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Show i wgwmmyiaijjgtM wyiynnaMyahjyaBMtyiiiipyw Sun Advocate 6A Tuesday( May BB( 1SQ7 In all elementaries this fall New handwriting taught in local school L ByARVA SMITH Staff writer In an age dominated by creasingly in- sophisticated electronic machines, handwriting remains an important, and the most often used, means of written communication. The teaching of clear, legible handwriting, needed daily by most people, is receiving a change of direction and renewed emphasis in Carbon County schools. DNealian handwriting, the fastest program for teaching handwriting in the United States, has been adopted for teaching next year in all Carbon County elementary schools. It has already been adopted by many of the districts in Utah. A workshop was held recently in the Carbon County School District offices to introduce teachers from throughout the district to the new system. Tried out during the past school year at Price Elementary by Necia Erramouspe, first grade teacher and LaRue Bate, believed growing to be teacher, the program seems to live up to the claims of its publisher, Scott, Foresman and Company. Erramouspe is enthusiastic kindergarten about the progress her first graders made this year in learning to write clearly and legibly. She said that students seem to write with more freedom. The handwriting program also seemed to help the first graders in development of reading skills, Erramouspe said. The program was also successfully used in the kin- dergarten. Development of the program began about 25 years when Donald Neal Thurber, at that time a first grade teacher, began to realize some of the difficulties children were experiencing in learning to write. Writing was being taught to first and second graders, and sometimes those in kindergarten, by the method of manuscript circle-and-sti- ck printing. Usually a switch was made in the third grade to slanted, cursive handwriting. James L. Jensen, elementary suprvisor, said he believes that circle-and-stic- writing k originated in England and was adopted because its similarity to letters on printed pages. The similarity between manuscript letters and printed material was thought to make learning easier for children who were beginning reading and writing at about the same time. But in 1960 Thurber perceived that something was wrong with the way he and other teachers were teaching handwriting. The first clue came, he said in written material ac- the program, that I time to write to students get trying manuscript straight up and down, but later a teacher would have them writing slanted companying when it occurred to me was spending all this cursive. Some students had difficulty in making the transition. Soon afterward, he learned about ITA, the initial teaching alphabet in which some letters are printed with a continous stroke. I realized that there was a nice rhythm to forming those letters and the traditional method lacked rhythm. The method he developed involves a lower-cas- e alphabet in which the basic forms correspond to cursive writing. Capitals are taught later. All students need to learn are a few connecting strokes. And presto! theyre writing in cursive, he said. circle-and-sti- ck Rhythm, an essential ingredient in cursive writing, is built in from the beginning. As a result, when the time comes to learn cursive, the basic patterns are already there; the manuscript that has been learned is not unlearned but, rather, built upon. This saves a lot of teaching and learning time and effort. One of the most important points about the DNealian program is that while stressing legibility, it recognizes that writing is an individual product and that no two people write alike. One childs writing may be larger than anothers; one may tend to write letters closer together than another; one may slant to the right while another slants to the left; one may make more circular parts while others may make more oval shapes. His contention is that if teachers look for consistent slant, size and spacing in each childs writing, that legibility will develop. But the program does have with a certain model letters slant for children to imitate, does suggest writing line sizes and does recommend a certain spacing. Each child is provided with samples of the writing. But transparent overlays for children to place over their own writing for evaluation purposes are not used. A teaching aid accompanying the course makes the point that 1 I iJj Xk I 'Mm. between two center lines and those that go above and beneath the lines). Animal illustrations depicting the same configuration as the letters reinforce the concept. Thurber believes his program can be more successfully used students with learning-disable- d k method than the circle-and-stic- because learning-disable- d children otten have trouble putting the separate parts of circles and sticks together. He said that some teachers of learning-disablechildren have in the past taught them cursive d writing and bypassed manuscript writing. Another feature of the course is that it encourages students to begin writing words very soon instead of practicing writing the alphabet extensively, although how to write each letter is carefully taught. Handwriting is more meaningful to children if they can take home a paper with words, such as dog, on it rather than rows of printed letters. Photos by Ed McKmvst elementary schools next year after successful implementation in the Price school this past year. Necia Erramouspe, first grade teacher at Price Elementary School, instructs her class in the new handwriting technique. The new style will be used in all county Thurber believes that ters and most of the capital enletters we use are the same ones children have built-i- n thusiasm for learning to write the Romans used. and that his program develops Some Roman handwriting and even more enthusiasm because that of other ancient peoples the children experience early was rather permanent because success. it was carved in stone. Other I have yet to hear of one times they wrote in wax by teacher who has used the using a pointed stick. method and dropped it, he said During the Middle Ages, handwritten beautifully writing. Clay and papyrus and some other materials were used before paper. D'Nealian handwriting. The new style of printing makes the transition to cursive writing much easier, Donald Neal Thurber. claims inventor over, were prominent in pioneer American schools. Students in the earlier part of this century, after pencils and the Roman alphabet. Long ago Romans used only capital let nn.m.Q. Price. cursive writing. With the advancement technology, of handwriting seemed for awhile to occupy a position of less importance. Erramouspe said that when she began teaching, students were shown how to write but not a lot of time was devoted to its practice. She said that in teaching the DNealian program she has allowed at least 15 minutes a day for the practice of handwriting. Another indication of the resurgence of interest in handwriting has been the popularity during the past few years of calligraphy classes. Calligraphy classes teach many artistic and ornate styles of handwriting. Hsx. AhAn. ararf.P. H,pmp.nh.m ) 'Nmliin. Uke. This method of handwriting featured excercises designed for development of the proper slant and formation of letters. Pages of oval shapes, circles and slanted lines were produced in preparation for making properly shaped letters of raws is In, the. am. a Bibles were illustrated, or educated person and most schools spent considerable time teaching handwriting, even though writing materials may have been scarce. The slate board and chalk, which could be used over and The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used papyrus. The pith of this plant was sliced and pressed into writing material. The alphabet we use is called fu paper had become plentiful, were often taught writing by the Palmer method. illuminated, by writers who spent years m producing only a few pages. Most of the few remaining examples of this work are in museums. Even after the development of the printing press, handwriting was considered of paramount importance. Knowing how to read and write was the mark of an different languages and alphabets there were many methods and materials used for student at Price Elementary practices 7 there are only three letter heights for children to remember, tall, small and letters that fall (those that fit in writing about it. A final claim is that it cuts teaching time in half. Handwriting itself, believed to have begun with the picture writing of prehistoric man on cliffs and in caves, has had an interesting history. Along with the development of A NnOo.Pp Qq,R.r Ss hand inrltl Elementary student new D'Nealian printing method. This Price concentrates during a practice session using the ) This is an example of the printing technique which uses curves, thereby making the transition to cursive writing 1 much easier for the children who learn D'Nealian printing, i |