Writing by hand vs typing

[Amber]

My year 3 DC is left handed which came out of left field (pardon the pun) as we don't know anyone else in either family that are lefties. DC handwriting is terrible, even had a handwriting practice folder added to the homework pile. I have not seen much improvement...must admit mine is pretty terrible...DC also complains of pain very quickly in the index finger.

DC is not "hooking" the hand as far as I can tell....also loves to write name backwards. ALso gets 100% in spelling tests only to spell incorrectly in written work all the time. Can't be bothered to start with capital letters or use puncuation and has to be constantly reminded. Are these age related issues? End of July birthday....

Scoring highly in spelling tests is an indicator of a child's ability to do well in spelling tests, nothing else. The ability to use correct spelling in a piece of work is almost unrelated to the ability to reproduce memorised spellings out of context. Don't worry about it - it is far more important that a child learns to write meaningful prose than to be stifled by constantly checking spellings. It will largely take care of itself as he gets older. I am against spellings for young children for that very reason and when I did my teacher training in the 1980s I was told not to use them. Bring on the various strategies over the years and we had no choice. Two of my own children learned to write using 'emergent writing' which does not insist on correct spellings at all. They became excellent spellers by mid-juniors with not a spelling test in sight.

Reverse writing also common and he will grow out of it. And yes, being young in the year makes a massive difference, especially for boys.

[aargh]

I agree with Amber.
Fussing over spellings can hold DCs back. The 2 most creative boys in my class are ridiculous in their spellings. Unfortunately, my class teacher is constantly stressing them about it. I would, as Amber says, let them concentrate on content.