Zaner-Bloser Handwriting: Handwriting Instruction Program

Handwriting is more than a fine motor skill—it is also key for overall literacy development. Research shows that handwriting wires the brain for learning. Early, explicit handwriting instruction has been shown to

• increase brain activation for higher level learning.
• provide a foundation for literacy skills development and critical thinking in reading, writing, language, and mathematics.
• boost performance across all academic subjects.

How does Zaner-Bloser Handwriting benefit students?

Zaner-Bloser Handwriting supports reading and mathematics acquisition.
With as little as 15 minutes a day of handwriting instruction, research shows that students who have greater ease with fine-motor writing tasks have better academic skills in second grade in both reading and math.¹ Zaner-Bloser Handwriting provides developmentally appropriate practice activities to promote automaticity.

Zaner-Bloser Handwriting increases writing quality and output.
When students develop the fine motor skills that accompany learning to write by hand, their speed and output increase.^2,3 With Zaner-Bloser Handwriting, students become more fluent at manuscript and cursive handwriting and have more attentional resources that can be devoted to planning and composing when writing.

Zaner-Bloser Handwriting improves manuscript and cursive letter formation.
Handwriting practice is considered to be a key component of the motor learning necessary to form letters and numerals correctly.⁴ This handwriting program provides students ample activities to practice this skill.

Students need foundational literacy skills to succeed in school and beyond.

Handwriting is an important foundational literacy skill. With the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting program, you will

• develop your students’ cognitive ability and confidence to more efficiently perform the skills required in other content areas. This ultimately leads to better grades, better test scores, and better overall academic performance.
• achieve the Common Core State Standards’ primary goal of preparing students to be college and career ready by providing instruction that facilitates higher-level thinking, deeper comprehension, and written response.

References

¹Jean-Paul Renaud, “Good Handwriting and Good Grades: FIU Researcher Finds New Link,” FIU Magazine (18 January 2012). Available: http://news.fiu.edu/2012/01/good-handwriting-and-good-grades-fiu-researc...
²Steve Graham and Karen R. Harris, "Improving the Writing Performance of Young Struggling Writers," The Journal of Special Education 39 (2005): 19-33.
³Steve Graham and Naomi Weintraub, "A Review of Handwriting Research: Progress and Prospects From 1980–1994," Educational Psychology Review 8 (1996): 7–87.
⁴Asha Asher, "Handwriting Instruction in Elementary Schools," American Journal of Occupational Therapy 60 (2006): 461–471.