Driven by the Science of Reading
With our clear, systematic instruction and child-friendly methods, we streamline the learning process, keeping students engaged from uppercase through to cursive letters.
- Explicit instruction combined with guided practice to promote handwriting automaticity.
- Developmentally appropriate sequence flows from Pre-K–6.
- Seamlessly integrates with literacy curricula for effective handwriting instruction.
- Hands-on tools build vocabulary and alphabet knowledge prior to writing.
- Multisensory activities engage all learners and develop fine motor skills.
- Research-backed curriculum with an intuitive and customizable design.
Handwriting is one of the foundational skills that leads students toward automatic word recognition.
It falls in the bottom skills portion of Scarborough’s rope. As students practice letter formation with Handwriting Without Tears, they reinforce the alphabetic principle. This practice ensures automatic recall of symbols for sounds, facilitating knowledge transfer as they progress.
Modified from Scarborough, H.S. (2001).
The reason Learning Without Tears works well for us is that it is an integrated program that takes into consideration a child’s developmental needs and looks to meet the required state standards. The many different teaching methods incorporated into the curricula allow our teachers to meet each child’s individual needs and allow our students to succeed."
Holly Harrison Martinez, Director of Elementary Literacy
With 40 years of refinement, our Handwriting Without Tears program, designed by occupational therapists and enriched by teacher feedback, consistently meets educators' evolving needs and delivers proven results. This explicit, dedicated curriculum is developmentally appropriate and helps students build the motor and cognitive skills essential for success in school and beyond.
- Each page is thoughtfully designed to minimize cognitive load by offering clear instructions and design including large step-by-step models and intentional developmental progression.
- Features friendly, easy-to-remember language and illustrations that are intentionally simple.
- Children begin with size and how letters fit together. Then we place them on lines. Double lines serve as a pivotal element in our approach, aiding children in placing letters correctly and effectively.
- Designed to minimize teacher prep—everything a teacher needs is on the physical or digital lesson page.
- Lessons include suggested scripting for explicit handwriting instruction to make it easy for all teachers.
- Multisensory activities, differentiation strategies, ideas for multilingual learners, and progress monitoring are on the teaching page.
- Reading Connections, Writing Connections, and Knowledge Building extend the lessons to ensure literacy success.
Developmental Progression of Skills from Print to Cursive
Help your Pre-K to 6th-grade students seamlessly transition to cursive with our developmentally tailored approach.
Starting in second grade, our clean, vertical cursive style mirrors print, making the shift from print to cursive effortless. With consistent practice, your students will master letter connections from memory, making cursive easy to learn, read, and write.
Cursive Resources
We keep cursive simple and allow students to develop their own personal style as they become confident in their writing skills. Say goodbye to fancy, hard-to-write cursive and hello to a functional approach to achieving speed and fluency. Handwriting Without Tears offers multisensory lessons, student edition, teacher’s guides, and hands-on materials to implement effective and engaging cursive handwriting instruction for grades 2–6.
Spanish Student Edition
Handwriting Without Tears Spanish offers a version of the curriculum specifically designed to address the features of the Spanish language, including its alphabet, punctuation, and sentence/writing conventions.
Like the English version, the Spanish program is designed to be systematic and easy to follow. It uses a multi-sensory approach, combining visual, tactile, and auditory strategies to help students develop correct letter formation and fine motor skills that allow students to succeed.
Teacher's Guides
Handwriting Without Tears Spanish offers a version of the curriculum specifically designed to address the features of the Spanish language, including its alphabet, punctuation, and sentence/writing conventions.
Like the English version, the Spanish program is designed to be systematic and easy to follow. It uses a multi-sensory approach, combining visual, tactile, and auditory strategies to help students develop correct letter formation and fine motor skills that allow students to succeed.
Designed for maximum flexibility, Handwriting Without Tears effortlessly integrates into your literacy block. The program uses explicit teaching strategies that align with established learning methods. When paired with your literacy curriculum it boosts handwriting and cognitive development. Our straightforward approach ensures easy adoption and effective results for students' academic and life success.
The Interactive Digital Teaching Tool makes it simple for teachers to launch lessons without prep time. Teachers use the expanded explicit language for teaching, found both in the digital and print Teacher’s Guides. Adapt the lesson sequence or components to suit your classroom needs.
Our program incorporates hands-on materials and multisensory activities that help students develop fine and gross motor skills for handwriting. Each lesson includes a unique activity that is relevant to the particular lesson and pairs with other classroom materials.
- Multisensory lessons, activities, and word choices align with grade-level ELA teaching.
- Teacher’s Guides include multisensory activities, differentiation strategies, ideas for multilingual learners, and progress monitoring.
- Includes resources like the Letters to Words Blackboard Set that pairs with learnings in your ELA curriculum.
Teaching handwriting significantly impacts brain development, especially in areas related to literacy (Berninger 2012, James 2012).
Today’s rigorous educational standards require strong reading, writing, and comprehension skills. Handwriting, though sometimes underestimated, is essential for meeting these standards, enhancing letter recognition, fine motor skills, and writing fluency.
Integrating handwriting into your ELA curriculum supports these standards and builds a strong literacy foundation. Structured lessons improve writing abilities and overall literacy skills, ensuring students meet and exceed benchmarks. This approach aligns with current standards, meets ESSA’s Tier 2 evidence criteria, and promotes long-term academic success.`
Handwriting Without Tears leverages multimodal components and strategies to create a dynamic and effective learning environment. By incorporating tactile, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities, our program ensures that every child can engage in a way that suits their learning style. This comprehensive approach not only enriches the handwriting experience but also reinforces broader literacy skills, highlighting the crucial role of multimodal learning in educational success.
Materials and activities are selected to enhance the lessons and develop motor skills.
Build Mat Man™ with Wood Pieces and Mat
