Dear Warrior Families,

Recently, I have been thinking about technology, handwriting, and reading physical books. In the last month, I read a few books about the impacts of technology and social media on us as people. Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath’s The Digital Delusion were striking reads. As someone who has been in education for over 20 years, I have noticed a difference in how we connect and the anxiety that students and teachers face both inside and outside of schools. We want our students to thrive as people and learners without major hindrances. This makes me think of how God created us for connection. My current read is The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World by Andy Crouch. In this book, Andy Crouch focuses on human flourishing. These three books are helping me frame my thinking about when and how technology might be used and when we want to focus on physical things, such as handwriting and reading physical books.

In elementary, we emphasize the importance of handwriting and reading physical books for our students at school. This can be found in handwriting instruction, practice, and handwriting in day to day activities. Students in R1 and R2 learn and practice the proper formation for capital letters. In P1, students learn and practice the proper formation for lowercase letters, review capital letters, and learn about pencil grip and spacing between words. Grade 1 and 2 students review letter formation, pencil grip, and spacing, as well as learning about letter sizing and appropriate punctuation in sentences. Our students in grade 3 learn and practice cursive handwriting for lowercase and capital letters, how to join cursive letters in words, and how to read cursive writing. ICS students use what they learn about handwriting to write stories, informational pieces, opinions, as well as writing about reading, science, social science, and mathematics. Research shows that handwriting supports memory and deepens learning. The physical movement involved in handwriting requires attention and activates the whole brain. 

In elementary, we have also been thinking about the debate around whether students should read on digital devices, physical books, or a mix of the two. Research analysis has shown that the benefits of reading physical books outweigh those of devices. The layout of physical books helps students mentally map information, which helps with comprehension. Reading physical books is also less likely to lead to multi-tasking and more likely to lead to deeper comprehension. Our classroom libraries, the elementary library, and additional print materials are most often used to give our elementary students access to print text. At times we have our grade 3, 4, and 5 students highlight and take notes directly on printed physical reading materials to help them make connections and cite text evidence when they are writing about reading. 

As we continue to focus on handwriting and reading physical books, we look forward to seeing how this will benefit our students. We believe that spending our time in this way will help our students grow in wisdom and virtue. If you are interested in further reading on handwriting and reading physical books, you will find links to some articles below.