Six Questions Educators Should Ask before Choosing a Handwriting Program Material used with permission of Zaner-Bloser, Inc., Columbus, Ohio. As with all emerging skills, what is learned right from the start will shape lifelong habits and abilities.
Writing is a skill used to express thoughts and communicate.
A fundamental part of writing is the learning and forming of letters. When teaching handwriting, is it better to teach using the vertical manuscript letterforms, such as the Zaner-Bloser method of handwriting, or is it better to use a slanted alphabet, such a D'Nealian. How educators answer these questions and the course of action they take regarding handwriting instruction may, indeed, affect their students for life. Manuscript caught on as an initial writing style because the letters are formed from simple strokes that are easy for young children to understand and write. Seen as a bridge between manuscript and cursive, the slanted alphabet uses unconnected letterforms like the traditional, vertical manuscript, but its letterforms are slanted like cursive.