It seems like the public no longer believes cursive writing is being taught in schools, but the truth is, it’s alive and thriving in many primary classrooms! Ignore the social media posts begging teachers to get rid of cursive in schools. You know it’s here to stay! The key to making sure your students are improving their cursive handwriting skills is introducing fun, engaging handwriting activities for primary grades. Use innovative writing prompts, toys and manipulatives, and fun handouts to get your students excited about writing! Here are a few my students have enjoyed!
Color by Letter
Have students trace words and identify cursive letters with a color by cursive letter picture. Students can color certain parts of the picture (that contain words with specific letters) with the corresponding color in a key. When they’re finished, they not only will have to practice reading and writing cursive, they’ll have a fun, color by letter picture as well.
Search and Find
Students can practice identifying lowercase and uppercase cursive letters in a fun search. They can use a marker or crayon to circle the letter they are trying to identify. Neat spin on this activity…try it DIGITALLY! You can use Classkick or even Seesaw to do this same activity paperless!
Use Manipulatives
Handwriting motion is important, but learning the shapes of the letters is also a vital skill! Items like Wikki Stix are easy to twist and turn into cursive letter shapes. Made of food-grade wax and knitting yarn, they are one of my favorite teaching tools to bring into the classroom to create, play, and practice letters!
Your students may also enjoy forming Play-Doh letters. Making letters out of other objects will definitely help your students recognize and remember the letter forms. Students can put the Wikki Stix, Play-Doh or other manipulatives around the traceable cursive letters you provide.
Free Write
Sometimes the best way to practice cursive handwriting is to just give students a topic or even let them quick write about whatever is on their mind. Free writing, quick writing (5-10 minute sustained writing), and journaling are all fantastic ways to get creative writing juices flowing and handwriting practice in the classroom. Try a back to school prompt like “What are you looking forward to this year?” or a fun fall prompt about the changing seasons.
Trace and Practice
Your students are learning how to form letters correctly. One of the best ways to do this is by tracing cursive letters. These pre-made cursive tracing sheets will help your students get handwriting practice so that they can begin to write independently. Start with common words or sight words so your students aren’t learning new vocabulary while they are trying to learn this new skill.
Get Creative with Lettering
Have your students write with highlighters, crayons, colored pencils, or even glitter pens! Your students won’t even realize they’re practicing their cursive writing because they’ll have so much fun using all the creative tools. Step it up and have them make cursive letter patterns using dots, stars, or other shapes.
These cursive handwriting activities for primary grades will not only have your students improving their cursive handwriting skills; they’ll also be learning creative expression and having fun! Make sure to keep samples of your students’ handwriting from the beginning to the end of the school year. It’s so much fun for students, parents, and you to see how much they improve with practices and handwriting activities.
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