Florida Teachers Fit Cursive Into School Day

The St. Petersburg Times (12/13, Logan) reports that in Florida, cursive writing instruction requirements were written into the state education standards in 2007. And now, cursive must be taught beginning in third grade. By the time students reach fifth grade, they are expected to achieve fluency. In order to fit cursive lessons into a packed school day, "some teachers send practice handwriting worksheets for homework, and others include handwriting during bell work, the 30-minute period before school officially begins." Even as early as kindergarten, some students "spend about 15 minutes a day on print handwriting and learning basic letters." Steve Graham, an education professor at Vanderbilt University, said that "good handwriting is key to better writing overall" and "Once writing becomes automatic, students" can spend more time focusing "on putting thoughts on paper."