Chapter 4 - Development of Motor Ability for Writing

Summary

Introduction

The ancient history of writing development is interesting. It is a history of developmental spelling that every child goes through today when first learning to write words. Ancient language relied on pictograms or pictorial markings to indicate a subject and sequence of activities. The earliest writings only contained consonants for the words. These are the hard sounds of the language, no matter what the language may be. The next progression was the inclusion of vowels in syllable writing. The writing depicted parts of the word, not the whole word. As the vowels of the language stabilized, each whole individual word was depicted. This progression is seen in the dawn of the history of writing. As each child prepares to write words for the first time, we see this historical progression all over again, referred to as developmental spelling. This chapter outlines the maturation of the hand to accurately use a writing tool and produce cursive or manuscript.

When we speak of writing, it was previously assumed we meant cursive writing. In today's world, most people think only of manuscript because that is all they ever saw when they were in school. In some areas of the country, there is a debate about whether or not to teach cursive, whereas in other areas, it is an accepted fact that manuscript is best. There should be no debate because each, in its own way, has value. In this chapter, the value of each will be explained, relating the absolute need for cursive and the practicality of manuscript in certain instances.

Development of motor skills for handwriting and printing

To produce the marks of writing, a child goes through another developmental sequence. We notice that the newborn infant's hand has a very firm grasp, which at times is hard to pry open. It is a reflex when the palm is touched that becomes refined in its movements as the child matures and intentional grasping and touching are established (see Chapter 2). Though this appears firmly established, there is still more development in the hand for mature writing to take place. Parents are the first to notice some of the attributes of using a writing tool.