Handwriting worksheets are a traditional and effective tool for developing handwriting in children. You can utilize computer programs to develop handwriting worksheets, print them out from teacher resource books or create your own worksheets with a word processing program or pen and paper. Create worksheets that allow your students to master writing letters and words. After tracing the letters or words with a pencil or crayon, students practice writing them on the blank lines provided on the sheets.
Instead of using paper and pencil, allow your students to use shaving cream and their fingers to practice their writing skills. Squirt a dollop of shaving cream on a table top or a cookie sheet and spread it out, creating a thin layer. Children enjoy writing with their finger in the shaving cream. Provide children with alphabet guide sheets while they practice writing.
Sandpaper can also be used for handwriting practice. Cut out letters or words from sandpaper and tape them to the surface of a table or desktop. Instruct children to trace the sandpaper letters or words with their fingers. This activity is ideal for tactile learners, as it enables them to feel how letters are formed and commit the formation of the letters to their muscle, or motor memory. Students can then apply this tactile experience to writing with paper and pencil.
Rainbow writing is another activity that provides first graders with handwriting practice. Use a word processing program to print letters or words on paper and distribute the page to students. Instruct the children to use different colored markers and crayons to trace the letters printed on the page; they should trace a letter three or four times with a different color crayon or marker, creating a rainbow effect. Tracing the letters several times provides children with an opportunity to practice properly forming the letters, making them more skilled at writing them. Additionally, children will enjoy seeing the colorful letters that they create.