Every classroom teacher has faced the challenge of receiving work for a student that is sloppy, illegible and carelessly written. Sometimes children just rush through assignments to get them done. Some children have poor handwriting skills. Some childre have dysgraphia, a Specific Learning Disability that impact on the control of the small muscles of the fingers and hands and makes them fatigue quickly and results in messy written work. Here is one small tip to resolve the problem of poor handwriting without a lot of hassle and stress. This is best used in the upper classes of primary school

Early in the school year tell the children they are going to write a story about the best thing that happened to them during the summer holiday. Tell them that their stories are going to be put on display in the classroom so parents can read them when they come to visit. If you are energetic you can even tell the children you will copy their stories and create a book for everyone to take home so parents can read.

In the writing of the stories, and this can best be accompolised during English lessons over one week, you provide the usual guidance, structure and support about writing essays to the children. Children should be encouraged to write a draft, maybe two, before handing in the final copy. Now, here’s the trick.

When it is time to write the final copy make sure the children know that this is the one their parents will see. Tell them that other parents and teachers will see it also. Tell them they may be displayed on the bulletin board in the hall. Framing the last copy this way helps ensure you will get the “best” handwriting sample from each child. Be sure to go around the room and provide plenty of encouragement to each child to produce their “very best” handwritten work becasue it’s going to be displayed or bound into a book.

Once this assignment is completed you proceed as you said you would, mounting and displaying or binding and sending home or perhaps placing on the hallway bulletin board.

But you also have somethimg valuable, you have the best sample of everyone’s handwriting. This becomes the template you use to compare all subsequent written work. If a child produces something sloppy you take out the “best” sample and show the two to the child. You simply ask, “OK David, would you like to do it again and bring it up to this standard, which is your best work, or shall I just mark it as it is and you will get a lower result?”

The answer is up to the child and there is no need for argument. No more guess work about handwriting, no more fuss and bother and undue time spent talking to the child. Try it and see how it works for you. Let me know what you think. Any other suggestions? Do pass them along in your comments.