be likened to comparing apples The Simple View of Reading proposes that reading and fish. Nevertheless, the figures confirm the is composed of two sets of interacting processes: generally accepted opinion that writing is hard and word decoding processes and language compre- considerably harder than reading. hension processes. Gough and Tunmer were not proposing that reading is a simple process, but their Secondly, they show that the performance of boys is simple model encapsulated in as simple a way as lower than that of girls. Indeed, if the population possible the importance of and interaction between was composed solely of girls, David Blunkett would the two sets of very complex processes. The view not have had to resign should he have been still in states that: office in 2002. However, the overall English perfor- Reading = Decoding x Comprehension (R = D x C). mance of boys has still not reached 80% in 2009. The mean difference between boys and girls for English over the period was 10.4 percentage points. However, though boys do significantly worse than girls in reading, the mean difference was only 6.6 percentage points, but for writing it was 15.5. These figures show that boys find writing much more difficult than girls. They also show that the gap between boys and girls has been more or less static over the period.

The demands of writing Figure 3: The Simple View of Writing (Berninger et al., Given the caveat about comparing reading and writ- 2002) ing performance, it is possible to say that writing is a much more demanding task than reading. This In attempting to do the same for writing Berninger may be illustrated by a comparison of the Simple was unable to simplify the set of processes down to View of Reading, proposed by Gough and Tunmer two. Figure 3 shows the 2002 model. (1986), and now recommended as a useful framework for teachers by the Rose Review 2006, with In this view, writing is represented by a triangle with the Simple View of Writing, and the Not so Simple View Working Memory at its centre. Text generation is at

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research articles the apex and at the base this is supported by Poor transcription skills may therefore interfere with the transcription skills and the executive functions. the generation of the text when they remain effort- This view is conceptually similar to the work of ful and non fluent. An early study by Bereiter, Bourdin, Fayol and Darciaux (1996) who suggest Fine and Gartshore (1979) estimated that in young that language production models tend to contain children’s writing the resource cost of immature three main processing components: namely a con- transcription skills resulted in loss of content from ceptual planning component, a linguistic planning as much as one out of every ten phrases written. component; and an execution component. Berninger (1999) suggested that the amount of variance in the quality of written texts uniquely It also aligns with Kellogg (1996) who suggested accounted for by handwriting fluency was as much that there are three systems of text production which as 66% in the early primary years. each in turn involves two basic level processes: Formulation involving planning and translating; This declines as handwriting skills become auto- Execution involving programming and executing; mated so that by mid secondary school it only and Monitoring involving reading and editing. accounts for 16% of the variance. A recent study Berninger’s and Kellogg’s models both highlight the by Connelly, Dockrell and Barnett (2005) investi- additional complexity of writing over reading and gating the contribution of handwriting fluency to the additional demands it places on the cognitive the quality of texts produced by undergraduates system over and above reading since both concep- under conditions similar to timed examinations tualise writing as involving reading. found that handwriting speed was similar to that of 11 year olds and that speed continued to contribute Kellogg (2008) highlights the time it takes to significantly to the quality of the texts. become a competent writer: “It takes at least two decades of maturation, instruction, and training Speed is a proxy measure of the extent to which a to advance from (1) the beginner's stage of using motor skill has been automated. The faster a person writing to tell what one knows, to (2) the inter- can write (always assuming that the writing is mediate stage of transforming what one knows for legible) the less processing capacity is taken up with the author's benefit, and to (3) the final stage of letter formation and the more capacity is freed up crafting what one knows for the reader's benefit.” for the higher order skill of idea generation and Kellogg, 2008, p. 4). production of the text. However, though the studies cited all used handwriting fluency as a factor in The present research was designed to investigate studying writing performance, there has until the contribution of the transcription processes of recently been no standardised assessment of hand- spelling and handwriting to text writing when they writing speed in the UK. are in the beginner stage as defined by Kellogg. He argues that in order to gain control of the craft- This leads to limitations in interpretation of studies. ing of texts it is essential to reduce the demands on The publication of the Detailed Assessment of working memory through learning and maturation. Speed of Handwriting (DASH) (Barnett, These are the low level skills which are deemed to Henderson, Scheib & Schulz, 2007) means that have become automated in skilled writing. Or there is now a valid reliable instrument for investi- more specifically, it is thought that it is possible to gating handwriting speed and its contribution to automate them with the result that processing writing performance. capacity can then be freed up for the higher order skills of goal setting, planning, reviewing and Using the Simple View of Writing as a framework, revising. These higher order processes may become the present study was designed to investigate the skilled, but they will always remain effortful. contribution that the transcription skills of hand- Kellogg maintains that in order to gain control of writing fluency and spelling ability make to the the crafting of texts it is essential to reduce the quality of the text writing of children in Key demands on working memory through learning and Stage 2 using the standardised DASH. Additionally maturation. the study was designed to investigate whether there

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were differences between boys and girls in these writing an autobiographical text (‘Free Writing’) for transcription skills. ten minutes.

Method The Single Word Spelling Test (SWST; Sacre & Participants Masterson, 2000). For this standardised measure a word from the graded list is dictated aloud as a 421 Pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 from four primary single item and then in a sentence context. The schools in the South East of England took part in pupils then write the target word. the study. The numbers of boys and girls in each year group are shown in table 1. The Test of Written Language (3rd Edition) (TOWL; Hammill & Larsen, 1988). The sponta- Table 1: Number of boys and girls in each year group neous text writing task of this standardised measure was selected as the vehicle for assessing the quality Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Total of the pupils’ text writing skills. Girls 078 082 39 199 The pupils wrote a story in response to a picture Boys 090 095 37 222 depicting a prehistoric scene of a battle between Stone Age people and woolly mammoths. Each text Total 168 177 76 421 was assessed against the protocols for the subscales of Contextual Conventions, Contextual Language Measures and Story Construction. The following assessments were administered: Procedure The Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH; Barnett, Henderson, Scheib & Schulz, The assessments were administered to all the 2007).This standardised measure includes four sep- children. They were administered in groups with the arate scales all of which yield an individual score children sitting in their usual class place. which then combine to give a standardised norm based total score. The fours scales are: Copying a Results sentence with best handwriting for two minutes; The means (and standard deviations) of all meas- Writing out the alphabet for one minute; copying a ures for girls and boys in each year group are sentence with fastest (legible) handwriting for two presented in table 2. m i n u t e s ; Table 2: Means and standard deviations for the Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting, the Single Word Spelling Test and the Test of Written Language

Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys DASH Standard scores 100.03 96.14 106.23 98.48 113.00 103.27 (14.40) (15.83) (13.74) (14.29) (12.44) (13.92) DASH subscales (raw scores) Copy best (wpm) 12.67 12.67 15.44 14.07 21.82 19.16 (5.29) (5.06) (4.73) (4.93) (4.75) (4.47) Copy fast (wpm) 17.65 15.97 23.05 20.32 27.33 24.03 (5.41) (5.43) (4.85) (6.22) (5.86) (5.64) Alphabet (lpm) 39.96 35.93 45.28 37.19 62.56 54.65 (17.62) (15.51) (15.96) (16.27) (20.88 (16.52) Free writing (wpm) 10.62 9.06 13.01 10.28 15.31 13.16 (4.93) (3.61) (4.01) (3.74) (3.82) (4.52) SWST (standard scores) 105.96 104.52 100.56 103.56 114.38 113.14 (14.33) (14.73) (16.67) (16.67) (12.27) (14.45) TOWL (max = 68) 30.03 29.96 35.44 31.11 41.31 34.60 (9.12) (8.73) (7.91) (8.61) (8.17) (6.54)

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research articles Three two-way between group analyses of variance The results of the regression analysis on the Year 5 (ANOVA) were conducted to explore the impact data showed that the total amount of the variance of gender and year group on overall speed of hand- explained by the model was 23%, Fchange (2,172) = writing, spelling and quality of text writing. For 25.53, p <.001. Spelling made a significant contri- speed of handwriting there was a significant main bution of 9.3% to the variance in text writing with a effect of gender, F (1,415) = 22.23, p <.001, a standardised beta coefficient of .316 (t = 4.03, significant main effect of year group, F (2, 415) = p <.001). Additionally, handwriting speed made 12.08, p <.001 and no interaction; for spelling there a significant contribution of 3.84% to the variance was no effect of gender, F (2, 415 = 1.80, p = NS with a standardised beta coefficient of .230 (t = 2.93, but a main effect of year group, F (2, 415) = 9.48, p = .004). p <.001 and no interaction; for quality of text writing there was a significant main effect of gender, The results of the final regression on the Year 6 data F (2, 415) = 17.58, p <.001, a significant effect of year group, F (2, 415) = 23.89 p <.001, and a showed that the total amount of the variance significant interaction F (2, 415) = 2.50, p = .004. explained by the model was 33%, Fchange (2,73) = 18.07, p <.001. Spelling made a significant contri- Additional ANOVAs were conducted on the raw bution of 6.1% to the variance in text writing with scores for the DASH subscales to investigate the a standardised beta coefficient of .266 (t = 2.58, impact of gender and year group on the individual p = .012). At this age, handwriting speed made a aspects of speed of handwriting. The output from significant contribution of 15.1% to the variance with these analyses is presented in table 3. There were no a standardised beta coefficient of .419 (t = 4.06, significant interactions. p <.001).

Table 3: Effects of gender and school year group on Discussion the scores on the DASH subscales. The results showed that girls write significantly Source of faster than boys in every age group and that the df Fp variance quality of their written texts is superior. However, Copy Best Gender 1,415 6.69 <.01 there was no difference in spelling performance. Year 2,415 65.86 <.001 When the DASH test subscales were investigated Copy Fast Gender 1,415 19.37 <.001 the analyses showed that the overall difference in Year 2,415 73.47 <.001 standard scores between boys and girls was repli- cated in each subscale. Thus the girls write faster Alphabet Gender 1,415 12.91 <.001 than boys whether producing their neatest hand- Year 2,415 42.84 <.001 writing or their fastest, and even when they are Free writing Gender 1,415 25.49 <.001 required to compose texts under timed conditions. Year 2,415 30.81 These results suggest that if speed of handwriting is taken as a proxy measure of the degree to which this Three standard multiple regression analyses (one low level transcription skill has been automated, for each year group) were used to assess the ability girls achieve this skill earlier than boys. Additionally of speed of handwriting and spelling ability to boys do not appear to catch up as they grow older. predict the quality of written texts. The rationale for The lack of interaction showed that the difference conducting three analyses was that we wanted to between the boys and girls remained stable across investigate whether the contribution of the control the three year groups. measures to text writing changed over time.

The results of the regression analysis on the Year 4 The contribution that handwriting speed made to data showed that the total amount of the variance individual differences in the quality of written texts did not totally replicate the findings of Berninger et explained by the model was 18%, Fchange (2,165) = 19.72, p <.001. Spelling made a significant con- al. We had hypothesised that as handwriting became tribution of 9.73% to the variance in text writing more automated its contribution to text writing with a standardised beta coefficient of .358 (t = 4.46, would be likely to reduce. The contrary was the case p <.001). Handwriting speed did not make a signif- in this study. However, the data for the Year 6 child- icant contribution to text writing for this year group. ren replicates the findings of Connelly et al. (2005).

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This finding is difficult to interpret. One possibility need for further research to extend the findings here is that results are atypical because the four schools across a range of different genres. It may well be have very high levels of performance relative to the that, if boys can be helped to automate their tran- national picture. Two schools had 91% of Year 6 scription skills, they may be able to improve their children achieving Level 4 or above in 2008; one overall writing performance through writing in had 97% and one had 99%. Generally the level of genres that map onto their predilections in reading. ability in spelling was high and it may have been that the focus on spelling accuracy dominated at the References younger ages. Then, once spelling became more Barnett, A., Henderson, S., Scheib, B. & Schulz, J. accurate and therefore more automated, the contri- (2007). Detailed assessment of speed of handwriting bution of handwriting to the quality of the texts (DASH). London: Pearson increased. This interpretation would account for Barnett, A., Stainthorp, R., Henderson, S. & Schieb, B. the change in the pattern of the results over the (2006). Handwriting: Policy and practice in English primary different years. A limitation of this study was the schools. London: Institute of Education, University of London. cross sectional methodology. A replication with a longitudinal design would help to investigate this Bereiter, C., Fine, J. & Gartshore, S. (1979). An explora- tory study of micro-panning in writing. Paper presented at further. the American Educational Research Association conference, San Francisco, CA. Nevertheless, these data suggest that lack of suffi- Berninger, V. (1999). Coordinating transcription and text cient automatisation of handwriting skills may be a generation in working memory during composing: contributory factor in the poorer performance of automatized and constructive processes. Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 22, 99-112. boys in Key Stage 2 writing SATs which are taken in Year 6. Berninger, V., Vaughan, K., Abbott, R., Begay, K., Byrd, K., Curtin, G., Minnich, J. & Graham, S. (2002). Teaching spelling and composition alone and together: Though clearly boys write more slowly than girls, Implications for the simple view of writing. Journal of the recommendation would be that both sexes need Educational Psychology, 94, 291-304. to be helped to enhance their writing speed as a way Berninger, V. & Amtmann, D. (2003) Preventing written into automating their transcription skills and there- expression disabilities through early and continuing assessment and intervention for handwriting and/or by freeing up processing capacity for composing the spelling problems: Research in practice. In H. L. texts. A small scale study of handwriting policies Swanson, K. R. Harris & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of and practices in primary schools (Barnett, learning disabilities (pp. 345-363). New York: Guilford Press. Stainthorp, Henderson & Schieb, 2006) revealed that though schools overwhelmingly had handwrit- Bourdin B., Fayol M. & Darciaux, S. (1996). The comparison of oral and written modes on adults’ and ing policies in place, these related to the early teach- children’s narrative recall. In G. Rijlaarsdam, H. Van ing of legible letter formation. Schools did not have Der Bergh, & M. Couzijn (Eds.), Theories, models and strategies for moving children on from accurate let- methodology in writing research (pp. 159–169). ter formation to accurate formation at speed. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Connelly, V., Dockrell, J. & Barnett, J. (2005).The slow handwriting of undergraduate students constrains overall This present study benefited from the publication of performance in exam essays., Educational Psychology, 25, the first standardised test of speed of handwriting 99-107. with UK norms. An unexpected finding was that Gough, P.B. & Tunmer, W.E. (1986). Decoding, reading there was an effect of age on performance on this and reading disability. Remedial and Special Education, 7, test. This may have been due to the demographic 6-10. makeup of the school population in this study. The Hammill, D. D. & Larsen, S. C. (1988). Test of four schools volunteered to take part in the study written language-3. Austin: Pro-ed. and so had an interest in teaching handwriting. Kellogg, R. T. (1996). A model of working memory in writing. In C. M. Levy & S. E. Ransdell (Eds), The science of writing (pp. 57-71). New York: Oxford University Press. Nevertheless, this test should prove to be a valuable Kellogg, R.T. (2008). Training writing skills: A cognitive instrument for researchers interested in the pro- developmental perspective. Journal of writing research, cesses that underlie writing performance. This 1(1), 1-26 current study only investigated writing performance Sacre, L. & Masterson, J. 2000. Single word spelling test. in one genre: namely narrative fiction. There is a Slough: NFER-Nelson.

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research articles They observed in a serial recall task that children at Impact of children’s handwriting ages 7 to 9 recall fewer items when handwriting than when speaking, but that adults do not. Fur- skill on text composition thermore, when removing handwriting demands by asking children to recall by dictating, the difference with written recall remains. Interestingly, adults Thierry Olivea, Rui A. Alvesb, who recall the items with an unfamiliar handwriting Sao Luis Castrob, and Marta Brancob (cursive uppercase) perform less well than when Contact details: recalling with their usual handwriting, confirming the idea that handwriting demands can prevent use a Université de Poitiers & CNRS (Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et of higher-level cognitive processes. l’Apprentissage) 99 avenue du Recteur Pineau Difficulties, or insufficient practice of handwriting 86000 Poitiers, FRANCE also affect how the writing processes are coordina- b Universidade do Porto ted. For example, Olive and Kellogg (2002) showed (Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da that writers with automatized handwriting are able Educação, Speech Laboratory) to coordinate handwriting in parallel with the plan- Rua Dr. Manuel Pereira da Silva ning, translating and revising processes. By contrast, 4200-392, PORTO, PORTUGAL writers with poor handwriting skills (e.g., children) or that use an unfamiliar handwriting alternate [email protected] between handwriting and the high level writing [email protected] processes. [email protected] Even if much is known about children with transcription difficulties, little is known about the online Introduction dynamics of their written productions. In a recent Difficulties in mastering handwriting are known to study with adults composing narratives, Alves, be a major constraint in initial writing development Castro, Sousa, and Strömqvist (2007) expected that (Berninger, 1999; Graham & Harris, 2000). Writers writers who had not automatized typing would have with low handwriting skills produce short, mis- difficulties sustaining typing concurrently with spelled, and poor quality texts (Jones, & other writing processes. The authors found that the Christensen, 1999). Actually, even undergraduate adults with low typing skill not only compose in students with slow handwriting fluency compose shorter execution periods (periods of motor activity texts of lower quality with time pressure (Connelly, between pauses) but also that duration of their Dockrell, & Barnett, 2005). execution periods is smaller. Alves, Castro, and Olive (in prep) asked one group of adults to com- Such influences of handwriting skill on text quality pose a text with their usual handwriting, and can be explained within a capacity theory of writing, another group to compose their text with an which proposes that all writing processes share unpracticed handwriting. They have found that the common cognitive resources (McCutchen, 1996). writers in the latter group compose in smaller Consequently, because handwriting of beginning execution periods and are less fluent, and that their writers pose large demands on working memory, it final texts are smaller and judged of lower quality. limits resources for higher order processes such as planning and reviewing and so hinders their acqui- In the present study, we aimed at extending our sition and development (Berninger & Swanson, previous findings to a developmental level, and 1994). targeted children with different handwriting skills. We expected children with low handwriting skill to Bourdin and Fayol (1994) provided an example of compose their text with smaller execution periods, such interaction between the demands of hand- slow writing fluency, and low text quality. writing and those of higher-level cognitive processes. Moreover, if these changes on temporal parameters

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of narrative composition and on text quality are creative use of language (expressivity and originality specifically due to the handwriting demands, then of writing and of ideas), and amount of information they should not be evident when these demands are (detail of the information related to the characters removed, as when children are asked to compose or the situation described in the narrative).The two by dictation (for a rationale see, Bereiter & scores provided by the two raters for a text were Scardamalia, 1987; and Reece & Cumming, 1996). then averaged.

Method Results 264 fourth graders (9.2 years old on average) were Children’s transcription skills affected text length: only the children with low and high transcription screened for handwriting difficulties based on their skills differed: the later composing longer texts ability to rapidly write lowercase letters in alpha- (M = 89.5 words) than the former (M = 124 words). betic sequence (the Alphabet Task: Berninger & Rutberg, 1992). Based on scores at the Alphabet Differences in handwriting skill did not affect task, three groups of 80 children were constituted: writers’ pausing behaviour, but they affected the one group of 32 children with low handwriting skill number of words per execution period. The (1 standard deviation below the mean), one group children with high handwriting skill composed texts of 27 children with medium handwriting skill (± 0.5 with bigger execution periods (M = 6.4 words) than standard deviation around the mean), and one the children with low (M = 4.3 words) or medium group of 21 children with high handwriting skill (M = 4.6 words) skill in transcription (see Figure 1). (1 standard deviation above the mean).

The children in the three groups met individually with the experimenter, and were instructed to compose two stories from different sets of pictures: one using handwriting and another using dictation. In handwriting children composed using a pen on a digitizing tablet.The online logging of these written productions were recorded with an E-Prime script, developed to specifically measure pauses and execution periods. In dictation, children were familiarised with the composing mode, and then dictated the texts to the experimenter, who served as a typist. The typed text was presented online to the child through a computer screen, thus allowing the child to keep track of it, and to perform changes. Figure 1: Number of words per execution period in the three handwriting skill groups For each child, a number of measures of writing Level of handwriting skill also reliably affected product and process were collected. We measured several dimensions of text quality: global quality, writing fluency (in words per minute), composition formal use of language, creative use of language, length (total number of words in the final text), and amount of information. Actually, children number and duration of pauses above 2 seconds, with high handwriting skill composed better texts and duration (in seconds) and length (in number than children with medium or low handwriting skill. of words) of execution periods. Execution periods corresponded to periods of handwriting between Removal of handwriting demands through the two consecutive pauses, with at least one whole dictating task impacted the writing process and prod- word written. ucts (see Figure 2 and Table 1 on following page). Texts were composed in shorter time (M = 4 min.) Finally, two teachers of Portuguese rated each when children dictated than when they composed narrative, with a 7-point scale, according to formal their text by hand (M = 8 min.). Writing fluency use of language (spelling and grammatical rules), was faster when dictating (M = 29.7 wpm) than

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research articles Low transcription skill Medium transcription skill High transcription skill

Handwriting Dictating Handwriting Dictating Handwriting Dictating Time 7.38 3.46 (2.1) 8.14 (3.5) 3.56 (2.1) 8.33 (3.0) 4.70 (2.9) (in minutes) Text length 89.6 94.4 (55.3) 101.8 (46.7) 97.6 (56.1) 124.7 (41.7) 127.3 (67.3) (in words) Fluency (words 11.8 29.7 (8) 12.2 (2.4) 29.8 (9.7) 14.9 (2.9) 29.5 (7.2) per minute)

Table 1: Composition time (in minutes), text length (in words) and writing fluency (in words per minute) in the three handwriting skill groups and in the handwritten and dictation modalities.

handwriting skill as if high handwriting skills allow children to spend more time on the task. How children composed their text was also affected by their handwriting skill. Although the three handwriting ability groups devoted similar times to composition of the texts, paused the same number of times and spent similar time in pause, children with high handwriting skill however composed their text with bigger execution periods. The effects of handwriting skill are thus centered on execution periods, and not on pauses.

We hypothesized that long execution periods reflect Figure 2: Scores of text quality according to children’s handwriting skill. larger availability of working memory resources. Accordingly, high skilled children can handwrite when handwriting (M = 13 wpm). Regarding the during longer periods before suspending hand- texts produced by the children, creative use of lan- writing. This finding is coherent with previous data guage was lower with the written texts than with the on adults (See Alves et al, 2007, in prep.). We also dictated ones. hypothesized that resources freed by large handwriting skill can be devoted to the high level writing Discussion processes. Confirming this hypothesis, children with The present study examined how differences in high handwriting skill composed by hand texts that children’s handwriting skill affect text composition. were judged of better quality. As handwriting is more demanding for children with low handwriting skill than for those with Furthermore, removing handwriting demands by normal or good ability, handwriting was expected to asking children to dictate their text resulted in less draw working memory resources apart from time spent composing and faster fluency. The texts demands posed by the high demanding planning, in that condition were also judged of better quality. translating and revising processes. Moreover, if Confirming that these differences are owed to the these problems are specifically due to the hand- handwriting component, in the dictation task, there writing processes, these differences were expected seem to be no differences in the fluency of the three to disappear when handwriting demands were groups. removed, as when children composed their text by dictating to an adult. In sum, the present study indicates that handwriting skill impacts both the writing process and the writ- When the texts were composed by hand, children ten product. With regards to the writing process, with high handwriting skill compose texts that were only execution periods and not pause are affected longer than those produced by children with low by handwriting skill. Cognitively, execution periods

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are moments where handwriting processes are References engaged. However, it has been shown that with Alves, R. A., Castro, S. L., Sousa, L., & Strömqvist, S. automatization of handwriting, high-level processes (2007). Influence of typing skill on pause-execution can be coordinated simultaneously to handwriting. cycles in written composition. In G. Rijlaarsdam (Series Ed.); M. Torrance, L. van Waes, & D. Galbraith (Vol. These periods are thus only devoted to handwrit- Eds.), Writing and cognition: Research and applications (pp. ing, with large processing demands related to hand- 55-65). Amsterdam: Elsevier. writing in beginning writers, or are devoted to all Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of writing processes, but with large coordination written composition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. demands, in more skilled writers. This explains why Berninger, V. W. (1999). Coordinating transcription and level of handwriting skill only affected execution text generation in working memory during composing: automatic and constructive processes. Learning Disability periods. One important issue to address is how Quarterly, 22, 99-112. acquisition of writing, particularly of handwriting Berninger, V. W., & Amtmann, D. (2003). Preventing but also of the other writing process, impacts execu- written expression disabilities through early and continu- tion periods. ing assessment and intervention for handwriting and/or spelling problems: Research into practice. In H. L. Swanson, K. R. Harris & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of A second important finding of this study is that a learning disabilities (pp. 345-363). New York, NY: low level process such as handwriting may affect Guilford Press. operations of higher level writing processes. This Berninger, V. W., & Rutberg, J. (1992). Relationship of effect of handwriting to previous operations may finger function to beginning writing: Application to diagnosis of writing difficulties. Developmental Medicine and appear surprising as there is no apparent bottom-up Child Neurology, 34, 198-215. processing relation between planning, translating or Berninger, V. W. & Swanson, H. L. (1994). Modifying revising and transcription. This finding is well Hayes and Flower’s model of skilled writing to explain explained in a cascading model of the flow of infor- beginning and developing writing. In E. C. Butterfield mation in text composition, and when integrating (Ed.), Advances in cognition and educational practice, Vol. 2. Children's writing: Toward a process theory of the development working memory demands of the writing processes. of skilled writing (pp. 57-81). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Bourdin, B., & Fayol, M. (1994). Is written language pro- Text composition processes indeed operate in a duction more difficult than oral language production? cascading mode (Chanquoy, Foulin & Fayol, 1990; A working memory approach. International Journal of Olive, Alves & Castro, 2009). In other words, a Psychology, 29, 591-620. segment of information (say an idea) is processed Chanquoy, L., Foulin, J.N., & Fayol, M. (1990). Temporal management of short text writing by children sequentially by all writing processes (from planning and adults. European Bulletin of Cognitive Psychology, 10, to motor execution), but when this segment has left 513-540. a particular process (say planning), this process can Connelly, V., Dockrell, J., & Barnett, J. (2005). The Slow operate on another segment of information, even Handwriting of Undergraduate Students Constrains if the previous idea has not been entirely processed Overall Performance in Exam Essays. Educational Psychology , 25 (1), 99-107. (i.e., transcribed). Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (2000). The role of self- regulation and transcription skills in writing and writing Moreover, because all writing processes share com- development. Educational Psychologist, 35, 3-12. mon working memory resources (Kellogg, 2001), Jones, D., & Christensen, C. A. (1999). Relationship the amount of resources required by a particular between automaticity in handwriting and students' process is likely to affect operations of other ability to generate written text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 44-49. processes. In the present case, children with high Kellogg, R. T. (2001). Competition for working memory handwriting skill presumably engaged fewer among writing processes. American Journal of Psychology, resources for transcribing their text, and thus had 114, 175-191. more resources to allocate to the high level writing McCutchen, D. (1996). A capacity theory of writing: processes. Given that these processes are more working memory in composition. Educational Psychology related to quality of the final product than hand- Review, 8, 299-325. writing, children with high skill in handwriting Olive, T., Alves, R. A., & Castro, S. L. (2009). Cognitive processes in writing during pauses and execution periods. compose better text. This also explains why quality European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 21, 758-785. of the texts composed by dictation did not differ, as Olive, T., & Kellogg, R.T. (2002). Concurrent activation handwriting demands of the children were of high- and low-level production processes in written removed. composition. Memory & Cognition, 30, 594-600.

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research digest Research digest compiled by Anna Barnett with contributions from Emma Brydon

Graham, S., Harris, K., Mason, L., Fink- handwriting, although this varied from 2 to 60 Chorzempa, B., Moran, S., Saddler, B. (2008) – minutes per day, with 52% spending 10 minutes a How do primary grade teachers teach day or less on handwriting tuition. Those who handwriting? A national survey. Reading and taught daily or several times a week spent more time Writing, 21(1-2), 49-69. teaching than those who taught once a week. 61% of teachers used a commercial teaching program This paper starts with a review of the importance and of these, 63% used with the Zaner-Bloser of handwriting for educational progress and the Handwriting or D’Nealian Handwriting program. negative impact arising from difficulty with this skill. The authors argue that despite the importance Only 6% of teachers reported using a norm- of this, little is known about how it is taught in referenced test to assess students’ handwriting, school. The aim of the study reported here was to although they commonly made informal observations determine how handwriting was taught in primary or used checklists. 2/5 teachers provided extra schools in the USA. A random sample of 169 handwriting lessons and modified writing assign- primary grade teachers from across the USA took ments for students with weak handwriting skills but part in the study. 98% were female and they had an only about 2% of students received help from an average of 15 years teaching experience. Average occupational therapist. Although only 12% of school size was 410 students, with an average class teachers considered that their college education size of 19 (ranging from 5 to 35). adequately prepared them to teach handwriting, the majority used a variety of recommended instruc- The teachers completed an extensive survey con- tional practices for teaching this skill. However, the taining five sections; the first collected a variety of authors found that the application of such practices demographic information about the teacher and was uneven, raising concerns about the quality of their school, the second asked about their beliefs handwriting instruction for all children. about handwriting and handwriting instruction, the third focussed on their attitudes about teaching handwriting and beliefs about the quality of their students’ handwriting. The fourth section enquired how they taught handwriting (including the nature, duration and frequency of lessons). The fifth section Longcamp, M., Boucard, C., Gilhodes, J-C., asked teachers to identify the adaptations they made Anton, J-L., Roth, M., Nazarian, B., Velay, J-L. for students with poor handwriting. (2008) – Learning through hand- or typewriting influences visual recognition of The teachers’ responses were neutral when assessing new graphic shapes: Behavioral and students’ overall legibility and fluency of hand- functional imaging evidence. Journal of writing. Only 39% agreed that students’ handwriting Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(5), 802-815. was adequate and 46% that it was fast enough to keep up with classroom demands. Teacher’s indica- It has long been acknowledged that active motor ted that 23% of children in their class experienced exploration is important for the processing of per- difficulty with handwriting (somewhat higher than ceptual information. Several studies also suggest that previously published figures). The most common motor knowledge gained through learning how to problem noted was overall neatness (76%), with the write letters contributes to the visual recognition of least common problem being writing too slow letter shapes, which is of course essential for efficient (25%). 79% of the sample indicated that the school reading. Longcamp and colleagues have previously required that handwriting be taught, with 90% shown that letters learned through typing were sub- reporting that they did teach handwriting. An sequently recognised less accurately than letters average of 70 minutes a week was spent teaching written by hand, which requires more complex

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researchdigest movement. They also found that writing knowledge Disorder (DCD), yet few assessment instruments associated with a character influenced the recognition are available to accurately assess their performance of its orientation (important for discriminating mir- or guide intervention. Assessment of the completed ror letters like ‘b’ and ‘d’). In the current study they ‘product’ of writing has typically involved examina- explore this further by examining the neural basis of tion of the quality/form of letters and words and the links between motor activity and character the amount of writing produced in a given time. recognition. Twelve right-handed participants took Recently, attention has turned to gathering infor- part in their study. They were first trained how to mation on the writing ‘process’ as well as the produce sets of unknown characters (modified from product. In this Israeli study, the authors set out to the Bengali and Guajarati alphabets) either by pen- identify which measures of handwriting perform- and-paper writing or with a computer keyboard. ance best discriminate between children with and without DCD. Their ability to then recognise the orientation of the new characters was tested and their brain activity Twenty children with DCD (aged 7-10 years) and was measured using fMRI (functional magnetic 20 age and gender-matched control children took resonance imaging). Normal letters were also part in the study. Participants completed three included in the recognition tests. As in previous everyday writing tasks in Hebrew: (1) writing their studies, they found that handwritten characters were better discriminated from their mirror images name, (2) writing the alphabet from memory and than typed characters and that they were better (3) copying a paragraph. The Computerized Pen- remembered over time (up to 5 weeks). Moreover, manship Evaluation Tool (ComPET) was used with the faster participants wrote at the end of the a digitising tablet to gather objective measures of training sessions, the better the handwritten charac- the handwriting process. This included temporal ters were remembered. The authors interpret this parameters (time spent on the paper, time spent in finding as a reflection of the formation of a motor the air) and spatial parameters (mean stroke height program, which is then reactivated when the and width). character is perceived. The fMRI results showed that certain brain activation patterns were found to The Hebrew Handwriting Evaluation (HHE) was be specific to each learning modality. Differences in used to examine legibility of the writing, both at a recognition performance between characters global level and at a more detailed level (e.g. erased learned by handwriting and by typewriting were letters, illegible letters, alignment, spacing, size, related to different neural pathways. etc). Results from the ComPET showed that performance of the DCD group was significantly Part of the activation during the recognition of more variable than that of the control group across handwritten characters was also active during the all measures. There were no significant group recognition of normal letters. The fact that the acti- differences in stroke width, stroke height or mean vations were lateralized to the left side and included pen tilt. However the DCD group spent signifi- motor areas, suggests that the visual processing of cantly more time on paper and in the air per stroke letters and handwritten characters reactivates motor and exerted less pressure when writing. On the knowledge. The authors suggest that their findings HHE the DCD group produced significantly less have implications for written language education writing, had poorer overall legibility scores, more erased letters and poorer spatial arrangement of the text compared to the control group.

Rosenblum, S. & Livneh-Zirinski, M. (2008) – A discriminant analysis revealed that the highest Handwriting process and product predictor for group membership was the number of characteristics of children diagnosed with erased or overwritten letters. The authors suggest developmental coordination disorder. that the combination of prolonged in-air time and a Human Movement Science, 27, 200-214. greater number of erased/overwritten letters in the DCD group indicates that they may have deficits in Handwriting difficulties are extremely common keeping letter forms in memory and forming them in children with Developmental Coordination in a sequenced manner on the page.

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Berninger, V. W., Nielsen, K. H,, Abbott, R. D., Rosenblum, S. (2008) – Development, Wijsman, E. & Raskind,W. (2008) – reliability, and validity of the Handwriting Writing problems in developmental dyslexia: Screening Questionnaire (HPSQ). The American Under-recognized and under-treated. Journal Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62 (5), 299-307. of School Psychology, 46(1), 1-21. This paper from Israel describes the development of Dyslexia is typically considered to be a reading a new questionnaire, the HPSQ, to be used by class- disorder. However recent research suggests that room teachers to identify children (aged 7-14 years) difficulties with writing are also common, yet with handwriting difficulties. The scale contains 10 items covering legibility of handwriting, speed of rather poorly understood. This complex study performance and the physical and emotional well addresses four issues related to writing in dyslexia: being of the child. Various aspects of reliability and (1) whether handwriting automaticity shows a validity were also examined, using data from a similar relationship with writing composition as in group of 230 children in Israel who used Hebrew as typically developing writers, (2) an examination of their main means of verbal and written communica- the claim that impaired writing reflects poor motor tion. Their class teachers completed the HPSQ after skills, (3) whether a deficit in automaticity (of rapid observing their handwriting for a week in the class- automatic letter naming, RAN, and writing) might room. explain the writing problems and (4) whether specific executive functions are related to the To examine test-retest and inter-rater reliability, automaticity of letter skills. two teachers completed the questionnaire twice (3 weeks apart) on 30 students. Internal consistency, 122 children took part in the study, together with measured by Cronbach’s alpha was good (.90) for 200 of their parents. They completed a range of the total scale and also for the three sub-compo- writing, spelling, reading and other tasks. The nents. The intraclass correlation for test-retest children were found to be impaired on handwriting, scores and for inter-rater reliability were high (.84 spelling and written composition and the parents and 0.92 respectively). Concurrent validity was were less impaired in these areas. The notable examined by comparing performance on the HPSQ persisting oral language weakness in affected adults with children’s scores from the Hebrew was in repetition of non-words. In both children and Handwriting Evaluation (HHE) and also a para- adults, spelling (and not handwriting) was found to graph copying task completed on a digitising be the unique predictor of written composition, graphics tablet (the Computerised Penmanship a finding which differs from those for typically Evaluation Tool or ComPET). Significant moderate developing children. Motor planning (assessed by a correlations were reported between the HPSQ and timed finger succession task) did not contribute the HHE and between the HPSQ and the ComPET uniquely to written expression in children or adults. performance. In order to examine construct validity the children were divided into poor and proficient writers on the basis of their HPSQ scores. The authors interpret this finding as evidence that Significant differences between these two groups writing is not just a motor skill. The children with were found on a range of measures from the HHE dyslexia were poor at automatic letter processing and ComPET (e.g. in speed, ‘in air’ time and over- and both letter naming and writing loaded on the all legibility). same component for children and adults. Executive functions (such as inhibition) did not uniquely A factor analysis revealed a two factor solution directly predict written composition of the children explaining 67% of the overall variance. However, with dyslexia. The authors conclude that children these results were surprising in that one factor with dyslexia should be screened for writing included performance time and physical and emo- difficulties and given intervention where these are tional well being whereas legibility appeared as a identified, even when their reading skills show second, separate factor. This screening tool is still improvement. They also call for a focus on the undergoing development, but initial results suggest teaching of spelling as it has an important link with that it is a reliable and valid tool to identify those written composition and emphasize that students with handwriting difficulties in Israel. It would be with dyslexia should not just be offered accommo- interesting to examine how appropriate the instru- dation for their writing problems. ment is for use in other countries.

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researchdigest Faddy, K., McCluskey, A. & Lannin, N.A. (2008) – detect improvement over time for this group. The Interrater reliability of a new handwriting authors suggest that further research is needed on assessment battery for adults. The American the HAB to examine the validity of the instrument Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62 (5), 595-599. and other aspects of reliability. Furthermore, they suggest that normative data is needed, against which Difficulties with handwriting may not only arise in to compare various rehabilitation populations. childhood, but may also be apparent in adults who have suffered from stroke, brain injury or other neurological disorders. The aim of the study reported here was to develop a new handwriting assessment for adults and to examine interrater reliability of the new instrument. Items for the new Di Brina, C., Niels, R., Overvelde, A., Levi, G. & test, the Handwriting Assessment Battery (HAB), Hulstijn, W. (2008) – Dynamic time warping: a were drawn from existing instruments: the new method in the study of poor handwriting. Human Movement Science, 27, 242-255 . Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting, the Motor Assessment Scale and the Jebsen-Talyor Test A common characteristic of poor handwriting in of Hand Function. children is variability and overall poor quality of letter formation. Performance can be assessed using The HAB has three sub-tests: (1) pen control & scales of handwriting quality/legibility, although manipulation, (2) writing speed and (3) writing these tend to be rather subjective. The use of legibility. Section 1 involves drawing horizontal writing tablets that record the X and Y coordinates lines between marked boundaries and making of writing movements, together with specialised dots on a page with a pencil, with each item scored computer software, have enabled researchers to as ‘achieved’ (1) or ‘not achieved’ (0). Section 2 gather more objective data on the kinematics of involves timed copying of a printed sentence, handwriting (e.g. measures of pen velocity). with completion time compared with previously published adult norms. Section 3 involves writing out However, one limitation of this approach is that it the alphabet in lowercase and uppercase, writing cannot take account of the overall shape/form of the numbers 1 to 12 and composing a sentence. letters produced and therefore evaluation of the Percentage legibility scores are calculated for each variability in letter formation (either within or of these tasks. between individuals) is not possible. In this study, the authors examine the application of a new Data on the new HAB were gathered from ten technique, Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), which adults with traumatic brain injury. All can provide an objective measure of letter for- had self-reported handwriting difficulties, which mation. Originally used for forensic document included difficulty holding a pen but they were all examination, the technique of DTW matches letter able to write unprompted. Performance on the test forms by point-to-point comparison of two letter was videotaped and then independently rated by trajectories, recorded on an XY-tablet. two occupational therapists who had previously received training on the HAB. Kappa and intraclass In the study reported here, the authors examine the correlation coefficients were used to examine agree- power of DTW to distinguish between the perfor- ment between the two raters. There was found to be mance of good and poor writers. 40 Dutch boys good agreement for all sections of the test. aged 7-9 years took part in the study. 20 had high scores (29+) on the Concise Evaluation Scale for In their discussion, the authors comment on the Children’s Handwriting (Dutch abbreviation BHK) unusually good agreement for legibility scores, and were classified as ‘poor’ writers, 20 had low which they explain by the face-to-face training scores (below 22) on the BHK and were classified received by the raters (rather than just leaving them as ‘good’ writers. The children were asked to contin- to read the test manual). They also note a ceiling uously write the letter ‘a’ in cursive writing (without effect for the legibility scores (with 21% of the pen lifts) on a piece of paper fixed to the surface of samples scoring 100%), which may make it hard to an XY-tablet. A measure of the variability of the

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spatial characteristics of each letter was then acquisition. The child is encouraged to generate his obtained in order to calculate an individual proto- own solutions to address performance difficulties, type (IP) for each writer. The distance from this using a verbally based ‘Goal-Plan-Do-Check’ prototype could then be calculated for each written strategy. The aim of this study was to examine the letter, providing a measure of the child’s ability to strategies employed by four boys with DCD (aged produce a consistent pattern. Letters with DTW 6-11 years) when working on improving their hand- distance over a criterion amount were classified as writing during CO-OP treatment sessions. The deviant. The letter ‘a’ was produced in three condi- participants were videotaped during 10 hour-long tions: (1) a ‘normal’ condition, (2) a ‘fast’ condition, CO-OP sessions over a five week period. 180 min- as fast as possible while keeping the letters legible utes from the video recordings were then randomly and (3) an ‘accurate’ condition in which the letters selected for systematic behavioural observation. were written between two horizontal lines. A coding scheme was developed, consisting of It was found that the poor writers wrote faster the four codes: Global Strategies, Domain-Specific and produced larger letters, except when forced Strategies, Type of Guidance and Dimensions of to write smaller in the ‘accurate’ condition. Pen Time on Task. Raters were trained to use this pressure was higher for the poor writers compared scheme and inter-rater reliability was good, with to good writers across all conditions. The DTW percentage agreements over 80%. The results indicated that each child showed a unique distribution results showed that the poor writers showed larger of time spent on each of the four main variability in the forms of the letter ‘a’. The group strategies (goal, plan, do and check). All boys spent difference was largest in the normal condition and the majority of the time (from 47% to 74%) talking completely absent or reversed in the fast condition. about the task and less time actually performing or practising the task (from 22% to 38%) and were These findings were independent of the kinematic rarely doing both at the same time. This highlights results of larger trajectories, faster movements and the distinguishing feature of the CO-OP approach, higher pen pressure. Poor writers produced a sig- which is to use discussion to improve performance. nificantly higher proportion of deviant letters in the Within the ‘talking time’, the percentage of time for normal and accurate conditions (but not in the fast ‘plan’ and ‘check’ accounted for more than 50% of condition). The authors conclude that the tech- the treatment time. nique of DTW offers an improvement on other computerized methods, providing objective and Although the children in the study applied similar detailed information about letter shape and the strategies, they also developed their own unique overall legibility of letters. They note that this has ones. Strategies that enhanced the child’s awareness application both for researchers and practitioners to and understanding of the task requirements domi- identify writing problems and monitor intervention nated. These involved addressing task specifics (e.g. programmes. start writing from the left) and modifying certain aspects of the task (e.g. use a sharper pencil). The authors suggest that this finding supports the notion that DCD results from a cognitive problem and that it is mainly a difficulty of motor learning. Banks, R., Rodger, S. & Polatajko, H. (2008) – Mastering handwriting: how children with Developmental Coordination Disorder succeed with Co-op. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 28 (3), 100-109. Schwellnus, H., Boschen, K., Law, M. & Young, N. (2008) – The clinical utility of a tool This paper focuses on a particular type of for optimising written productivity. British intervention often used with children with DCD Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72 (5), 205-211. (Developmental Coordination Disorder). The approach, known as CO-OP (Cognitive Orien- A common reason for referral to occupational ther- tation to daily Occupational Performance), uses apy in school-aged children is difficulties with hand problem-solving techniques to facilitate motor skill writing. Occupational therapists need to decide

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researchdigest what type of assessment and intervention to guide the selection of interventions for 60 children implement with each child and this decision is often with handwriting difficulties. The therapists comp- based on their clinical experience. However with leted two questionnaires about the usefulness of the inexperienced therapists, this may result in ineffi- tool. Most agreed that it took little time to learn ciencies and inconsistencies. (about 20 minutes) and all indicated that it was acceptable to their clinical practice. The authors of this paper, who are occupational therapists from Canada, argue that having a frame- However, there were varied responses on the format work or decision guide could assist in the develop- of the tool. Although most indicated that the items ment of clinical reasoning skills. Here they examine were easy to follow, some found it less user friendly the effectiveness of the Tool for Optimising Written and hard to interpret the results. Ten therapists felt Productivity (TOW-P) as a decision-making guide that the TOW-P was useful as a guide for clinical in planning intervention approaches for children practice but some felt that the terms used were too with handwriting difficulties. The TOW-P was general. The results indicated that less experienced developed using the theoretical ‘Person Environ- therapists used the TOW-P to help ensure that their ment Occupational’ (PEO) model. service matched the PEO model, whereas those with more experience used it to document their assess- It uses common areas of assessment and interven- ment findings and intervention selections. Feedback tions across the three components of this model. from the participants of this study was used to These were selected as being frequently used by modify the structure and format of the TOW-P. therapists and are presented on a grid together with The results indicated that the TOW-P will be partic- broad descriptions. In this study 13 occupational ularly useful to relatively new occupational therapists, therapists in Ontario, Canada used the TOW-P to to guide their selection of appropriate interventions.

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current issues Current issues

and 3 subjects, these “attainment targets” are split The National Curriculum in into eight levels, plus a description of “exceptional England performance”. It is recognised that children develop at different rates, but National Curriculum levels are designed to give an indication of how a child’s Several articles in our journal refer to the structure progress compares to what is typical for their of the English school system, which may not be age. For example, by the end of Key Stage 1, most familiar to all of our readers. Here we provide an children will have reached level 2, and by the end of outline and summary table (see below). For further Key Stage 2, most will be at level 4. information please visit www.direct.gov.uk National Curriculum assessments (often called The National Curriculum is a framework used by SATs) are tests designed to be carried out at the end all state-funded (‘maintained’) schools to ensure that of Key Stage 1, 2, and 3 (ages 7, 11 and 14). At the teaching and learning is balanced and consistent. end of Key Stage 1, the teacher’s assessment of chil- The National Curriculum is organised into blocks dren’s progress takes account of their performance of years called 'key stages'.There are four key stages in English and mathematics, measured by tasks and as well as an ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’. The tests that are administered informally. At the end of ‘EarlyYears Foundation Stage’ covers education for Key Stage 2 children take national tests in English, children before they reach five (compulsory school mathematics and science. National tests taken at the age in England). end of Key Stage 3 have recently been withdrawn. At the end of Key Stage 4 most children sit exams For each National Curriculum subject, there is a for GCSEs (the General Certificate of Secondary programme of study which describes the subject Education) and/or equivalent qualifications. knowledge, skills and understanding pupils are expected to develop during each key stage. The Schools tend to use test results as an independent programmes of study also map out a scale of attain- measure of how they, and their pupils, are doing ment within the subject. In most Key Stage 1, 2, compared to standards across the country.

Table 1: The National Curriculum key stages and assessments

Age (years) Stage School Year Assessment 4-5 Early years Reception 5-6 Key Stage 1 1 6-7 2 Teacher assessments in English, Maths & Science 7-8 Key Stage 2 3 8-9 4 9-10 5 10-11 6 National Tests and teacher assessments in English, Maths & Science 11-12 Key Stage 3 7 12-13 8 13-14 9 Teacher assessment in English, Maths & Science and the other foundation subjects 14-15 Key Stage 4 10 Some children take GCSEs 15-16 11 Most children take GCSEs or other national qualifications

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current issues Another requirement that affected the infant school The National Curriculum and concerned joining letters. There was considerable variation in practice but many schools pre-1988 did Handwriting not introduce joined writing to their pupils until the first year of the junior school (Year 3) and some – Help or Hindrance? even later. By that time many children had become proficient at writing their letters separately and they by Gwen Dorman have had to re-learn how to link the letters together with flowing movements when they were expected to ‘join-up’. The 1989 National Curriculum For the last twenty years teaching, learning and required schools to address the process of joined assessment in British schools have been dictated by writing by Year 2. At Key Stage 1 in 1989 children the requirements of the National Curriculum and were required to ‘Begin to produce clear and legible this is where schools look for guidance. This article joined-up writing’ if they were to attain Level 3. This will outline the requirements of the National required many schools to re-think their teaching Curriculum and some of its component parts such and, although not all children were expected to as the Primary and Secondary Strategies, mostly attain Level 3, it raised the level of expectation that related to England, as they apply to the teaching of writing could be joined at Key Stage 1. handwriting and consider their effects on schools and children’s learning. These could be considered positive effects of the National Curriculum but there was a negative side When it first arrived at the end of the 1980’s the too. Some of the wording in an early version of the National Curriculum had a profound effect on the National Curriculum caused confusion. The first teaching of handwriting in a number of ways and versions in 1988 used the word ‘cursive’.1 This was there were beneficial changes to the teaching of interpreted by some teachers and publishers of beginner writers. Before 1988 many children were handwriting schemes to mean continuous joining still taught to first write in an unjoined print script i.e. every letter within a word is joined and the (often known as ‘ball-and-stick’) which had been descenders to letters such as g, y, j are made as con- originally introduced in the 1920’s to simplify the tinuous loops. early stages of writing for young children. However it was eventually realised that the round letter The result was a rush of ‘cursive’ handwriting shapes and vertical down strokes that ended schemes using a fully joined style, such as the abruptly on the base-line were not a good prepara- Berol’s Handwriting for the National Curriculum tion for fluent joined writing and that much which had looped ascenders as well as descenders re-learning of established movements needed to and prompted many schools to return to styles simi- take place when the child moved on to ‘joined-up’ lar to those used in the 19th & early 20th century writing. This had hampered the progress of (notably copperplate and Civil Service Script). children for many years. These had been largely replaced by simpler modern hands advocated by writing specialists such as The 1989 National Curriculum required schools to Marion Richardson, Tom Gourdie, Tom Barnard teach the lower case letters ‘in a style that made and Christopher Jarman, as demonstrated by the them easy to join later’ (i.e. with an exit flick) and popularity of the Nelson handwriting scheme. The this was a huge step forward in rectifying the prob- simpler styles had been created to provide a form of lem. Rosemary Sassoon (2007) states, “This may be writing that would be easier to execute than the the best legacy of the National Curriculum: that print script is finally phased out of infant classes”. Many handwriting teachers and the Handwriting 1 The word cursive is derived from the Latin word Interest Group (as the National Handwriting currere: to run. Some dictionaries state that it means Association was then called) had been recommen- having successive letters joined together but it is also used in the names of fast, running styles of writing such ding this for years but its inclusion in the new as Roman Cursive and Chancery Cursive that are not National Curriculum carried greater weight. fully joined.

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current issues

looping copperplate and had deliberate natural presentation shows a total lack of understanding of breaks, notably after the letters g, y and j that its importance in a child’s educational development. enabled the hand to be moved along the writing There is also little weight given to handwriting in line. Detailed exploration of the merits of fully- the guidance given for assessment. joined and mostly-joined writing is not the purpose of this article. Some teachers of children with The National Curriculum in Action web site (see www.curriculum.qca.org.uk) gives sample tasks by dyslexia have particular reasons for recommending individual children to assist teachers in assessing a fully-joined style but whether it is the best style for children’s progress and awarding the correct level of children without this difficulty is debatable, partic- achievement. (SATs seem unlikely to continue much ularly when small children writing their first letters longer so can be ignored). Of the first Key Stage 1 are expected to begin every one from the base-line. & 2 19 samples that were hand-written only 5 had (Some of the entry strokes have to be re-learned at any mention of the handwriting in the assessment of the joining stage and the letters a, d, g, q, and s the work and only 2 Key Stage 3 examples used require a complex movement that is beyond the handwriting, which was commented on. abilities of some young children). The tables on this and the following page list the The widespread re-introduction of these fully objectives for each year group of the primary school joined (continuous cursive) styles was almost cer- and the requirements for each Level of achieve- tainly not intended by the writers of the National ment. (There is no mention of handwriting in the Curriculum but has resulted in the present use of equivalent secondary learning objectives.) both these and the simpler modern hands (as in

Nelson, Penpals schemes) in schools now. Much Founda- G Use a pencil and hold it effectively to valuable time is spent in discussing the relative Stage form recognisable letters most of merits of fully-joined and mostly-joined writing and which are correctly formed difficulties are experienced by children moving Year 1 G Write most letters, correctly formed and orientated, using a comfortable between schools using different styles. and efficient pencil grip G Write with spaces between words There were various changes in assessment and accurately

requirements as the National Curriculum was Year 2 G Write legibly, using upper and lower developed and it is perhaps more productive to look case letters appropriately within words, at what the National Curriculum requires of today’s and observing correct spacing within and between words students. Searching through the various recommen- G Form and use the four basic dations it becomes clear that handwriting is not handwriting joins

given a high priority. The section entitled ‘Writing’ Year 3 G Write with consistency in the size and in the Use of Language across the Curriculum (see proportion of letters and spacing within www.qca.org.uk) is as follows in its entirety: In and between words, using the correct formation of handwriting joins writing, pupils should be taught to use correct spelling Year 4 G Write consistently with neat, legible and punctuation and follow grammatical conventions. and joined handwriting. They should also be taught to organise their writing in Year 5 G Adapt handwriting for specific purposes logical and coherent forms. There is no mention of the for example printing, use of italics

skill of handwriting. Year 6 G Use different styles of handwriting for different purposes with a range of The Primary Framework for Literacy lists Learning media, developing a consistent and Objectives in twelve ‘strands’ (including such topics personal legible style as ‘Word structure and spelling’, ‘Engaging and Progres- G Review the legibility and neatness of sion their handwriting responding to texts’). Handwriting can be found Year 6-7 under the heading ‘Presentation’ which is placed at No. 12. There is little need to explain to the readers Table 1: Primary Framework for Literacy – learning objectives. of this journal the importance of handwriting as a Strand 12 – Presentation (There are also suggestions form of written communication required during a for developing keyboarding skills that have not been child’s school life. Its ranking merely as an aspect of included here)

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current issues It is clearly evident that many young people in Level 1 G Letters are usually clearly shaped and correctly orientated upper primary and secondary cease to use a joined

Level 2 G In handwriting, letters are accurately style even though many have been taught how to do formed and consistent in size (average so lower down the school. The use of computers and level at the end of Key Stage 1) texting has changed young people’s perception of Level 3 G Handwriting is joined and legible ‘joined-up writing’ as a mark of maturity but its Level 4 G Handwriting style is fluent, joined and omission beyond Year 4 in the teaching objectives legible (average level at the end of is surely a contributing factor to this trend. Many Key Stage 2) students write separate letters as in a font without Level 5 G Handwriting is joined, clear and fluent realising that these are letters designed for a differ- and where appropriate, is adapted to a range of tasks ent purpose (ie typed on a keyboard or generated electronically) and that when writing with a pen Level 6 G Handwriting style is neat and legible linking most letters in a word usually results in Level 7 G Work is legible and attractively presented faster, more fluent writing. We are still requiring students to write application letters, make notes, Level 8 G No mention of handwriting write essays under pressure in examinations, Table 2: National Curriculum Attainment Targets for perform many written tasks by hand in a school day English: Writing and yet are not equipping them adequately for the task. One omission that might be immediately apparent is the lack of any mention of pre-writing activities. The National Handwriting Association has made As children are being asked to perform writing tasks representation with a view to making a contribution that require controlled movements at an earlier and to the planning of NC recommendations and were earlier age it is curious that there is no mention of expecting to put forward suggestions at the discus- the importance of developing large and fine motor sion stage when the last amendments were made to control before a child is ready to write and the the Framework in 2008. Unfortunately there was a necessity for teachers of young children to be change of personnel and NHA discovered at the last conscious of this need when planning physical minute that plans were at an advanced stage. Few of education and classroom activities. our suggestions were implemented (see Chairman’s letter 2008). There are further reviews under way at Another unfortunate omission is any mention of the the moment and we hope to make a contribution to need for writing to be fast enough for the student to them. be able to cope with the pressures of class and exam work. Lack of this skill hampers the progress of There are no doubt other omissions in the National many secondary students and is best nurtured Curriculum guidance that could be mentioned but during the upper years of the primary school but these already noted seem to be the main issues. Has is frequently ignored. Furthermore, the National the National Curriculum been a help or a hindrance Curriculum requirements fail to foster one of the to the teaching of handwriting? Leaving aside the ways that students can be encouraged to increase wider debate about whether how and what teachers their writing speed: by employing a joined style teach their students should be directed by them (either fully or mostly joined), which is poten- or a government department, the recommendations tially faster because of the use of fewer pen lifts. seem to have been helpful in some ways but lacking Joined writing is recommended up to Year 4 in the in others. Perhaps we need the time-honoured com- objectives but not in subsequent years even though ment used by teachers through the ages, showing it is required to gain attain target levels 5 and 6 disappointment when students have not achieved (usually reached at an older age than Year 4). their full potential: ‘Could do better’.

The obvious conclusion is that the writers of the References objectives mistakenly assumed that once children Sassoon, R. (2007). Handwriting in the Twentieth had acquired the skill of joined writing it would be Century. a tool they could use from then on without further Nelson Handwriting Scheme. 1962, 1984, 1993, 1997, attention in the classroom. If only this were true! 2003 editions

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There were also several articles extolling the virtues of Handwriting in the news handwritten letters. Some commented on the rising sales of high quality writing pens and paper, others referred to famous people known to write letters by hand (including Compiled by Anna Barnett Diana, Princess of Wales and Tony Blair). In this article, with contributions from Suzanne Tiburtius Clover Stroud describes writing letters over a six month period to her boyfriend who was posted to Afghanistan with the army. “I enjoyed the experience of actually writ- Here we include just a few examples of the range of issues ing by hand” she explains “I did e-mail, but something related to handwriting that have appeared in our newspapers was lost in the translation to the screen”. She describes over the past year: the satisfaction of writing by hand, the romance and the joy of having a permanent record of the details of her The Times, January 27, 2009 – Is Barack Obama everyday life that she shared with the man she loved. proof that lefties are taking over? “Having a left-hander in the Oval Office has revived old The Times, April 30, 2009 – Early learning goals to claims that ‘southpaws' are higher achievers. There are dif- be watered down in primary review ferences but no evidence that lefties have the upper hand.” “Controversial early learning goals that require four and At the beginning of the year there was wide coverage of five-year-olds to write simple sentences and to use punc- the fact that the new president of the USA wrote with his tuation are to be watered down under the biggest review left hand and that he used a ‘hooked’ hand posture. of primary education in a decade.” Several newspapers carried long articles discussing issues There was considerable coverage in the press of such as the prevalence of left handedness and proposed the response of teachers to the goals proposed by links to high levels of intelligence. In this one, experts ex-head of Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education) were called on, including Mark Stewart who runs the Left Sir Jim Rose, which suggest that young children should n’ Write company, selling products and running courses “write their own names and other things such as labels to help left handed writers. He commented that the and captions and begin to form simple sentences”. The hooked posture was “not a very good way to hold a pen”. response of teachers and other early years experts is that these targets are overly ambitious. However, Sir Jim sup- The Telegraph, February 9, 2009 – Letter writing ports them on the grounds that he does not wish to hold makes a comeback back the majority who could achieve them comfortably. “Despite the onward march of technology, letter writing He did however concede that they could be considered to is making a comeback.” be “aspirations” rather than targets.

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tips for teaching Tips for teaching compiled by Carolyn Dunford

Another TIPS FOR TEACHING to join the family.

This year we have added Basic Steps to the grad- Most of the Tips grew from articles in this Journal ually growing collection of leaflets that are proving and the first one off the block was, suitably, on very popular with teachers – and others. Basic Steps Speeding Up. This was a collection of suggested was made for people who felt the need of some basic practices that members of the NHA committee use knowledge to get them started on teaching hand- in helping children to write more quickly – a skill writing and gives 6 stages for teaching a child that that children vitally need but is often sadly will enable most children to write fluently easily and neglected in school. This was followed by Patterns as quickly. pattern-making with letters is a very effective way of teaching handwriting skills that has the added Do you know about our TIPS FOR TEACHING advantage that it can take place in odd minutes in printed form? during the school day – and can be fun to do. The After some experimenting, TIPS FOR TEACH- next one was ‘S’ Rules for quick assessment that many ING are now printed on thin card instead of paper, teachers find invaluable and can also inform pupils so they are more durable, and are printed in pale who do not know how to go about improving their colours so they can be photocopied and shared writing. Also in the collection is Above Year 4 that has amongst colleagues if wanted. The A3 sheet folds practical suggestions for working with older chil- into A4 so it stores easily. dren who need support and help in making their writing ‘automatic’, so enabling them to concen- The Tips are a distillation of information presented trate more of their efforts on creating the content of in easily accessible form – no paragraphs of jargon their work and less on the process of putting it on to wade through – just clear, practical suggestions paper. that can be read at coffee break and put into practice immediately. The Tips can be purchased The creation of Tips is on ongoing project and for £2 each or £1.20 for NHA members. there are more in the pipeline. If you have a suggestion for a new title please send the idea by See our website for details: email (or any other method) to the NHA adminis- www.nha-handwriting.org.uk trator ([email protected]) and she will or contact [email protected] pass the idea on.

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tips for teaching Tips for grasp/grips stab Carolyn Dunford grasp Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy York St. John University

Adults are often concerned when a child holds a writing implement in an awkward way. Parents and even grandparents seem to have an intuitive idea of what is a “good” way to hold a pencil or pen and worry that not enough is done in school either to digital establish a good grip from the start or to correct an pronate awkward grip for those pupils who have difficulty grasp with writing. The question of ‘what to do when’ with regard to holding a writing instrument, however, turns out to be anything but simple.

There is now a large body of research examining the relationship between pencil grip or grasp and the quality of a child’s handwriting but the results of these studies do not yet provide practitioners with clear answers to all of their queries. The purpose of this article is to address some of the questions that static teachers and therapists raise with reference, where tripod possible, to relevant research. grip The ways in which children hold their pencil (grasp) has been shown to progress developmentally with age. Children often first hold a crayon or pencil with a stab grasp, followed by a digital pronate grasp, culminating in a dynamic, static or lateral tripod grip (Schneck and Henderson, 1990; Tseng, 1998; Tuckett, 2006). dynamic tripod The dynamic tripod grasp is traditionally consid- grip ered as the most efficient grasp as it combines flexibility of movement and control using minimal muscular effort. Movement takes place primarily at the distal finger joints rather than involving whole hand or arm movements, which may lead to fatigue and even pain in some cases. A lateral tripod grasp has been shown equal to the dynamic tripod in terms of control, speed, legibility and accuracy (Dennis and Swinth, 2001). lateral Children with poor handwriting have been shown to tripod use less mature grasps (Schneck and Henderson, grip 1990). However, it has also been shown, in a number of studies, that grasp patterns do not affect handwriting performance (Schneck, 1991; Ziviani and Elkins 1996; Dennis and Swinth, 2001; Koziatek and Powell, 2003). Since the evidence to support changing a child’s grasp to a dynamic

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tripod is inconclusive making this decision should Changing a grasp be made on an individual basis using sound profes- The decision to change a grasp should only be con- sional reasoning processes. sidered if the child is having significant difficulties with handwriting. These would include: Handwriting is a complex task and a full handwriting assessment should always be carried out G Illegibility before attempting to change a grasp. This may G Significantly slower than peers include assessment of sensorimotor, language and G Pain cognitive skills and their contribution to the child’s G Fatigue handwriting. (Pollock et al, 2009). In addition the child's views, age and motivation to change must be First you must decide why the child is using their taken into consideration. chosen grasp. Is it a habit developed at a younger age when the child had less control but that they no Promoting efficient grasps longer need to use? In this case changing the grasp is likely to be effective. However, some children use There are number of simple things, that I have an awkward or unusual grasp as it is the only way found from my professional experience, that can they can control the pencil and changing their grasp promote efficient grasp. will reduce their motor control. This is often true for children with hypermobility. Angled writing surface The use of an angled writing surface can promote a Should you decide to go ahead with attempting to more efficient grasp and wrist position. There are a change the grasp then explain the rationale to the number of commercially available writing slopes or child and tell them it will not be easy but will be they can easily be made. Alternatively using a lever worth it if it is successful. The child should try arch file can be a cheap, unobtrusive solution. The the new grasp for 1-2 weeks but if it has not been angle of slope is usually between 15-22°. Writing, successful by then it is unlikely to be so. It is com- drawing and painting on easels, chalkboards or mon for the handwriting to get worse for the first white boards also helps to promote a functional few days whilst the child adjusts to the new position. wrist and finger position. Tense/tight grasp and pressure Left-handers There are two issues related to pressure; the pres- Left-handers should hold the pencil far enough sure on the shaft of the writing implement and the away from the tip so they can see what they have pressure exerted on the paper. Before trying to just written. change a too-tight or a too-loose grasp make sure that the pupil knows what tight and loose actually Using shaped or moulded grips feels like. Ask the pupil to hold either a pencil or a There are wide ranges of commercially available pen, then ask him/her to squeeze it as tightly as he grips that can be slid onto a pen or pencil. There are can and feel what that is like, then to make the also many pens available with integral grips. The fingers loose but without dropping the pen. The shapes of the grips are generally designed to pupil then practises a bit, saying "loose" and "tight" promote a dynamic tripod grip. It is best to have a as he holds the pencil appropriately. number of these available for children to trial before deciding which one suits them. The larger, soft G In the first instance raise the child’s aware- bulbous grips can be useful in supporting hyper- ness of their tight grasp. Scribbling can help to extensible (bendy) distal finger joints. loosen tension. G Soft rubber or foam grips can ease the tension. Short pencils, crayons and chalks G Using a mechanical lead pencil that will break Using short pencils, crayons or chalks can help easily with too much pressure can help the child where it is only possible to use the finger-tips, there- monitor the tension. by enforcing a tripod grasp. G A padded writing surface may help – the child Holding too close to the tip can check how many layers their writing shows An elastic band wrapped around the pencil just through as a way of self-monitoring. below where the fingers should be positioned can G Sometimes changing the writing instrument at help with this. the same time e.g. offering a fatter or even a

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tips for teaching thinner pencil/pen, whichever the child prefers, References or one with a rough or rubberised surface. Dennis J.L. and Swinth Y. (2001), Pencil grasp and Perhaps this acts as a reminder that things are children’s handwriting legibility during different length now going to be different. writing tasks. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy 55(2) Conclusion Koziatek S.M. and Powell N.J. (2003), Pencil grips, legibility and speed of fourth grade writers in cursive. The evidence for changing a child’s pencil grasp is The American Journal of Occupational Therapy 57, 284-288 inconclusive (Schneck, 1991; Ziviani and Elkins Medwell J., Strand S. and Wray D. (2008), What should 1996; Dennis and Swinth, 2001; Koziatek and we assess in primary handwriting? Handwriting Today 7 Powell, 2003). The way in which a child holds their Pollock N., Lockhart J., Blowes B., Semple K., Webster writing implement may have an impact on their M., Farhat L., Jacobson J., Bradley J. and Brunetti, S. (2009). Handwriting Assessment Protocol – 2nd edition written production (Schneck and Henderson, McMaster University 1990). Establishing this requires careful assessment Rosenblum S. (2008), Characteristics and evaluation of the individual child. The decision to change a methods of developmental dysgraphia: Research and child’s grasp or provide them with a pencil grip contribution to clinical reasoning. Handwriting Today 7 should be based on sound reasoning and involve the Schneck, C.M. and Henderson, A. (1990), Descriptive child as much as possible. Any changes should be analysis of the developmental progression of grasp posi- monitored to establish whether they have been tion for pencil and crayon control in nondysfunctional children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, Oct; effective from the viewpoint of the child and those 44 (10) 893-900 who read their handwriting regularly. Tseng, M.H. (1998), Development of pencil grip position in pre-school children. The Occupational Therapy Further practical ideas can also be found in the Journal of Research 18 (4) 207-224 Tips for Teaching series. The newest addition “Basic Tuckett, J. (2006), An audit of typical pencil grasp in a Steps” is included in this edition of Handwriting nursery/reception class. National Handwriting Association Journal 5, 27-34 Today. These cost £2 or £1.20 for members – see Ziviani, J. and Elkins, J. (1996), Effect of pencil grip on our website for details handwriting speed and legibility. Educational Review 38, http://www.nha-handwriting.org.uk 247-257

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tips for teaching Satips’ National Schools’ Handwriting Competition, 2009

Did the school to which you are connected send an entry in to this competition? It cost nothing (except a stamp), might have won someone – or even the school – a prize and is a wonderful way of raising the standard of writing in the school. The 2009 competition had nearly 10,000 entries from almost 140 schools and more were primary schools. The overall winning school was The Marist Prep School in Berkshire with Fairfields Primary School in Basingstoke taking second place. These schools receive £500 and £250 respectively and individual first prize winners from many schools receive pens from Platignum or Stabilo. Congratulations from NHA to all. Why not encourage ‘your’ school to enter? If everyone concentrates in the Spring Term on producing the best piece of writing they can it can raise the level of skill in the school noticeably. It is a great confidence boost for any child to have his/her piece sent up as part of the school’s entry and many children will make special efforts for a competition that may surprise them – and their teachers! For detailed results of the 2009 competition and information about 2010 when available in the autumn

National Schools’ Handwriting Competition 2009 Judges’ Report

At a particularly turbulent time in Prime Minister there will always be a need for handwriting, in the Gordon Brown’s rather rocky premiership earlier same way as people need to be able to talk and walk this year, there was a need for him to apologise for (both skills that also need to be learned). e-mails sent out by one of his aides. In normal circumstances, one would think, this would take the This year’s entries for the National Schools form of an e-mail itself, or a typed letter which he Handwriting Competition proved beyond any doubt would ‘top and tail’ with ‘Dear . . . , Yours truly, that schools were indeed teaching handwriting, and Gordon’. In fact he did neither. Such was the that children were learning to write, and to write gravity of the situation that Gordon Brown had to very well. show that he was serious aboaut his apology, so he hand-wrote the letter. This year, for the first time, there were two entries from 3 year-olds, so a special mention should Various experts have analysed aspects of his hand- go to Georgie-Lee Rowledge and Siddhartha writing in terms of its legibility and traits of his Bandyopadhyay, both from Birmingham. The character, but for me, it was the fact that he had ability not only to hold a pencil, form letters, and sit taken the time and sat down to write with a pen on still for the length of time it must have taken to write a piece of paper that was the significant feature. In out the six-line poem is truly admirable. this digital age, when messages by e-mail, phone conversations and texts sent by phone far outweigh It was particularly difficult to choose winners from almost all other forms of communication, it would the 8 year-old and 9 year-old categories. There were be easy to think that the future of being able to so many that were so good! I spent a great deal of hand-write is in doubt. In fact, this was a question time scrutinising each of these entries, and every put to me during the filming of a short piece on one of them could have been the winner. handwriting for the BBC One Show, which was broadcast in May. My answer was left on the cutting What is fascinating also, is to see even quite young room floor, but my feeling then and now is that children developing their own style and a mature

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hand, which will stand them in good stead for the in the classroom, but a choice of desk and chair future. height will help our children write better, even if the classroom doesn’t look so good. So what can help children to write well? Of course, as a professional scribe who, like her 1. First of all, the physical situation must be right. mediaeval predecessors, uses a sloping board, I do Children grow at different rates; tall children may regret the passing of sloped desks, as they do help have to position their legs to one side of a desk or body posture and straight backs, and help to table as they are too long to fit underneath – a posi- prevent pain. tion which means that their body is twisted rather than being held straight; small children may have 2. Pens. I am often asked by journalists whether all difficulty reaching the top of the table of desk, and children should be made to use fountain pens. so write with their shoulders hunched up, which is Fountain pens have a certain caché about them, hardly a relaxing position. We are all for uniformity and are often given as gifts by relatives and god-

A: First prize winner, aged 4 years, in the 4-7 category B: Overall winner, aged 7 years, in the 4-7 category C: First prize winner, aged 9 years, in the 8-11 category D: Overall winner, aged 7 years, in the 4-7 category E: Overall winner, aged 12 years, in the 12-14 category

D C

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tips for teaching parents. Such pens often slow down the speed of position it should be. For left-handers, they cannot writing, which can sometimes be a good thing, as see what they are writing if paper is placed like this, these pens may need ‘nursing’ along a little, unlike and if they have to use those fountain pens, their ball point pens or fibre tips which write first and, hand passing over what they have just written generally all the time easily. Having a wonderful results in a smudge. For them, the answer is to writing implement can also help to improve hand- adopt an ‘over the top’ hand-writing position. And writing, just as in craft a good set of tools can add in a similar way for right-handers, a straight piece of to the pleasure of the making. However, there are paper means that the wrist has to twist inwards some children, and it is often boys, who merely need more, and thus bend out the hand to the right for to take the top off their fountain pen to be com- the writer to see what they have written. Again, far pletely covered in ink, and whose work, therefore, is easier to come over the top. never clean and un-smudged. It is just so easy to resolve. The top left-hand corner In my view it just is not fair to insist that all use such should be higher for left-handers, and the top right- a pen. It also negates the progress made in writing hand corner should be higher for right-handers. implements. Fountain pens themselves haven’t changed that much over the years, but pens have, 5. Practice. Like any skill, hand-writing needs to and many modern pens are pretty good. To insist on be practised for improvement to occur. And it is fountain pens only is a bit like insisting that every- never too late to make changes. Obviously the days one still ride a penny-farthing bicycle. Far better for of uniformed children sitting at serried rows of teachers or parents to provide a range of pens, and desks stretching into the distance and the silence for children to choose which one they prefer, which broken only by the scratching of dip pens as chil- sits comfortably in their hands and with which they dren try to master the intricacies of Copperplate get pleasure writing. writing have long since gone, but any improvement to handwriting will only occur if the letter-forms 3. Grip. Somehow or other I do notice pen grips at and joins are practised. the supermarket checkout – and how varied they are. In some instances pens are gripped by all fingers, Some good exercises are repetitions of the letters and/or writers twist their wrists to write with the i l t, which will help to determine the various letter pen over the top of the line, or from far underneath heights; noon, which will help the double ‘o’ joins; the line, to everything in between. Grip matters to any words which have ffy in them – always an the extent that whatever it is shouldn’t cause pain, awkward letter combination; r n m h which whould and so many unconventional grips do. It concerns help to sort out the arch-letter family; a word like me that, with the problems examining bodies are happy, to resolve double p; and those difficult having with the ease by which projects and essays diagonal letters of v w x y and z. can be copied from the internet, we may well be returning to hours of formal examination. If a grip Seeing the entries of the prize winners of the is not comfortable, writing for 6 hours of exams a national Schools Handwriting Competition for day will be a severe challenge. It seems that a con- 2009 though, it is clear that these children have ventional pen grip, where the pen is held between practised their handwriting a great deal, and it is the thumb and first finger, with the top knuckle of hoped that the knowledge that they have come top the second finger there as support and to hold in their age year, or even top in the Class group, things steady, results in the best control of the pen which means their writing has been judged better and the least pain. than any in that age range, will encourage them to continue to appreciate, as Gordon Brown did, that 4. Paper position. Often an unconventional there will always be a place for handwriting which is grip develops because of paper position. Without legible for the recipient, and how marvellous if it realising the consequences of what they are doing, also looks good. teachers place sheets of paper straight in front of children. They often then think that that is the Patricia Lovett

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reviews Reviews of books and resources compiled by Jessica Falconer

This section of reviews of books, equipment and tests to A classroom observation checklist is provided to promote handwriting skills contains some interesting and identify types of activity the child has difficulty with. useful items ranging from a handwriting pocket book to A list of action indicators is compiled and a range materials to be used with assisted technology. of activities is then suggested to address these. Monitoring of progress is important and ‘Clever Fingers’ incorporates a screening/review form. Clever Fingers – Developing fine motor skills Detailed information about specific aspects of hand PO Box 1016 use e.g. in-hand manipulation and separation on the Canterbury two sides of the hand is incorporated, both in the CT1 9GG manual and on the CD rom, in colour-coded high- www.cleverfingers.co.uk lighting. The component skills required for each activity are explained in detail. Ideas for differenti- Clever Fingers is such a clever idea! Children with ating tasks for age and to promote the development handwriting difficulties invariably have problems of different skills are comprehensive and yet with other motor skills and Clever Fingers was throughout there is emphasis on staff using their designed by a paediatric occupational therapist as own ideas with resources and activities. a school-based resource to compile an individual programme and activity box for children to develop The manual is extremely informative, well-written ‘clever fingers’. and well-presented, Clever fingers is a very comprehensive resource which does not take up much Busy teachers will identify with the difficulty of space as it comes in a compact folder, though space slotting physiotherapy and occupational therapy is needed to store the children’s activity boxes. programmes into an already full timetable, and a Clever Fingers box, which can be compiled for an For the amount of information it contains Clever individual or a group of children, can be used in fingers is extremely good value at £49 for a single odd moments to promote fine motor skill develop- user and £79 For a 5-user licence. The additional ment in a fun and motivating way. box of robust wooden toys is available at £89, but this is an optional extra and many establishments It is recommended that children have ownership in will have these or similar resources to hand. compiling the activities in their box (from a range pre-selected by an adult). Children each have their In order to produce the cards and to make provision own activity cards (or a group card can be produced for loading in your own photographs it is necessary if required) with photographs of the chosen activi- for the computer to have internet access.This could ties. Photos are available on the CD or you can add be a problem in some establishments, and access to your own if you prefer. When an activity has been a high-quality colour printer is also required.Whilst completed individualised ‘tokens’ with velcro stick- instructions were included to enable to software, it ers are attached. is not particularly straightforward to install, though once mastered, the finished result is stunning. Whilst a box of robust toys is available for purchase Different computers seem to handle the software as an optional extra, the activities in the ‘Clever differently which can cause difficulties in installa- Fingers’ boxes can be compiled from resources cur- tion, and it may be necessary to contact rently in school. www.cleverkidsconsultancy.co.uk to overcome logistic problems in producing the An excellent section in the 95 page manual on cards. It is well worth persevering! prerequisites for good hand function is provided to help staff to understand the developmental precur- Review by Mary Howard sors of efficient hand function. The 3D Centre

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reviews Doodle Stick Literacy Programme This is a good idea and a means of evidencing progress. Dance in a Bag The Met, Market Street, Bury, The Dance in a Bag team clearly describe the Lancashire. BL9 0BW benefits of using the Doodle Sticks to develop gross Tel: 0161 761 9139 motor skills and how this can impact upon the E-mail: [email protected] development of fine motor skills and early writing Website: www.danceinabag.co.uk skills in the future. The lesson plans and warm-up Cost: £55+VAT P&P £5 suggestions are laminated ensuring that they can withstand everyday use and they are easily portable. The Doodle Stick Literacy Programme consists of 7 The activity, teaching points and resources needed Doodle sticks which are short-handled sticks with for each session are well-laid out and easy to follow. 1.5 metres of brightly coloured satin ribbon attached. There is also a DVD which explains the The Doodle Sticks themselves appear to be well- programme and has interviews with both children made and robust enough to cope with active use. and a teacher, a CD of original music to comp- To ensure that the correct movements are being liment the activities in the programme, and 4 attained and maximum benefit gained from the laminated lesson plans with selected activities to programme smaller groups would be easier to encourage writing and letter formation. There are manage. In such a group individuals could more also 2 other laminated sheets which describe warm- easily be given extra help if needed. The prog- up activity ideas that are related to the music ramme could be used by Teaching Assistants under provided and describe, in more detail, the link the supervision of a Teacher. between movement and early writing skills. Overall I feel that the Doodle Stick Literacy prog- The Programme has been developed to be used by ramme would be a useful addition to the literacy children of all ages within school and is described resources in schools. as being appropriate for whole class activities and small groups. Space is obviously needed to ensure Review by Gill Barker BSc(Hons), S.R.O.T. safe usage. An emphasis is placed on the usefulness – Paediatric Occupational Therapist of the programme for children who are reluctant writers and for those who have special educational needs.

The Doodle Stick is used by the child to make Lego Classic QLever Rollerball pen “doodles” in the air of different shapes and letter forms as selected from the lesson plans. In most Cost: £9.00 schools children are already encouraged to “sky- write” using their finger to write in the air and the The Lego Classic Rollerball is an attractive, brightly Doodle Stick is used in a similar fashion. The coloured pen with an adjustable tip. It has a non- activity sheets outline warm-up tasks and activities slip rubber grip with an indentation for the second related to different grouped letter shapes with finger. This encourages the user to position the pen lateral, curved or angular formation. Music is used in a conventional tripod hold. The pen has a chunky as directed within sessions. The children are usually barrel and lies comfortably in the hand. encouraged to draw the shapes made with the Doodle Sticks whilst in the session using paper or The main feature of this rollerball is, of course, the white-boards. tip which can be adjusted from 0 – 15 degrees by turning the ‘adjusting button’. This is the name One half of the group can make the shapes with the used for the end of the pen which has a click-stop Doodle Sticks whilst the other half draws them. device that enables one to set the tip at the required A suggestion is also made that examples of work at angle. Numbers around the adjusting button, corre- the beginning and end of the sessions are obtained. sponding to the angle of the tip, make it possible to

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reviews

remember the setting. The lid of the pen broadens Come Alive Phonics out to accommodate the tip which can be left at the – Playing with Sounds and Letters user’s preferred angle. Author: Tim Harding The pupils who tried out the pen were aged Date: 2008 between seven and eleven years. Most of them were Publisher: Yellow Door www.yellow-door.net children who find handwriting quite a laborious Price: £50+ VAT £7.50 – Total: £57.50 business; one or two having significant fine motor CD-Rom difficulties. They all greeted the prospect of using Price: £75+ VAT £11.25 – Total: £86.25 the pen with enthusiasm. Some quickly found a setting that they felt suited them, while others spent The pack includes: a long time trying out the different angles before G Teacher’s book coming to a decision. G 26 plastic letter play mats and 26 wooden characters They all liked the feel of the pen and found it G 104 initial sound cards with a letter on one side comfortable to hold. One eleven year old, who and a picture on the reverse writes neatly but writes painfully slowly, said that G 26 songs to teach and practise initial sounds she found it easier to control than a standard hand- G 26 songs to teach and practise letter sounds and letter formation together writing pen and much less tiring when used over an G 20 blending and practise songs extended period. G Action songs Another eleven year old, a left-hander who struggles This is a comprehensive, detailed resource indica- with handwriting, said she really liked the pen ting exactly what to do and plenty of ideas to extend because she could see what she was writing. the learning experience. Interestingly, she had chosen to hold the pen the opposite way from that probably intended by the Wooden characters and letter pages designers, with her first finger in the indentation The wooden characters are novel, for example there and the tip pointing upwards, away from the page! is an acrobat, guinea pig, insect, train. They play a central part of the whole programme as each letter Nearly all the children felt that the pen improved is embedded in an appropriate, attractive, colourful, their handwriting – however, as far as I was con- scenic Letter Play Mats. The wooden characters can be cerned their handwriting looked jagged and shaky. used to move around the embedded letter on each mat The pen tends to drag on the page and damage the which is an excellent activity for the young child but surface of the paper, whilst the ink can spread out this activity will need to be supervised to ensure that and look smudgy. One of the nine year olds, who the child is using the correct movement pattern. loves all things Lego, said that a similarly propor- Using an index finger can be used at a later date. tioned, straightforward biro was smoother and probably gave him a better result. The Letter Play Mats provide opportunities for:

G Listening to the words of the songs The general concept of the pen is good, but there G Recognising and imitating a letter sound are some issues with the rollerball itself. It simply G Identifying initial sounds does not move smoothly enough across the page and the end of the pen is too sharply pointed, G Oral segmenting and oral blending certainly for children who write slowly and tend to G Linking letter sounds to letter formation press hard. Whilst the pen clearly has appeal for G Language development,

children and may help to get them writing some of G Creative story telling. the design issues can also present difficulties. G Further work can include blending. Playing with Sounds and Letters should be used in Review by Hilary Cook – Inclusion Manager conjunction with playing with the Letter Play Mats Lauriston School, Hackney, London E9 7JS as watching the character moving around the letter

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reviews and then using the mouse to trace the letter is watching the character moving around the letter another valuable experience. and then using the mouse to trace the letter is another valuable experience. Songs The words, guitar and piano music are in the The attractive colourful, scenic pictures, animation Teacher’s Book along with many suggested activities and catchy tunes with lots of repetition of the letter including action songs to match the character such sound are delightful. The fact that the child hears as creeping around the room like a cat. the sound of the sound and watches the character move around the letter or can use the mouse to Initial Sound Cards trace around the letter, is a great way to give them There are 4 cards for each letter. These can be used an ideal multisensory approach to the early stages of in a variety of ways for talking about letters in con- beginning to write. junction with the songs or on their own. There are several ideas for additional games and activites. Playing with Sounds and Letters does not follow a particular scheme. It provides a flexible, comprehen- Photocopiable characters sive, multisensory resource with so many ideas of There are two pages with outline images of all the ways of introducing letter sounds and the early stages characters. As the characters are not necessarily of mastering letter forms. This makes learning about familiar to some children, these can be enlarged and letter sounds and shapes playful, engaging and used in a number of ways for example to match the relevant for young children. Using songs, move- character with its image. ment, words and pictures, it adopts a multisensory approach where visual, auditory and kinaesthetic Playing with sounds and letters teaching and learning combine in activities that are The CD-Rom comes with a comprehensive Users highly effective, easy to remember and great fun. Guide including the words of the songs. Each letter Go to the website to see for yourself. that comes on the screen is identical to the Letter Play Mats. For each letter the child is able to: This product won the ERA awards 2009 – in the G look at the picture and find all the other objects Special Education Needs: Resources & Equipment which begin with the same sound (non-ICT category) and has been short listed for G listen to the sound of the letter and the words of the NASEN award. the accompanying song while watching the character move around the letter in the correct direction indicating the movement patterns First impressions G move the character around the letter with the I introduced my three year old grandson Ben to mouse Sounds and Letters. He already knew the sound of G listen to just the sound of the letter some of the letters on the fridge and associated them with people’s names e.g. ’m’ for Mummy, ‘g’ In addition there are teacher resources: for Grandma Jane, ‘p’ for Grandpa Peter. Once he Alphabet pictures saved as jpeg had begun to learn to identify some of the charac- Notes for each tune, ters he would choose which one he wanted to watch PDFs Beginning to write is to use to practice which he loved doing. He was soon able to select the tracing the letter and space to draw objects appropriate one from the alphabet line. In less than beginning with the letter. 2 months from knowing the sounds of 7 letters he PDFs Writing practice has the character to knew 16. colour and eleven letters to trace and then a line and a half to practise writing the letter. Having only used this programme with Ben I would Smart board enables you to use the alphabet think that just listening to the song while watching pictures with the SMART board tools and a fully the character move around it, is an ideal first activ- editable Promethean Flipchart can use the pictures ity with a young child. Followed by using the mouse in Activeprimary or Activestudio. (a useful activity to master) to trace the letter. Playing with Sounds and Letters should be used in conjunction with playing with the Letter Cards as Review by Jane Taylor

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reviews

Smart Moves Motor Skills G useful equipment and suppliers Development Programme G certificates and rewards G suggestions for adaptations to the exercises Author: Sharon Drew (Paediatric Occupational Therapist) The screening tool helps to assess if a child has a Publisher: Smart CC Publishing motor co-ordination difficulty and includes notes on 37 Mill Street, Usk the preparation and administration of 16 exercises Monmouthshire NP15 1AP to do this. The equipment required should be readily www.smartcc.co.uk available in most schools and the use of fun dia- ISBN: 0-9553669-0-9 grams helps to explain what the child is expected to Price: £88.50 do. Of great importance are notes showing the age Pages: 3 part package norms of achievement for each exercise. The layout Available from: Pearson Assessment and is somewhat confusing as notes for an exercise are TTS Special Direct. on the back of the same page as the diagram; I think it would be easier if the notes were alongside. Smart Moves is designed to assist with the identifi- However, the spiral bound format of the book cation of Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children with makes it easy to flip the pages. motor co-ordination difficulties combined with resources to help run a program of activities to Also, whilst the pictorial representation of move- develop the skills. Although it primarily covers gross ment is fun and colourful and the notes are clear motor skills only, including ball skills, the same and concise, representing movement in a static exercises would be of benefit in developing core diagram is not entirely successful. It would be stability which is essential for developing fine motor beneficial to have animated clips or video on the control, including handwriting. CD ROM to back up the diagrams and instructions, especially for the screening resource. The package would be of most benefit to: G teachers working with this age group of children, The activity book, with the screening tool, will including those specialising in physical education be the most used elements of the Smart Moves and special needs package. Included in the book are a large number of G allied health professionals activities arranged in the same functional groups as used in the screening tool. These activities can be Smart Moves motor skills development programme developed into a varied and tailored programme to comprises the following resource materials presented help develop motor co-ordination skills in a group in a colourful cardboard carrying case: setting. Again diagrams and accompanying notes

G a manual show and explain what is expected for each activity together with a list of equipment, which should be G a screening tool available at most schools. As with the screening tool, G an activity book the notes for each activity are on the reverse of the G a CD ROM same page as the activity diagram. The package components are not available separately. The CD ROM follows the same format as the rest of the package and provides the facility to print The manual provides clear instructions for the off the diagrams and notes for distribution as an screening tool and all the activities for skill develop- alternative to photocopying from the other ment. Also included are sections on: resources. There is no facility to record and store assessment and progress information for individual G managing expectations, especially if the expected children skill improvement is not met G health and safety considerations Smart Moves is a useful resource for those working G goal based achievement milestones with Key Stage 1 and 2 children where there is

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reviews little or no experience of assessing and developing The continuity of ‘look and feel’ from the screening motor co-ordination skills. Those already experi- tool to the activity book make the development of a enced, will find the list of activities useful for tailored programme that much easier. Identifying developing their own programmes. motor co-ordination difficulties at an early stage is essential for developing gross motor skills, postural The instructions and diagrams assume that the control and core stability for the fine motor tasks, including handwriting that many find difficult. child is ambulant, but by using this package of Smart Moves provides a comprehensive, practical resources, a tailored, fun programme of activities set of resources presented in a very accessible can be developed that has clear instructions, format to address this, from an author experienced including observation cues and expected outcomes, in managing children with these difficulties. which are measurable and recordable. The certifica- tion, goal-orientated progress allows each child to get the feedback they need to improve their per- Review by: Catherine Elsey, Paediatric formance and maintain their motivation. Occupational Therapist

Changes to Which Handwriting Scheme? – October 2009

P4 A Hand for Spelling – No longer available P 42 Nelson Handwriting 2003 – Email: [email protected]. P14 Collins Handwriting – No longer available Teacher's Book 0 7487699711 & 2 £23.99 Workbooks 1-6 £15.25 P18 Copy Kits – Email: [email protected] Developing Skills Book £6.50 ea. P20 Cursive Hand – Handwriting for the National Resource & Assessment Books 0 748770052 £52.99 ea. Curriculum – No longer available Nelson HW Electronic font CD Rom 0748792559 £160 (< 100 pupils) £240 (100-300) £320 (300+) +VAT P22 Developing Handwriting Skills NEW – Interactive Whiteboard CD-Roms Red & Development of HW Skills Teachers Resource Book Yellow level. 0748783595 £75 (< 100 pupils) £113 £30.00 99704310911 & 2 (100-300) £150 (300+) +VAT HW Skills copybook 1-6 £4.00 per copy P 40 One-a-Day Letter Formation HW Skills Workbooks A,B & 1-4 £3.00 per copy – Email: [email protected] 9970421038 & fol P 48 Penpals for Handwriting – Tel: 01223 325914 Whole Scheme £65.00 Teacher's Books (F2-Y6) £23.95 each F1 with audio CD P26 Handwriting Rescue Scheme – £34.99 £30.50 Big Books (F2 £31.50) Big Books Y1,2,3,4 £30.50 P32 Joint Exercises – 38 Parkside Road, Leeds LS6 4NB. Overhead Transparencies (Y5/6) £72.00 tel: 0113 2759900 fax: 0113 2757799 Write-in practice books F2 pack of 10 £11.75 email: [email protected] www.senter.co.uk Practice Books - text books (Y1-4) £5.95 each Joint Exercises and Supplement 978 1 902751 63 4 CD ROMS (F2-5/6) £125.00 2005 £28.50 One-A-Day Letter Formation 978 1 902751 38 2 £29.95 P 54 Spectrum Handwriting Programme (Reviewed in NHA Handwriting Today 2009) – Tel: 0844 576 8115 Handwriting the Wessex Way 978 1 902751 27 6 £15.95 P 59 Teaching Reading Through Spelling (Kingston Cursive) P36 Letterland – Area code: CB23 7AY Handwriting Programme CD ROM £34.50 (all 3 books Early Years Handbook 9781862092266 £23.99 a pdf files) CD version 9781862092556 £8.69 + VAT Handwriting Font for Windows CD ROM £29.00 Early Years Handwriting Copymasters 9781862092501 (single user) Enables user to produce own worksheets £26.99 P 62 The Handwriting File – Kath Balcombe First Handwriting Activity Book 9781862092167 £3.99 – Fax: 01743 340062 With Audio CD 9781862093560 £8.40 + VAT HW for Windows 3.0 CD ROM Single User £29.35 Site Alphabet Sounds Activity Book 9781862092181 £3.99 licence now £68.50 A-Z Copymasters 9781862092396 £26.99 P66 The Old Fashioned Writing Book Early Years Word Book (Pack of 10) 9781862092525 – Email: [email protected] £15.50 Letterland Word Book (Pack of 10) 9781862092518 P68 THRASS – Email: [email protected] £15.50 Word Level Book £2.50

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NHA news

NHA news compiled by Mary Chambers

In this section you can read the Chairman’s Report and With regard to our financial position, we have to In-service Training Report for the last year, along with recognise that the current economic climate is not the AGM minutes from this year. You can also read conducive to large-scale sponsorship for charities. about the NHA Corporate members and Friends. However, we have received excellent advice from Lee Green, a professional fund-raiser, who has provided us with ideas, and we have put together a list Chairman’s report of specific ventures which potential sponsors might find attractive; this is something which is ongoing.

by Angela Webb Other sources of income have been slow to develop this year. Sarah Rae is working hard to expand our 2008-9 has once again been an eventful year for list of corporate members, though the ‘Friends of NHA and one in which handwriting seems to have NHA’ scheme has taken time to get off the ground. had a raised profile in many respects. There have We need a concerted effort from all members to been several articles in the press, as well as on web- introduce the idea of becoming a Friend to their sites, inviting discussion about the relevance of families, friends and acquaintances, as regular handwriting today, and I am pleased that the support of this kind would be extremely helpful. We NHA committee has, as always, been active in have to remember that lack of finances and human putting forward arguments for promoting it. We resources are the primary constraints on our work have, through some of our corporate members, and influence, and that if we are to fulfil our NHA been invited to give our views on national TV and stated aims, we have to be constantly vigilant in radio, and we value this opportunity to reach a maintaining funding. Everyone involved with NHA wider audience. can help by exploring possible routes to resources.

The year has also been one in which we have tried Our influence in policy making continues. We were to move forward in terms of updating our image approached recently by the Shadow Ministers for and streamlining our systems. New advancements Early Years Education and for Schools, for advice in technology mean that we recognise the need for on when and how to introduce teaching of hand- the website to become our main ‘shop window’ and writing. It is encouraging that this will be on the we are making plans for re-designing this to widen minds of those in a position to set policy if we see a our appeal, not only in the ‘look’, but also in change of government in the coming months. additional facilities which it may provide. We have put the job of the re-design out to tender and have This year has seen further personnel changes to the three proposals to consider later this month. NHA team. Both Rita Mechen, our administrator, Sponsorship to cover half of the cost has been and Shirley Prescott, our stand-in finance officer, offered by one publishing house and we are working decided to take retirement in December 2008. We to attract further sponsorship to make up the short- appreciate the enormously difficult tasks they faced fall. We hope to be able to announce the complete and are grateful for the tireless way in which they package shortly. I would like to record our thanks worked for NHA (see Valete). to Alison McRae who manages our current website and is approaching our proposed changes with a Realising that we had two posts to fill, and being very flexible attitude. aware of the increasing complexity of administrating and financing a charity such as this, we looked at the We are feeling the benefit of having Sir Jim Rose as potential for expanding both these roles. We were our patron in our approaches for funding and are fortunate to appoint Susie Baynes as our adminis- working to attract other figures of high profile to trator and Karen Nicholas as our finance officer in join him on our list. We would be glad to hear from the New Year. Susie’s experience working part-time members for suggestions of possible candidates. with the National Autistic Society will be invaluable

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NHA news to us, as well as her interest in wider aspects of Single day courses included two days run through charitable work. Karen’s experience working with Special Educational Needs Joint Initiative for other businesses brings us technological expertise Training (SENJIT): one day for teachers in June which we badly need. They both took up their posts 2008 on handwriting difficulties and one for on 1st January and have already impressed us with teaching assistants in March 2009. Each day their contributions. attracted over 50 participants and the feedback for both was excellent. The committee members continue to work hard in various other ways, in disseminating information, Other single days in 2009 were as follows: in publishing our high class journal, in running courses and in-service work, in coordinating the January Half day at Falcon Prep school. teacher register and in so many other ways. This is Half day at Richmond College, my chance to acknowledge the amount of time and Richmond upon Thames. energy which they give to NHA throughout the year March Single day on the Basics of Handwriting and thank them for all they do. and Handwriting Difficulties at the University of Wales, Newport. We have some further changes to report in 2009. Alan Henderson plans to step down as Honorary April Half-day course for teachers of children Treasurer when a replacement can be found. This is with Specific Learning Difficulties, a job which he has undertaken for many years both entitled “Proven effective ways to teach before we took on a salaried Finance Officer and struggling writers” at Institute of since. His expertise and guidance has always been Education. helpful but particularly over this past 18 months during the numerous changes. Jane Taylor, whilst May Single day course on ‘Raising Standards’ remaining on the committee, has decided to leave at Church House, Westminster, aimed at the post of Honorary Secretary, again after many teachers from independent schools. years in this role. Finally, Shirley McNeill, our INSET liaison officer, is coming off the committee Contributions which the NHA made to longer courses at the Institute of Education in London as her tutoring diary prevents her attending com- included a session on handwriting on the MA mittee meetings. We will greatly miss these three but module entitled the ‘Comprehension and Pro- extend our thanks to them and to the all committee duction of Text’ in December 2008 and a half day members for their immense contribution to NHA. session for the educational psychologists on their Ed Doc course in February 2009.

In-service training Future bookings include training sessions in schools in Croydon, Oxshott and Harrow and again on the Ed Doc day. by Angela Webb Thanks, as always, go to all on the INSET sub- This year has been varied in the in-service provision committee for their work and particularly to Shirley we have been able to offer teachers. First, the McNeill, our INSET liaison officer, who is leaving accredited graduate module in the Teaching and NHA to concentrate on her tutoring. Learning of Handwriting took place from October 2008 – February 2009 at the Institute of Education in London. Numbers for the course were lower than usual but all who enrolled were enthusiastic and Corporate members & friends of have submitted assignments for accreditation. the NHA Unfortunately this is the last time we can offer this course in London but we have put in a proposal to run it at the University of Wales, Newport campus, The Association is immensely grateful to its in 2010. Corporate Members who contribute £500 annually

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NHA news

to support NHA in its activities. Our Corporate 2. Approval of Minutes of 2007 Meeting and Members in 2007/2008 have been: Accounts AGM date was corrected. Angela Webb proposed Cambridge University Press and it was seconded that the 2008 minutes be signed and passed to the Administrator for the John Dickenson Stationer signed copies file. Edding UK Ltd. 3. Matters arising from the Minutes Pearson Assessment None Sanford UK 4. Chairman’s Report for 2008 (Angela Webb) Stabilo International Angela reported another busy year for the NHA where there has been lots of discussions. Our We are aware of a number of individuals and smaller website needs to become much more up to date companies who are sympathetic to the aims of the and at present is out to tender. The NHA hope Association but who cannot support the cost of to attract sponsorship to help cover costs. Angela Corporate Membership. We are therefore launching paid thanks to Alison McRae for all her support a new initiative in the form of Friends of the National regarding the changes to be made to the website. Handwriting Association for those who would like to offer support, whether on a one-off or continuing Patronage basis. Angela announced that Sir Jim Rose, author of the report into primary literacy, has agreed to become The minimum donation is £30. Donors will be our patron. Since July 1999 Sir Jim has acted as a listed in the annual Journal of the Association and consultant to the Government, first to the will receive an annual newsletter dedicated to Department for Education and Skills and then to keeping Friends informed about the activities of the the Department for Children, Schools and Association. Families, on nursery and primary education and work force training, and in January 2008 he was If you might like to support the Association in this appointed to carry out an Independent Review of way, please contact the Friends coordinator: the Primary Curriculum. The NHA feel privileged Dorothy Penso, 10 Lastingham Terrace, York YO10 to be able to put his name on our notepaper. 4BW (e-mail: [email protected]). Sponsorship Due to the economic climate the NHA acknowledge that these are difficult times for potential AGM minutes sponsors. We have been assured that there is still money available for charities such as ourselves, and Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held we shall continue to explore these. Angela thanked at the Institute of Education, University of Fiona Green, a new committee member, who is London on 12 March 2009. generously making some of her time and contacts available to us. Present: Angela Webb (Chairman), Gwen Dornan (Vice- Finance Chair), Catherine Elsey, Karen Nicholas, Sarah ‘Friends of NHA’ is a new scheme which is being Rae, Dorothy Penso, Jane Taylor, Suzanne coordinated by Dorothy Penso. This enables people Tibutius, Alan Henderson, Susie Baynes, Carolyn who support the work of the NHA, but who are Dunford, Mary Howard, Sheila Henderson. not involved enough to take out membership, to contribute funds on an annual basis. We intend to 1. Apologies for absence use this scheme to appeal to people whose children Anna Barnett, Judith Peterson, Lizzy Hoffman, may have benefited from help in the past and would Mary Chambers, Jessica Faulkner, Alison McRae, be willing to contribute something to enable other Beverley Scheib, Anne Markee, Ann O’Hare. children to receive similar support.

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NHA news Government Initiatives Personnel Changes Good news. At the end of 2008, through Nick This year has seen further changes to the NHA Peacey of SENJIT, the NHA were asked to write team. Rita, our administrator, decided to take one of a set of Self-Study Tasks introduced by the retirement in December 2008 after working for us Government for the initial training of teachers in for five years. As our first ever salaried administra- various areas of the curriculum. We hope this will be tor, Rita was instrumental in setting up systems for a way of reaching teachers in early training to ensure membership and for the distribution of books and some awareness of the importance of teaching booklets which we can build on in the future. handwriting from the start. Shirley, who took over as finance officer at short notice a year ago to help us through a difficult time, News on the government’s ‘Every Child a Writer’ is also stepping down. Her husband, David, whose initiative is not so good in that it was launched business printed our journal last year, has recently without consideration of the role of handwriting. retired and they intend to spend more time travel- We did challenge this decision but were told that the ling. We appreciate enormously the difficult tasks focus was on composition and revision skills rather they faced and are grateful for the tireless way in than on the transcription skills of spelling and hand- which they worked for NHA. writing, which, in their view, were currently being With development in mind, we have been fortunate adequately dealt with in schools! to appoint Susie Baynes as our administrator and Karen Nicholas as our finance officer. Susie’s expe- INSET rience working part-time with the National Autistic In-service training sessions have been conducted in Society will be invaluable to us, as well as her inter- schools and colleges around the country. The est in wider aspects of charitable work. Karen’s graduate accredited diploma module did run at the experience working with other businesses brings us Institute of Education in London from October technological expertise which we badly need. We 2008 to February 2009, though sadly for the last look forward to working with them. time owing to the Institute’s decision not to offer courses at this level in the future. We are currently Committee news exploring the possibility of offering this module to The committee members continue to work hard in other universities. Gwen, Beverly, Carolyn, Mary various other ways, in disseminating information, in Howard and Catherine Elsey have all contributed to publishing our high class journal, in running the INSET in various ways and Angela thanked them teacher register and in so many other ways. for their work. Angela acknowledged the amount of time and energy which they give to NHA throughout the year Publications and thanked them for all they do. Alan Henderson The ‘Handwriting Are You Concerned?’ booklet for steps down as Honorary Treasurer. His expertise parents was completed this year and has proved and guidance has always been helpful but par- extremely popular. Thanks to Bill Knight of ticularly over this past 18 months during the KnightSight, the photographer, and to Beverly for numerous changes. Angela is committed to finding all her work to bring the book to publication. a replacement for Alan as soon as possible. Jane Taylor, whilst remaining on the committee, has Thanks in part to photographs in the press of decided to leave the post of Honorary Secretary, President Barrack Obama’s left-handed script, the again after many years in this role. Finally, Shirley Left-handers’ book has also sold very well this year. McNeill, our INSET liaison officer, is coming off The other publication which has proved popular the committee as her tutoring diary prevents her recently is the A4 bi-fold sheets on specific hand- attending committee meetings. We will miss these writing topics, developed and designed by Gwen. three but extend our thanks to them and to the all There are currently four of these on the market with committee members for their immense contri- four more in the pipeline. bution to NHA.

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NHA news

5. Administrator’s Report we can keep better track of finances. Alan Susie Baynes reported that January and February Henderson paid tribute to Karen for getting the were very busy as everyone went back to school accounts into good order in a short space of time. and she was getting settled into a routine after the handover from Rita. Sales of Writing left-handed 7. Election of Officers and Members to the increased after an article about President Obama, Executive Committee and Tips was selling fast. In all, 197 publications Angela Webb agreed to stand again as Chairman, were sold from January to March 2009 bringing Gwen Dornan agreed to stand as Vice-Chair . All in a revenue of over £1000.00. officers were re-elected en bloc to the executive committee. Sheila Henderson proposed, Jane 6. Finance Officer’s Report Taylor seconded & everyone else voted en bloc. Karen’s main focus since January has been to get 2008 finances sorted. Income has been mostly 8. Any Other Business from standing orders for membership, corporate There was no other business. membership and publication sales. Expenses – biggest expense has been committee meetings. 9. Date of the next Annual General Meeting Karen plans to introduce a budget scheme so Tuesday 30 March 2010 at The IOE at 3.30 pm.

Farewell

At the December executive committee meeting efficiently run. Shirley, who took over as finance 2008 we said goodbye both to Rita, our adminis- officer at short notice a year ago to help us through trator, and Shirley, our finance officer. Rita had a difficult time, did a masterful job in sorting worked for NHA for five years and, as our first ever out a backlog of banking complexities, and helped salaried administrator, she was instrumental in to give us a more comprehensible set-up. However, setting up many of our current systems and our she and her husband, David, who prints our database, including that for membership and for the journal, have recently retired from their full-time distribution of books and booklets, which became occupations and wanted to be free to spend more an increasingly demanding job. She worked tire- time travelling. We are immensely grateful to them lessly and dedicated a great deal of time to ensuring both for all they did for NHA and wish them well that this side of the NHA income was steady and for the future.

Members of the NHA committee say goodbye to Rita (4th from the left) and Shirley (4th from the right) after the December committee meeting.

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NHA news NHA Register of Handwriting Tutors

The NHA often receives requests from people ing in your own home you should ensure that you seeking advice and tuition and we are compiling a are covered for public liability. register of handwriting tutors so that we can put prospective students in touch with someone in their If you would like to be included on the tutor list, area. Currently most of our tutors are based in the please complete the form inserted in this issue of South East of the country – so we welcome appli- the journal. The form can also be found on our web- cations from other areas to ensure we have wide site at www.nha-writing.org.uk geographical coverage. Completed forms should be returned to

Teachers are invited to be on this register if they Dr. Mary Howard are members of the NHA, have relevant qualifica- The 3D Centre, 46 Prescott Street tions and CRB clearance. Please be aware that if Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2QW. you are engaged in private tuition you should have Tel: 01422 365 500 professional indemnity insurance (available through Email: [email protected] professional associations and unions), and if tutor- Fax: 01422 365 520

Members’ News Up-dating Which Handwriting Scheme?

We have a number of items for sale which are now This year we have contacted all the publishers with surplus to requirements including: schemes in the NHA publication: Which Handwriting Scheme? There have been a few changes of price and G double-sided blackboards for the “Speed-Up” addresses etc but all except three of the original 22 programme. £17 each plus postage (collection is publications reviewed are still available. These are welcome). listed on the following page for your information

G an adjustable-height table which can seat several and will be put inside every book newly purchased. children, which can also be positioned to provide We plan to republish a new edition on line to be a sloping surface to optimum hand-writing accessed by our new website. We know of a few position. £40. small publications that will be added. If you hear about any publication that you think should be Please email [email protected] included please let the NHA administrator know for photographs and further information. ([email protected]).

Do you have friends who would like to become our ‘Friends’?

We are aware of a number of individuals and smaller If you have friends or colleagues who may be companies who are sympathetic to the aims of the interested in becoming Friends of the National Association but who cannot support the cost of Handwriting Association, please contact Dorothy Corporate Membership. We are therefore launching Penso who is the co-ordinator of the scheme. She a new initiative in the form of Friends of the will provide you with leaflets about the scheme or, if National Handwriting Association for those who you prefer, you may send her the names and contact would like to offer support, whether on a one-off or details of interested persons and she will make con- annual basis. tact with them.

The minimum donation is £30. Donors will receive Dorothy Penso an annual newsletter dedicated to keeping Friends 10 Lastingham Terrace, York YO10 4 BW informed about the activities of the Association. Email: [email protected]

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conferences and courses Conferences and courses

Reviews of past events

The director of Workplace Disability Adjustments Dyspraxia Foundation AGM & was one of those, as he has the responsibility of Conference making ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled peo- London, UK ple in the workplace by providing equipment such as specialised pens and he may contact NHA for June 13, 2009 further advice.

During the conference two speakers referred to the There was a steady flow of people to the NHA stand problems that young people, who had relied on the at the Dyspraxia Foundation Conference during regis- use of information and communication technology tration and breaks. Many parents and occupational (ICT) throughout school and further education therapists took the opportunity to discuss their chil- had experienced. When they arrived at the work- dren’s difficulties and inadequate support they were place they found situations where they had to rely receiving at school for their handwriting difficulties. on their own handwriting and spelling and could not use ICT. Problems arose because they had been There were several positive comments about the given jobs on the assumptions that they had these pens, grips and other items on display. Parents were skills. interested to see so many varieties of resources together, saying that otherwise they would not have Sales were modest and only from the Tips for Teaching Range, however the Special Educational known they were available and that they were much Needs Coordinators who bought them said they more interesting than those found in the high street. would copy them and sell them at inset and courses Others, who had previously tried products (e.g. Pen in the future. Others took the resource leaflet for Again) asked if anyone knew where they could be further use. bought locally, as they found re-ordering through the internet expensive. Jessica Falconer

oral and poster presentations. The invited talks were 14th Biennial Conference of the given by Katrin Franke (‘A computational approach International Graphonomics Society to forensic sciences’), Alim-Louis Benabid (‘High Universitie de Bourgogne, frequency stimulation of the brain: Current results Dijon, France and future applications’), Vince Connelly (‘How language problems can constrain the development September 13-16, 2009 of writing in children’) and Jean-Francois Demonet (‘Brain and handwriting’). This conference brought together people from Talks were presented in themed sessions focused 21 countries across many disciplines including on particular areas of research including signature neuroscience, computer engineering, pattern recog- analysis & authentification, handwriting in move- nition, motor control, experimental psychology, ment disorders, handwriting analysis and the cognitive science, neuropsychology, education and development of handwriting & drawing. forensic science. The programme included several invited keynote addresses as well as a wide range of Anna Barnett

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conferences and courses Forthcoming Conferences & Courses

Selecting, using and interpreting Development Co-ordination Disorder standardised tests – principles for Research UK – July 8, 2010 educational testing. AND Birkbeck College, Central London Handwriting in the UK – July 9, 2010 December 2-3, 2009 9.30am-3.30pm. York St. John University

A two day course helping you to select, administer 1 day: and interpret the results from standardised tests. ‘Early Bird’ £80.00 / after 31st March £95.00 Course Tutor: Liz Waine 2 days: ‘Early Bird’ £275.00, Standard Rate £290.00 ‘Early Bird’ £150.00 / after 31st March £190.00 For further information contact: Sharon Hayward Booking opens early January Tel: 0845 33 11 492 For delegate enquiries please contact: Email: [email protected] [email protected] Web: www.communicate-ed.org.uk

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