Is Cursive Penmanship Still Valuable?

It’s that time of the year! Students in grade 2 anticipate the development of their cursive writing skills. Finally, the day has arrived and the cursive writing packages are handed out and the learning begins. Students embrace the curves and loops with steadiness and care. As we learn one letter, and another, and another; the loops become words and a series of words become sentences.  

In the days of a computer keyboard, is the teaching of cursive writing still relevant? This educator with a background  in exceptional learners has witnessed the benefits. Students who struggle to stay on the line of their paper often find it easier to track their cursive writing on the line.  The joining of letters supports better spelling practices for many students. As the letters to make a word are joined together, students visually process the connections between letters to spell words. With practice, cursive writing speeds up note taking and  neater penmanship practices in general. My grade 2 students would say that cursive writing definitely has its place in our classroom!