The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D'Nealian and Sunform, on Kindergartners' Letter Formations
Issue Date
2011Author
Shaw, Donita J.
Publisher
Springer Verlag
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners’ letter formations. Forty-one participants received D’Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end of school year asked kindergarten students to write the letters of the alphabet from memory. The letter formations were scored on a 4-point rubric for directionality and integration. The results showed the Sunform group had significantly higher scores on all but three letters of the alphabet. The D’Nealian students had considerably lower scores on missing or extra strokes, distortions and open letters. The findings of this study support the value of using an integrated, meaningful curriculum which appeals to young children and promotes a strong motor plan by requiring students to cross the midline to form counter-clockwise circles and diagonal lines. Implications for future research are included.
Description
This is the Author's Final Draft. The original publication is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0444-2.
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Citation
Massengill Shaw, D. (2011). The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D’Nealian and
Sunform, on Kindergartners’
Letter Formations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(2), 125-132.
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