Where have all the “thank you” notes gone?

Here’s what happened the first time I taught the “thank you” note Okay, where are the thank you notes? Who said they were no longer necessary? Someone must have, because I often don’t receive one anymore. And it’s not as if I’m expecting one, but I would like to at least know that the giftContinue reading “Where have all the “thank you” notes gone?”

Contest #8: Cursive is Cool

It’s a cursive handwriting contest! I stumbled upon this cursive contest online a few days ago sponsored by Campaign for Cursive (C4C).  This organization is a committee of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) and is an all-volunteer non-profit that began in 2012 in the Southern California chapter of the AHAF. Its goal is to “bringContinue reading “Contest #8: Cursive is Cool”

Five Reasons I Teach Cursive

Beyond giving students a competitive edge, here are some other impossible-to-ignore reasons. Two days ago, my post focused on this reason to teach cursive: to make sure that kids in public school are competitive with kids in private schools and around the world, where cursive writing is taught and practiced regularly. I discuss this very practicalContinue reading “Five Reasons I Teach Cursive”

“Why do we have to write in cursive?”

Pure and simple: to compete.   Near the beginning of the school year, I read aloud the comment in the picture below to my middle school Language Arts students. I came upon this comment one day when I was reading this New York Times article about the death of cursive writing. The writer of thisContinue reading ““Why do we have to write in cursive?””

How I Add Cursive Writing to My Class

I don’t really teach it… I just help them practice it. I’ve heard some teachers say that they simply don’t have the time teach cursive in their 53-minute class period. Frankly, neither do I. But I can do this: open class with a five-minute cursive activity. So about three days week, I’ll go to BrainyContinue reading “How I Add Cursive Writing to My Class”