Want to add FUN to your Math block?

Improve Classroom Handwriting!

It’s Spring. And with Spring comes more confident readers, better writers…and MESSY handwriting! I attribute it to kids wanting to get their ideas on the paper so quickly that they forget proper letter formation.  On the other hand, perhaps it’s sheer laziness.

I don’t know.

Regardless, I have the best solution to fix this “Spring Writing.”

A special pencil.

That’s it.

That is my magical solution.

As a class, we brainstormed what would be a fun reward for having “the best” penmanship of the day. After much discussion {and plenty of silly ideas!} we settled on a special pencil.  My class even cleverly named it, The Super Star Writer of the Day.

For days, I searched high and low for a fun pencil.

One day, I walked into Walmart and the handwriting gods were shining down on the Dollar Spot {or 98 cent spot in Walmart} I scored GIANT pencils for just 98 cents each!

The kids went bananas when I brought this perfect pencil into the class that next Monday.

Here are the specifics of how it works.  At the end of each day, I choose a student who has used their best printing all day. I announce the winner at the very end of the day and the pencil is passed from today’s user to tomorrow’s user.

I keep a list on my desk of who has had the pencil so that I can spread the love around.  Sometimes students just have terrible printing, so even improved handwriting wins on some days 🙂

Sometimes the big pencil gets a little heavy.  So, we have a backup pencil with a fancy eraser to use when hand cramps set in 🙂

Find something that works for you and your classroom.

I promise this will make a HUGE difference.

The student in my class who had the messiest handwriting now has the most gorgeous printing in the class…because he was motivated by the pencil!

I hope it works for you!

Slainte!

7 Responses

  1. Love this idea! Students love games/challenges especially with a fun prize at the end. It's also a great way to validate/acknowledge students' progress while modeling teacher expectations. We were also trying to find different ways for students to practice handwriting and found a dotted-font “LD Trainer Vertical Lined Dots" that students can trace. It only costs $3 and you can create your own worksheets with complex words, new grammar, and sentence construction. We love your tip and look forward to more suggestions! 🙂

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