Mew's writing has been significantly improved since our last home visit when we invited a private tutor to teach her to read our mother language. Though at that time Mew was really reluctant to learn both reading and writing and we did not focus much on writing skills, the long-term effect of an intensive course with discipline and a lot of homework proved to be very positive to her handwriting currently. I could proudly say that Mew's handwriting is not only the best in her class but also much better than her teacher's. Here is an example piece of her handwriting (and don't forget that she has just begun learning how to write within 1 month only - and since we came back here we have almost had no time to schedule her writing practice session):
It seems not to be surprising at all when the pedagogique method here does not consider it important to teach writing neatly and beautifully. For the teachers, it is more important that their students recognize well the letters and the students are encouraged to write them correctly. It appears to us that here they prefer to apply the democratic idea to everything including primary education and thus it is totally free for the students to express their own characters through free writing without any discipline or model to follow strictly. But in our home country, to write correctly is far from enough for a good student. She or he must learn to write neatly, beautifully, almost perfectly. And the teachers there use marks on the scale of 1-10 to evaluate the handwriting practice work of each student. It is impossible to tell if one method is better. But for us, to handwrite neatly (and beautifully to a prescribed model) is an important way to teach the students the patience, the diligence, the continuous efforts to practise daily, the discipline, the organization skills, etc. since their early childhood. In short, one's handwriting would reveal parts of his/her characters.
The Light Educational Ministries Phonics Manual shows you how you can teach writing formations and lists "Three P's of Writing Preparation: Posture, Pencil Grip and Paper Position." The LEM manual lists these important rules-
- Posture
- Sit with buttocks pushed to the back of chair.
- Have feet flat on floor (use a footstool is the chair is too high).
- Head should be held up, not drooping forward. A drooped head strains neck and back muscles.
- Back should be straight, with the trunk leaning forward from the hip joint for a comfortable writing position.
- Pencil Grip
- Use a six-sided (hexagonal) pencil. Hold it between thumb and middle finger. The pencil should be held lightly enough so that it can be pulled out of the hand easily, but firmly enough to maintain good control. Hand and finger muscles should not be tightly tensed.
- Write with the point of the pencil and hold it just above the shaven area.
- Paper position
- The side edge of the paper should be parallel to the arm holding the pencil. The other hand should rest above the writing to steady and move the paper up and down as needed.
- The left-handed student will do the same, but the paper will be at the opposite angle. Be sure that the left-handed student rests his pencil hand below the baseline, not above the writing.
- the 'driving' grip: The thumb is the steering wheel and index is mum and dad driving, the 3 kids are in the back but the middle one is learning to drive so she watches closely but sometimes she is naughty and tries to get into the driver's seat.
Further resources on teaching handwriting to your kids can be found at these sites:
- How to Teach Handwriting (techniques)
- Teach your child to write (a collection of references and resources)
No comments:
Post a Comment