Make sure the children use good posture. Slouching, sprawling and other forms of improper positioning can complicate handwriting issues. Instruct children to sit up straight, with their feet flat on the floor and legs straight in front of them, knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Place a stool or box under the feet of children whose feet don't touch the floor. The writing surface should be at the seated child's elbow level. The paper should be tilted 15 degrees counterclockwise for right-handed children and 15 degrees clockwise for left-handers.
Choose the right pen or pencil. The choice of writing utensils can make penmanship easier for children. Pencils should be sharpened, but not too pointy to avoid tip breakage and smearing of lead across the page. Pens should not be dried out, and a more substantial grip is preferred for children who may struggle to write with very slender writing utensils.
Adjust the grip. Children who are struggling with penmanship may grip their writing utensils extremely tightly, as if to force the pencil to form letters properly. Encourage them to loosen their grasp. The utensil should be held between pads of the index finger and thumb, resting lighting along the middle finger.
Practice regularly. There are many ways to practice handwriting, but experts recommend dedicating 75 to 100 minutes of handwriting practice weekly to students in grades one through four (References 4). Students who are still learning to form their letters will benefit from tracing, which teaches them to properly form letters from the beginning. Copying exercises are helpful because they are adaptable -- you can choose excerpts and lengths suitable to your students, or allow them to choose their own -- and allow for a wide, natural range of practicing words. Teach children basic handwriting principles, including even spacing, equal letter height, and regularity in ascenders, descenders and capital letters.