Writing is being able to produce the symbols and signs necessary to express our thoughts in accordance with the rules and legibly. The important elements in writing, which is one of the most effective and permanent communication tools used by human beings in communication, are speed and readability. The ability of these two elements to be at the desired level is related to the fact that the letters are simple in shape and can be produced easily. Because the child cannot deal with issues such as the organization of ideas during the writing and the proper placement of what is written on the page if the letters cannot be produced easily and quickly. This situation can turn into an inadequacy in terms of quality and quantity in writing, and then hatred of writing.
The main purpose of teaching writing is to enable students to write legibly and quickly. For this, letter shapes must be grasped correctly. The child should be able to remember the shapes of the letters quickly and accurately in his mind. If we make the child comprehend the letters with their directions and the number of movements, remembering will be easier and more regular. The teacher should first of all guide the writing of the letters. Exercises made by going over the letters are of great significance and should be included in the process. The lines on the paper should be followed by showing the starting and ending points, lower and upper extensions of the letters. Children’s efforts should be evaluated positively and feedback should be given.
The point to be considered here is that a letter or word should not be printed freely on the same page and within the same time period. Instead, concise work under the supervision of an adult is more beneficial. Because mistakes in learning to write should be corrected immediately. Help from the external environment (family, friend group, etc.) in correcting spelling mistakes is greatly valuable. If a wrong spelling is not corrected instantly, it becomes a habit.
Scholarly works identified the most difficult lowercase letters as “q, y, z, u, n, and k”. Errors in these letters constituted 48% of all mistakes (drops, irregularities, etc.). Only in terms of bad writing, the letters “q, z, u, a, and j” have an important place.
In learning how to write, holding the pencil right and the position paper has a great role. The pencil should never be held too close to the writing point. In order to prevent children from doing this, plastic tapes can be wrapped around the pen in such a way that there is a distance of at least two centimeters between the writing point and the point to be held. For left-handed people, the distance between the writing point and the holding point is greater. Irregularities in pencil holding should be dealt with immediately. The heavy, very thin, and angular pen also affects writing negatively.
The child maintains the habit of writing learned in primary education for life. Because the mechanics and style of writing are acquired in primary education. Parents should patiently help children. The child should not be overtired and should be constantly motivated and assisted in the family environment in line with the work done at school. Help at home should never be understood as having the child’s homework done by the adult.
