Cursive

When I was told that at Spicewood, I need to teach my second graders cursive... I was not happy.
Cursive!? Cursive! No one uses cursive any more. I have a friend who had to ask her new husband how to sign her new last name.

However, my vice principal told me that there are many benefits to teach young children cursive, so like any good teacher... I googled it.

Now I have to say, I am becoming a believer.

I read an article in psychologytoday by a Ph.D who said, "Learning to write by hand has these same features, plus of course there is a thinking element involved that does not occur with simple throw and catch movements. The thinking level is magnified in cursive because the specific hand-eye coordination requirements are different for every letter in the alphabet. Moreover, in handwriting the movements are continuously variable, which is much more mentally demanding than making single strokes, as in printing A, E, F, H, and so on. Even so, because cursive letters are more distinct than printed letters, children may learn to read more easily, especially dyslexics. "

and


"Yet scientists are discovering that learning cursive is an important tool for cognitive development, particularly in training the brain to learn “functional specialization,”[2] that is capacity for optimal efficiency. In the case of learning cursive writing, the brain develops functional specialization that integrates both sensation, movement control, and thinking. Brain imaging studies reveal that multiple areas of brain become co-activated during learning of cursive writing of pseudo-letters, as opposed to typing or just visual practice."



 My school uses Handwriting Without Tears.



However, there are some great FREE resources online.
Such as http://www.k5learning.com/cursive-writing-worksheets/cursive-alphabet