In recent years, there has been a great amount of scientific research done on the importance of the use of handwriting. Considering that we live in an era of ever increasing technology, one needs to carefully consider the continued use of something as archaic as the pen and pencil approach to getting one's thoughts down on paper. The national discussion around handwriting instruction in particular has been elevated since the release of the Common Core State Standards in 2010. In response to this concern, researchers and educators gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 23, 2012, for Handwriting in the 21st Century- An Educational Summit. This Summit further crystallized the need for educators and policy makers to give handwriting and keyboarding serious attention. As a result of this Educational Summit, the resulting set of national standards for written-language production offer developmentally appropriate, research-based indicators to integrate handwriting and keyboarding—two essential skills for 21st century success—into the K–8 curriculum. Throughout that process, the participants in this Educational Summit reviewed a large amount of research related to handwriting and keyboarding skills. Following is a list of their findings:

• Handwriting is a foundational skill crucial for literacy success. It teaches letter formation and supports reading and language acquisition. Additionally, through perceptual and motor skills practice, handwriting advances neurological development and augments writing fluency. Foundational literacy skills begin well before a child enters kindergarten. Preschool-age children start scribbling letter-like forms as early as age two, and these scribbles contain the features of writing such as directionality and linearity as a child develops (Dinehart, 2014; Feder & Majnemer, 2007; Puranik & Lonigan, 2011).
• Early fine motor skills indicate readiness. Fine motor skills are the strongest predictor of special education referral and the second strongest predictor of kindergarten retention (Cameron et al., 2012; Roth, McCaul, & Barnes, 1993). Early fine motor skills also support later academic success. These skills are associated with ongoing reading and mathematics achievement as late as fifth grade (Dinehart & Manfra, 2013; Grissmer, Grimm, Aiyer, Murrah, & Steele, 2010; Murrah, 2010).
• Handwriting leads directly to reading acquisition. Even at the preschool level, teachers can encourage literacy skills by leading students through letter formation activities, including writing their own name and practicing writing other simple words and letters (Puranik, Lonigan, & Kim, 2011). In early learning settings, rigorous attention to the detail of individual letters is less important than the letter forming process itself: exciting new research has shown that the variation in children’s letter formation is actually a crucial part of their learning to identify and form letters (James & Englehardt, 2012)—which is the basis of both reading and writing. According to the National Reading Panel, letter knowledge and phonemic awareness are the two best predictors of reading proficiency. Writing letters by hand has been proven to help children recognize and remember letters more easily than if they typed them (James, 2012; Longcamp, Zerbato-Poudou, & Velay, 2005; Berninger, Abbott, Abbott, Graham, & Richards, 2002: Berninger et al., 2006; NICHD, 2000).
• Writing by hand engages the brain in learning. Through modern brain- imaging techniques, researchers have found that neural activity in children who practiced printing (also known as manuscript writing) by hand was far more advanced than in children who just looked at the letters. Handwriting seems, based on empirical evidence from neuroscience, to play a large role in the visual recognition and learning of letters (James & Atwood, 2009; James & Englehardt, 2012; James & Gauthier, 2006; James, Wong, & Jobard, 2010; Longcamp et al., 2008).
• Handwriting instruction supports automaticity, speed, and output. When students develop the fine motor skills that accompany learning to write by hand, their speed and output increase (Graham & Harris, 2005; Graham& Weintraub, 1996). Additionally, with consistent handwriting practice, the processes involved become less demanding and more automatic, enabling students to devote a higher amount of neurological resources to critical thinking and thought organization (Peverly, 2012)

Additional Handwriting Readings

http://special-ism.com/handwriting-challenges-dys-print-ism/

http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2015/10/13/bic-mission-to-save-handwriting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ddc7MIzbpo

https://www.yourtherapysource.com/blog1/2018/01/29/fine-motor-skills-reading/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/