Why Is Good Handwriting Important?
Updated September 2023
No time for isolated handwriting lessons? Want to build stamina and fluency for writing workshop? This research-based handwriting model is NOT mindlessly tracing over one letter! You will ACTIVELY ENGAGE your students as they practice letters within real words and anchor sentences beginning with "I love you." Time-efficient! Brain-friendly! Inexpensive! Scroll down for videos, sample pages and lessons.
Start with 30 Essential Handwriting Lessons. (Includes 40 additional pages of printables, resources, parent letters and assessment.)
Created BY master kindergarten teachers FOR kindergarten teachers over 10 years of action-research in actual classrooms. These essential, integrated handwriting-to-read lessons focus on practicing high-frequency "heart words" and “heart word” sentences.
- So we can write better and faster
- So our finger muscles won’t get tired
- So everyone can read our writing
- So we can build our reading and
writing brain
"These lessons are a game changer for my kinders! So engaging and I’ve seen so much improvement. Wish I would have started these in the fall!"
— C.G. from TPT
What are the 30 Essential Handwriting Lessons?
1. Teach pencil grip and build strong finger muscles with playful exercises: fingerspell a,b,c,d; duck talk with thumb and pointer; touch thumb to each finger; squeeze and release fist.
2. I Always Start My Letters at the Top
3. I Chant (Top to bottom, left to right)
4. I can draw lines: art lesson
5. O Dance (Curve up and around letters: c, o, a, d, g, q, f, s) plus practice page
6. L-o-v-e Spells Love song (Learn 4 basic handwriting movement patterns)
7. Draw a Twinkling Star! (lift-the-pen movement patterns)
8. Draw a Van Gogh-like Star! (continuous path of motion)
9. How to Draw a 5-point Star
10. Some Letters Are Tall/Small/Fall
11. I remember “d” and “b” (A Reading Recovery® lesson with streamers)
12. How to draw and write dog (white board, then paper)
13. How to draw and write cat (white board, then paper)
14. The Spelling Chant and T-h-e e-n-d: The-end! Chant
15. How to Write “y” and “you!” (learn two different language cues)
16. M-o-m Spells Mom and I love… sentences
17. Celebrate mastery of name writing: Use this Crown Pattern
18. What Does Quality Handwriting Look Like? (Anchor chart)
19. Capital Letters: Lift the Pen Movement Pattern
20. Capital Letters: Continuous Motion Handwriting Pattern
21. This is my house: h-o-u-s-e lesson, plus drawing page
22. There’s a King of “ing”: i-n-g
23. “Make a Book” Sentences: I see the … My Book, by (Also with Skinny Books)
24. I am a Master of Pink Heart Words: Sing, Sign, Spell, and Read! (Use CD every day for spelling lessons. Make copies of the CD for your families: permission granted!)
25. Fingerspell Everything: Expect Students to ALL become masters. Make an “I am a Fingerspelling Expert!” book. Celebrate mastery. (Book cover incl.)
26. Take the a, b, c, d Challenge: Fingerspell and write each letter fluently.
27. I Can Write CVC Words lessons with white boards/paper (especially words that begin with p, f, b, and r: less commonly used consonants).
28. I Can Write: r, n, m, and h
29. I Can Write All of the Capital Letters
30. Brain Exercises for Fluency
Save District Resources! This is not a handwriting program with practice books that you need to purchase again every year: Print student book and engaging activity pages year after year. New updates are always included. You are encouraged to make copies for family “at-home learning”: good handwriting that builds sentence writing stamina is our goal.
For Kindergarten and First Grade Summer Learning at Home: Essential Handwriting Lessons are appropriate throughout the year! Families appreciate simple, meaningful handwriting, drawing, and writing lessons—not boring workbook pages. Choose the pages appropriate for your students. Bind this distance learning booklet for home study!
If you have attended Nellie Edge live Kindergarten Workshops or Online
Seminars, you will recognize many of these 30 Essential Lessons. Our Handwriting Teacher’s Guide and MasterClass Intensive provide teacher support for this authentic approach to handwriting.
Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting lessons are consistent with the principles of visual learning research and a writing-to-read approach to kindergarten
literacy. See how this looks in REAL CLASSROOMS!
A-Z Practice Pages Have Placement Dots
The brain works harder and the child’s visual-motor development grows stronger when required to copy letters and words with minimal support. However, some younger students will benefit from the added dots showing where to start the letter. Notice: All students practice good handwriting while building fluency writing a consistent, high-frequency “heart word” sentence starter: I see the…
Did You Know? Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting Integrates Phonemic Awareness, Word Work, and the Writing Process.
Learn more:
• Download FREE updated e-Book, What Does Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting Look Like?
• Peruse my Handwriting page at NellieEdge.com
• Learn Handwriting Chants on YouTube
• See Handwriting Preview on TPT
• Study Nellie Edge Online Seminar #2:
Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting Matters!
“These lessons are a game-changer for my kinders. So engaging and I’ve seen so much improvement. Wish I would have started these in the Fall!” – C.G. on TPT.
FREE eBook on TPT
Nellie Edge Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting Curriculum
Integrates ABC Phonics, word work, sentence writing, drawing, and fingerspelling.
Your colleagues evaluate this program:
“These lessons are a game changer for my kinders. So engaging and I’ve seen so much improvement. Wish I would have started these in the Fall!”
— Chelsea G.
“This was very helpful to help teach writing. I homeschool my granddaughter and this was a perfect resource with little prep time.”
— Tamara R.
“Now we ..always start our letters at the top! 🙂 Thank you for another great program.”
— Chantelle O.
“I had been wanting to get my hands on this resource for a while. So glad it finally came in a digital format. I have used Nellie Edge's resources to teach the alphabet, letter names and sounds. This was a wonderful match up product to reinforce teaching and learning.”
— Educom K.
“I love everything Nellie Edge! She uses best practices! I love, love, love! Ever since I began using her program, I've seen a huge increase in my students learning.”
— Jessica H.
“Really great for step by step writing for kids.”
— Sara B.
“Great activities for my first graders. I used it at the beginning of the year for review.”
— Andi S.
Nellie Edge Online Seminars:
Summer Distance Learning Special: All 3 Online Seminars $79! (Save $58!) Credits available.
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