Advertisement

Reading and Writing

, Volume 30, Issue 2, pp 299–317 | Cite as

Effective beginning handwriting instruction: multi-modal, consistent format for 2 years, and linked to spelling and composing

  • Beverly Wolf
  • Robert D. Abbott
  • Virginia W. Berninger
Article
First Online:

Abstract

In Study 1, the treatment group (N = 33 first graders, M = 6 years 10 months, 16 girls) received Slingerland multi-modal (auditory, visual, tactile, motor through hand, and motor through mouth) manuscript (unjoined) handwriting instruction embedded in systematic spelling, reading, and composing lessons; and the control group (N = 16 first graders, M = 7 years 1 month, 7 girls) received manuscript handwriting instruction not systematically related to the other literacy activities. ANOVA showed both groups improved on automatic alphabet writing from memory; but ANCOVA with the automatic alphabet writing task as covariate showed that the treatment group improved significantly more than control group from the second to ninth month of first grade on dictated spelling and recognition of word-specific spellings among phonological foils. In Study 2 new groups received either a second year of manuscript (N = 29, M = 7 years 8 months, 16 girls) or introduction to cursive (joined) instruction in second grade (N = 24, M = 8 years 0 months, 11 girls) embedded in the Slingerland literacy program. ANCOVA with automatic alphabet writing as covariate showed that those who received a second year of manuscript handwriting instruction improved more on sustained handwriting over 30, 60, and 90 s than those who had had only 1 year of manuscript instruction; both groups improved in spelling and composing from the second to ninth month of second grade. Results are discussed in reference to mastering one handwriting format before introducing another format at a higher grade level and always embedding handwriting instruction in writing and reading instruction aimed at all levels of language.

Keywords

Beginning handwriting instruction Linking handwriting to spelling and composing Manuscript (unjoined) letters Cursive (joined) letters Multi-modal writing instruction 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

The first author, who is a faculty member and teacher trainer for the Slingerland® Institute for Literacy, is a former principal with over 40 years of experience in teaching children and training teachers nationally to teach handwriting in the context of systematic multi-modal language instruction. She initiated this research, obtained approval from local schools to recruit participants, used school-approved procedures to obtain written permission from parents for their children to participate, conducted the research, and invited statistical assistance from university researchers who are supported by Grant P50HD071764 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has a research aim to engage in translation science.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflicts of interest

The first author is affiliated with the Slingerland® Institute for Literacy and the third author is author of the PAL—II RW Reading and Writing Diagnostic, used for evaluating treatment effects because it has multiple measures of handwriting, spelling, and composing based on the same national norming sample for grades 1 and 2.

References

  1. Abbott, R., & Berninger, V. (1993). Structural equation modeling of relationships among developmental skills and writing skills in primary and intermediate grade writers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(3), 478–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Abbott, R., Berninger, V., & Fayol, M. (2010). Longitudinal relationships of levels of language in writing and between writing and reading in grades 1 to 7. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 281–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Alamargot, D., Chesnet, D., Dansac, C., & Ros, C. (2006). Eye and pen: A new device for studying reading during writing. Behavior Research Methods, 38, 287–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Alstad, Z., Sanders, E., Abbott, R., Barnett, A., Hendersen, S., Connelly, V., et al. (2015). Modes of alphabet letter production during middle childhood and adolescence: Interrelationships with each other and other writing skills. Journal of Writing Research, 6(3), 199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Alves, R., & Limpo, T. (2015). Progress in written language bursts, pauses, transcription, and written composition across schooling. Scientific Studies of Reading, 19, 374–391. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2015.1059838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Berninger, V.W. (2007). Process Assessment of the Learner, second edition (PAL-II): Diagnostic for reading and writing (PAL-II Reading and Writing). San Antonio, TX: Pearson Assessment. (PAL-II User Guide on CD explains how to do evidence- based Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 assessment-intervention).Google Scholar
  7. Berninger, V. (2009). Highlights of programmatic, interdisciplinary research on writing. Learning Disabilities. Research and Practice, 24, 68–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Berninger, V. W. (2015). Interdisciplinary frameworks for schools: Best professional practices for serving the needs of all students. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/14437-002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Berninger, V. W., Rutberg, J., Abbott, R., Garcia, N., Anderson-Youngstrom, M., Brooks, A., et al. (2006). Tier 1 and Tier 2 early intervention for handwriting and composing. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 3–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Berninger, V., Vaughan, K., Abbott, R., Abbott, S., Brooks, A., Rogan, L., et al. (1997). Treatment of handwriting fluency problems in beginning writing: Transfer from handwriting to composition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 652–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Berninger, V., & Wolf, B. (2009, 1st edition; 2015, 2nd edition). Teaching students with dyslexia and dysgraphia: Lessons from teaching and science. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.Google Scholar
  12. Bowers, P., & Wolf, M. (1993). Theoretical links between naming speed, precise timing mechanisms, and orthographic skill in dyslexia. Reading and Writing An International Journal, 5, 69–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Carlisle, J. (1996). Models for writing, levels A, B, and C. Novato: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
  14. COST Action IS1401 to build the European Literacy Network (ELN), Strengthening European Capabilities by Establishing the European Literacy Network. http://w3.cost.eu/fileadmin/domain_files/ISCH/Action_IS1401/mou/IS1401-e.pdf.
  15. Ehri, L. (1980). The role of orthographic images in learning printed words. In J. F. Kavanaugh & R. Venezky (Eds.), Orthographic reading and dyslexia (pp. 307–332). Baltimore: Press.Google Scholar
  16. Fixsen, D.L., Naoom, S.F., Blase, K.A., Friedman, R.M. & Wallace, F. (2005). Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication #231).Google Scholar
  17. Fry, E. (1996). Spelling book: Level 1–6: Words most needed plus phonics. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials.Google Scholar
  18. Gillingham, A., & Stillman, B. (1956 and 1960). Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service.Google Scholar
  19. Graham, S., Berninger, V., & Weintraub, N. (1998). The relationship of handwriting style and speed and legibility. Journal of Educational Research, 91, 290–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Graham, S., Harris, K., & Fink, B. (2000). Is handwriting causally related to learning to write? Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 620–633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Henry, M. K. (1988). Beyond phonics: Integrated decoding and spelling instruction based on word origin and structure. Annals of Dyslexia, 38, 259–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Henry, M. K. (1989). Children’s word structure knowledge: Implications for decoding and spelling instruction. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2, 135–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Henry, M. (1990). Words: Integrated decoding and spelling instruction based on word origin and word structure. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.Google Scholar
  24. Henry, M. K. (2003). Unlocking literacy: Effective decoding and spelling instruction (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.Google Scholar
  25. IES of Department of Education. (2003). Identifying and implementing educational practices supported by rigorous evidence: A user friendly guide. Washington, DC: Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy.Google Scholar
  26. James, K., & Atwood, T. (2009). The role of sensorimotor learning in the perception of letter-like forms: Tracking the causes of neural specialization for letters. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 26, 91–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Jones, D., & Christensen, C. (1999). Relationship between automaticity in handwriting and students’ ability to generate written text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 44–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Limpo, T., & Alves, R. (2013). Modeling writing development: Contribution of transcription and self-regulation to Portuguese students’ text generation quality. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 401–413. doi: 10.1037/a0031391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Pearson.Google Scholar
  30. Nelson, N. W., Bahr, C., & Van Meter, A. (2004). The Writing Lab approach to language instruction and intervention. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.Google Scholar
  31. Olinghouse, N. G., Santangelo, T., & Wilson, J. (2012). Examining the validity of single-occasion, single-genre, holistically scored writing assessments. In E. Van Steendam, M. Tillema, G. Rijlaarsdam, & H. van den Bergh (Eds.), Measuring writing: Recent insights into theory, methodology and practices (pp. 55–82). Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
  32. Olson, R., Forsberg, H., Wise, B., & Rack, J. (1994). Measurement of word recognition, orthographic, and phonological skills. In G. R. Lyon (Ed.), Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities (pp. 243–277). Brooks: Baltimore.Google Scholar
  33. Orton, S. (1989). Reading, writing, and speech problems in children and selected papers. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.Google Scholar
  34. Pearson. (2009). Wechsler individual achievement test, 3rd Ed. San Antonio, TX.Google Scholar
  35. Rubel, B. (1995). Big strokes for little folks. Tucson, AZ: Therapy Skill Builders.Google Scholar
  36. Schneider, W., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: 1. Detection, search, and attention. Psychological Review, 84, 1–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Shadish, W., Cook, T., & Campbell, D. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.Google Scholar
  38. Slingerland, B. (1971). A multisensory approach to language arts for specific language disability children: A guide for primary teachers. Cambridge, MA: Educators.Google Scholar
  39. Slingerland, B. (1974). Why wait for a criterion of failure. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service.Google Scholar
  40. Slingerland, B. (2008). The Slingerland ® multisensory approach: A practical guide for teaching reading, writing, and spelling. Bellevue, WA: The Slingerland® Institute for Literacy.Google Scholar
  41. Sumner, E., Connelly, V., & Barnett, A. (2014). The influence of spelling ability on handwriting production: Children with and without dyslexia. Journal of Experimental Psychology; Learning; Memory, and Cognition, 40, 1441–1447. doi: 10.1037/a0035785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Wolf, B. (2005). Teaching handwriting. In J. Birsch (Ed.) Multisensory teaching of basic language skills, Second Ed (pp. 413–438). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Pubishing Co.Google Scholar
  43. Wolf, B. (2011). Teaching handwriting. In J. Birsch (Ed.), Multisensory teaching of basic language skills: Theory and practice (Revised ed.). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co.Google Scholar
  44. What Works Clearinghouse—Institute of Education Sciences http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/.
  45. Zaner-Bloser handwriting programs for use in general education. See www.zaner-bloser.com/fresh/handwriting-overview.html.

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Beverly Wolf
    • 1
  • Robert D. Abbott
    • 2
  • Virginia W. Berninger
    • 3
  1. 1.The Slingerland® Institute for LiteracyBellevueUSA
  2. 2.Statistics and MeasurementUniversity of WashingtonSeattleUSA
  3. 3.Learning Sciences and Human DevelopmentUniversity of WashingtonSeattleUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options