TIME magazine

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners’ letter formations. Forty-one participants received D’Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end of school year asked kindergarten students to write the letters of the alphabet from memory. The letter formations were scored on a 4-point rubric for directionality and integration. The results showed the Sunform group had significantly higher scores on all but three letters of the alphabet. The D’Nealian students had considerably lower scores on missing or extra strokes, distortions and open letters. The findings of this study support the value of using an integrated, meaningful curriculum which appeals to young children and promotes a strong motor plan by requiring students to cross the midline to form counter-clockwise circles and diagonal lines. Implications for future research are included. Massengill Shaw, D. (2011). The effect of two handwriting approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform on kindergartners’ letter formations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(2), 125-132. Publisher's Official Version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0444-2. Open Access version: http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/ KINDERGARTEN HANDWRITING 2 In recent years, handwriting instruction in elementary schools has been neglected due to numerous causes such as the use of technology, lack of time, inadequate teacher knowledge, and emphasis on standardized testing (Bennett, 2009; DuPree, 2009; Pressler, 2006; Suddath, 2009). So does handwriting instruction really matter? Is there value in teaching penmanship? Research states handwriting instruction is important for academic purposes (Graham, Berninger, Abbott, Abbott, & Whitaker, 1997). It should be taught through a structured process that allows students to develop automaticity much like reading fluency (Graham, et al., 1997) because the ease and speed of writing impact a person‟s academic career and life. Sheffield (1996) stated teaching handwriting is a critical skill for three reasons: it allows access to kinesthetic memory, spontaneous handwriting allows students to concentrate on higher-level thinking and expression, and the world judges people based on their handwriting. Handwriting is too important to be left for chance learning; every child deserves the benefits of legible handwriting (Zaner-Bloser, 2004). This article attempts to contribute to the research base by comparing D‟Nealian handwriting with a new method known as Sunform taught to kindergartners in rural Mid-western school districts. D‟Nealian is a handwriting system that minimizes formational differences between manuscript and cursive; letters are slightly oval and slanted with ending strokes. D‟Nealian letters are abstract and may challenge students to remember distinct motor plans, which results in open, distorted and illegible letters. D‟Nealian handwriting is taught separately from letter-sound instruction. In contrast, Sunform is a handwriting system that minimizes abstractness and reversals by teaching letters with a picture using counter-clockwise circles and strokes that require students to cross the midline and form distinct motor plans. Sunform handwriting is integrated with phonics instruction. Specifically we wanted to know: Massengill Shaw, D. (2011). The effect of two handwriting approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform on kindergartners’ letter formations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(2), 125-132. Publisher's Official Version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0444-2. Open Access version: http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/ KINDERGARTEN HANDWRITING 3 1. Were there differences between Sunform or D‟Nealian students in total letter formation for all 26 letters? 2. Were there differences between the Sunform group and the D‟Nealian group on letter formation for each letter of the alphabet? 3. Which letters of the alphabet were most difficult for kindergarten children to correctly form? Were the difficult letters the same for each of the two approaches or were there differences between approaches in which letters were difficult? 4. Which formational feature errors (correct start, directionality, integrated open, integrated close) were most common and were there differences between students of D‟Nealian and students of Sunform in the type of feature errors they made?