In this Issue
 

• Between the Lines
  The Handwriting Link
• Unique Instructional Tools & Strategies
  How to Assess Handwriting
• Activities & Downloads
• New for Pre-K!
  

Dear Friends,

Spring has sprung and children and educators alike are getting ready for the end of the school year. Summer is a great time for children to keep learning and discovering. The challenge is to keep up skills they learned through the year and still give children a break from school! Just a few minutes (5-10) of writing through the week will maintain their skills.  Keep handwriting fun and download our Tips for Summer Writing. You will find easy ways to encourage families to keep up handwriting skills throughout the summer.

Before the year ends, make sure your know how to administer a universal screener so you can see how your class and individual students are progressing with handwriting. This issue’s how-to article contains a step-by-step guide on how to administer a universal screener and what you should be looking for in the classroom to make sure your students are set up for success.

Speaking of success, the Common Core State Standards and state specific standards were developed to promote future success for children. Where does handwriting fit in? Everywhere! Read our feature article to learn why handwriting is a crucial foundation skill for all subjects and to understand how handwriting correlates to Common Core and state specific standards.   

Have a great summer!

Jan Z. Olsen

Between the Lines — Best Practices

The Handwriting Link
Will you need to adopt your classroom to the Common Core State Standards this fall? If you haven’t yet, it’s likely that you will have to in the near future. Forty-six states have embraced the new standards that focus on English-language arts and math. The standards aim to prepare children for college and a career by establishing common expectations for what students should learn every year from kindergarten through high school.

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Unique Instructional Tools & Strategies

How to Assess Handwriting
We've talked about handwriting being a foundational skill for elementary students' academic success. However, just as most of today's educators haven't been taught to teach handwriting, they also haven't been taught how to identify and remediate their students' handwriting problems.

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Activities & Downloads

Access free downloads to extend lessons and integrate handwriting in all subjects.

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