On June 2, the IRRC will be launching CLIFTER: Cursive Letter Identification and Transcription for Early Reading. CLIFTER will provide teachers and caregivers with free materials, such as handouts, videos, and implementation tips for teaching cursive handwriting. This tool will follow a similar structure to our LIFTER tool, which includes an eLearning module that guides you through the research base and explains how to use the tool. This blog post serves as a sneak peek into this material.
Handwriting Instruction in Print and Cursive
As described in our previous blog post on handwriting, handwriting instruction can greatly benefit students’ reading and writing development. Although there is more research on print handwriting instruction than cursive, there is evidence that suggests cursive handwriting instruction can support students’ writing skills such as writing fluency, length, and quality (e.g., Limpo et al., 2018; Alves et al. 2016).
One important difference between cursive and print handwriting is that cursive requires letters within words to be connected, whereas in print handwriting instruction, letters can be taught in isolation from one another. In cursive instruction, students need practice forming letters within a word. Given the importance of the connections between letters in cursive handwriting, CLIFTER materials include letter practice both in isolation and in connection to other letters in words.
Components of CLIFTER
In CLIFTER, we provide three research-supported strategies to teach cursive handwriting: visual cues, memory retrieval, and explicit instruction. These strategies, which are also integral components of the LIFTER tool, help students build proficiency in letter identification and formation.
Visual Cues
Because the shapes of many cursive letters are very different from their print counterparts (Graham, 1992), visual cues can help students learn the distinct stroke patterns of cursive letters. Cues like dotted lines, directional arrows, and numerical sequencing can support accurate letter formation. This approach is consistent with previous research that shows visual cues may support early letter learning (e.g., Bara & Bonneton-Botte, 2018). In CLIFTER, visual cues are used throughout instruction and practice.
Memory Retrieval
Memory retrieval refers to a student’s ability to recall a letter’s name, sound, or shape. To support memory retrieval, CLIFTER includes a “Cover-Copy-Compare” handout, prompting students to observe a model of a letter, cover it, reproduce it from memory, and then compare their version to the original. Previous research has shown this type of practice can support writing fluency (e.g., Limpo et al., 2020; Tanimoto et al., 2015).
Explicit Instruction
Explicit instruction includes clear modeling, guided practice, and independent application of letter formation both in isolation and within words. This instructional strategy underpins each component of CLIFTER’s materials. Previous studies have shown improvements in students’ handwriting accuracy when components of explicit instruction, including modeling, are included in cursive handwriting instruction (e.g., Puyjarinet et al., 2023; Nunez-Regueiro et al., 2024).
CLIFTER in the Classroom
Before using CLIFTER in your classroom, here are three things to consider: students’ experience with print handwriting, the scope and sequence of your instruction, and when to introduce uppercase cursive letters.
Have Students Previously Learned Print Handwriting?
While both cursive and print versions of letters have the same name and sound, they can look very different. Introducing both versions of letters simultaneously may cause confusion. Therefore, if your students are learning how to read using print versions of letters, it may be preferable for students to be proficient in print handwriting before they are introduced to cursive. There is evidence that having a solid foundation in print handwriting before moving into cursive may be beneficial for students and reduce confusion (Wolf et al., 2017), though more research is needed to determine appropriate handwriting milestones.
Are You Currently Teaching Cursive With Another Curriculum?
CLIFTER is designed to allow for flexibility in the order you introduce cursive letters. You can choose to arrange the letters in an alphabetic or systematic order based on your needs. Our systematic sequence groups letters with similar stroke patterns together. For example, the cursive letters “i” and “t” both use a curve-up stroke, so they are taught consecutively.
The practice words used in our CLIFTER handouts follow the systematic sequence, meaning they only contain letters that have been previously taught. For example, if “i” and “t” are the only two letters that have been taught, the word “it” may be practiced, or the nonword, “ii.”
If you are using another curriculum, CLIFTER can be used to supplement handwriting practice. The alphabetic sequence makes it easy to locate letters and access materials. However, if your curriculum uses a different sequence than CLIFTER, some practice words in the materials may include words with letters that have not yet been taught in your curriculum.
Are Students Learning Uppercase or Lowercase Letters?
When cursive handwriting is initially introduced, we recommend that most instructional time is used to teach lowercase letters, as these letters appear more frequently in written text. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of sentences and in proper nouns, while lowercase letters are used everywhere else. Additionally, uppercase and lowercase cursive letters can look vastly different and potentially cause confusion if introduced together. If you are using CLIFTER to supplement another curriculum, uppercase letters can be selected individually and introduced in whichever order best suits the curriculum’s scope and sequence.
What’s to Come
We hope CLIFTER will help take the learning “curve” out of teaching and learning cursive handwriting!
On June 2, you will be able to visit the CLIFTER webpage to access the full suite of eLearning and instructional materials that CLIFTER has to offer. We will also be hosting a live webinar on June 2 from 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. CT to introduce the tool. Click here to register for the webinar.
References
Alves, R. A., Limpo, T., Fidalgo, R., Carvalhais, L., Pereira, L. Á., & Castro, S. L. (2016). The impact of promoting transcription on early text production: Effects on bursts and pauses, levels of written language, and writing performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(5), 665. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000089
Bara, F., & Bonneton-Botté, N. (2018). Learning letters with the whole body: Visuomotor versus visual teaching in kindergarten. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 125(1), 190–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031512517742284
Graham, S. (1992). Issues in handwriting instruction. Focus on Exceptional Children, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.17161/foec.v25i2.7543
Limpo, T., & and Graham, S. (2020). The role of handwriting instruction in writers’ education. British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(3), 311–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2019.1692127
Limpo, T., Parente, N., & Alves, R. A. (2018). Promoting handwriting fluency in fifth graders with slow handwriting: A single-subject design study. Reading and Writing, 31(6), 1343–1366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9814-5
Núñez-Regueiro, F., Boissicat, N., Gimbert, F., Pobel-Burtin, C., Croset, M.-C., Bosse, M.-L., & Nurra, C. (2024). Involving the body to improve letter knowledge and script: An experimental study in French kindergarten. Educational Psychology Review, 36(3), 86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09923-9
Puyjarinet, F., Perrine, M., Anne, A., Emmanuel, M., Jessica, N., & and Biotteau, M. (2023). Psychomotor intervention to improve handwriting skills in children with ADHD: A single-case experimental design with direct inter-subject and systematic replications. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 33(9), 1537–1563. https://doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2022.2114503
Tanimoto, S., Thompson, R., Berninger, V. W., Nagy, W., & Abbott, R. D. (2015). Computerized writing and reading instruction for students in grades 4–9 with specific learning disabilities affecting written language. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 31(6), 671–689. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12110
Wolf, B., Abbott, R. D., & Berninger, V. W. (2017). Effective beginning handwriting instruction: multi-modal, consistent format for 2 years, and linked to spelling and composing. Reading and Writing, 30(2), 299–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-016-9674-4
