Handwriting 2026 Texas, Grade 4

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include an explanation of the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., additional instruction and/or practice, targeted remediation or acceleration).

The grade 4 Teacher Edition “Efficacy” section explains the purpose of the supplemental program. The section states that “the act of handwriting supports the brains of developing readers. As students practice forming letters, they learn to recognize the letters when they read.” The Teacher Edition also describes the program's immediate and long-term goals. Short-term goals focus on the development of automatic, efficient, and legible handwriting, while long-term goals emphasize the use of handwriting skills to communicate ideas and participate in learning communities.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition introduces the program’s purpose on the “Getting Started” page, which guides educators to explain that the materials help students improve their ability to write letters, words, numerals, and sentences. The page also outlines strategies to help students produce more legible handwriting. In addition, the materials explain that explicit handwriting instruction, paired with ongoing practice, supports students’ development as readers, writers, and communicators.

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include guidance on how to appropriately use the supplemental program to support an existing core reading and language arts program.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition provides guidance on how to use the Handwriting program alongside a core reading and language arts program. The “Sequence of Instruction” section describes how educators implement the supplemental materials, and instruction follows a three-step process of “Model,” “Practice,” and “Evaluate.”

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes a “Program Components” page that outlines the instructional overviews and explains how the program supports handwriting instruction within a 15-minute daily schedule. The Teacher Edition also provides guidance for modeling, guided practice, and evaluation to streamline lesson delivery. The program’s flexible structure allows educators to incorporate instruction during brief periods of approximately five to 10 minutes throughout the day.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining student expectations, skills taught, and a rationale for the design of the scope and sequence.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes a “Correlation to TEKS” section, and the TEKS correlation table outlines student expectations down to the breakout level. This table identifies the specific Teacher Edition and Student Workbook pages where each breakout standard is addressed.

Grade 4 materials in the Teacher Edition include a scope and sequence document that provides educators with page numbers for the skills taught throughout the program. For example, if educators want to work on the skill of “joining,” the scope and sequence document includes both student-facing and educator-facing pages for that skill.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes a “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” section that explains the rationale for the program’s scope and sequence. This section explains that the skills taught include grouping letters by case (uppercase and lowercase), as well as by commonalities such as strokes, formation patterns, and visual attributes. Additionally, handwriting skills include nine cursive joinings, such as undercurve, overcurve, and checkstroke.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include guidance on time requirements (e.g., duration, frequency) and suggested pacing for effective implementation.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition “Fast, Efficient Instruction” section guides the program’s time requirements and outlines how educators can implement the program in 15 minutes per day. The Teacher Edition provides explicit instruction and practice opportunities for implementation throughout the day. Finally, the program’s lesson design includes flexible grouping to work within the daily plan, and the Teacher Edition divides lessons into a consistent three-part format of “Model,” “Practice,” and “Evaluate.”

The My ZB Portal virtual tool includes a pacing guide for grade 4 that is designed for 36 weeks of instruction and includes guidance for five days per week. The pacing guide outlines the educator and student pages used each day and describes the whole-class, educator-led instruction for daily lessons. The pacing guide also directs educators to additional resources, such as the associated Animated Letter Model, videos, and games for each lesson. In addition, the pacing guide provides related differentiation activities and indicates whether home practice is available.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance to support educators with implementing the materials as designed.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition “Program Components” pages provide implementation support through visual examples of the program materials, including both the student and educator guides. These examples identify the sections on each page and explain their instructional purpose, with labels and highlighted callouts to help educators understand how to use each feature. For instance, the “Strategies for Improving Handwriting as a Whole Class” section directs educators to the “Teacher Tips” feature shown on the sample page. The “Your Components at a Glance” page offers additional support in that it lists each program component, describes its purpose and benefits, and indicates where educators can locate the resource.

Implementation support appears throughout the grade 4 Teacher Edition. The materials introduce key program resources, including the Teacher Edition, Student Edition, and Practice Masters, and explain the purpose of each. For example, the Teacher Edition provides research-based instructional guidance, a consistent three-step lesson structure, and differentiation suggestions. The Practice Masters extend learning through reproducible activities for small-group instruction, learning centers, and homework assignments.

Evaluation for 1.1f
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

Family support materials in grade 4 Practice Masters include handwriting practice activities that educators can send home for students to complete with their families. Some pages include “Notes to Families” that offer suggestions and guidance to help families support their student’s handwriting development outside of school.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes a “School–Home Connection” initiative to promote family involvement in students’ handwriting development. The materials emphasize the role of family support and identify practice materials and digital resources available for use outside the classroom. For example, the materials state, “Adults can use the codes to help reinforce correct letter formation as students practice.” In addition, the program includes a letter to families with tips for how to support their students’ handwriting at home, available in both English and Spanish.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include appropriate instructional assessments for the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., diagnostic placement assessments for targeted remediation or acceleration).

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes an appropriate daily formative assessment that supports the supplemental program’s stated purpose. The final step in every lesson cycle is the “Evaluate” section, which instructs the educator to have students pause to evaluate their work. The lesson script provides the educator with questions to ask students about their work, such as, “Does your v have a good overcurve beginning?” or “Does your v end with a checkstroke?” Through these questions and discussion, the educator can provide corrective feedback and monitor students’ progress. These assessments help students evaluate their progress after every lesson.

In addition, the grade 4 Teacher Edition provides an appropriate summative assessment to evaluate students’ progress at the end of the school year or after students complete the instructional cycle. The posttest is available to assess students’ progress at the end of unit 4. Students write Shel Silverstein’s poem “It’s Dark in Here” for both the pretest and the posttest. The educator meets with individual students to assess their handwriting and discuss how they want to improve it. A rubric guides the educator in assessing students’ progress.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the instructional assessments included.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes the definition and intended purpose of one type of instructional assessment for the program. For instance, in the “Evaluation” section, self-evaluation is presented as a method for students to identify their strengths and weaknesses as they become independent learners. The self-evaluation process has five steps: “Question,” “Compare,” “Evaluate,” “Diagnose,” and “Improve.” By using these steps, the educator helps students learn to critique and improve their handwriting. To begin the self-evaluation process, students ask themselves questions such as “Is my slant correct?” Next, students compare their work with a model and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, students and educators diagnose the causes of difficulties and discuss possible corrections. These actions lead to improved writing.

Additional information in the grade 4 Teacher Edition outlines the objectives for the pretests and posttests to clarify the intended purpose of the assessments. For example, the pretest objective states, “Evaluate cursive handwriting.” The materials also explain that students will write a poem at the end of the school year and compare their writing to evaluate improvement during the instructional cycle.

Evaluation for 2.1c
For instructional assessments administered by educators, materials include guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of the pretest and posttest. For example, the grade 4 instruction provides the educator with explicit directions to use as students complete the pretest. First, the Teacher Edition provides the educator with background information about the poem students will write. Next, the educator tells the students that “they will write the poem in their best cursive handwriting.” Finally, the educator asks the students to write the poem carefully. The materials also prompt the educator to remind students to pay attention to the margins. After students finish the assessment, the Teacher Edition instructs the educator to guide them through the self-evaluation process and meet with students individually. The guidance also reminds students that this assessment will be used at the end of the instructional cycle to compare their progress over the year.

In addition, the materials provide guidance in the grade 4 Teacher Edition “Evaluation” section to ensure consistent and accurate administration with use of the “Keys to Legibility.” Students and educators use these tools in each lesson and to assess their writing afterward. The materials explain how to compare posttest writing to pretest writing and provide educators with a four-point rubric for the evaluation of students’ writing. The rubric assesses the “Keys to Legibility”: shape, size, spacing, and slant.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Instructional assessments include items at varying levels of complexity.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition assessments in the program include items at varying levels of complexity, and the “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” page outlines the systematic sequence embedded in the Handwriting program. The program groups both manuscript and cursive letters by stroke type and teaches them in a developmentally appropriate sequence, in which rigor increases as the program progresses. Students evaluate their writing during each lesson as the lessons progress from writing strokes to letters, then to words, sentences, and paragraphs.

In addition to the student self-evaluation at the end of each lesson, the grade 4 Teacher Edition provides the educator with an evaluation at the end of each unit. The program also includes unit assessments that progress in complexity as students build their skills. For instance, in the grade 4 unit 1 assessment, students demonstrate mastery of strokes, letters, and a few words. In unit 2, students write the steps for washing a dog. By the next unit assessment, students write a paragraph in cursive. Finally, at the end of the instructional cycle, the posttest is a poem presented in manuscript form that students transcribe into cursive.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting student performance.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition provides educators with guidance on how to use the “Keys to Legibility” to evaluate and score student performance. The materials include educator tips for all four “Keys to Legibility.” For example, for slant, the educator writes a word on the board in manuscript and then in cursive. Next, the educator draws parallel lines to highlight the differences between manuscript vertical alignment and cursive slant. The tip also suggests that educators model this concept for students.

In grade 4, the Teacher Edition includes scoring information and guidance for the interpretation of student performance. The “Cursive Evaluation Rubric” in the Teacher Edition guides the educator’s evaluation of students’ handwriting for correct shape, size, spacing, and slant with the use of a four-point scale. The rubric has four rating categories: “Proficient,” “Satisfactory,” “Developing,” and “Emergent,” and describes the criteria for each rating. For example, under the category of slant, the rubric classifies “Proficient” as having “all of the letters slant consistently forward” and “Satisfactory” as having “most of the letters slant consistently forward.” The program provides additional guidance in the “Evaluation” section of the Teacher Edition, which tells educators to “use the criteria listed to determine the students’ level of handwriting proficiency on a particular assignment.” The section guides educators to use the “Keys to Legibility” to determine the student’s level of handwriting proficiency on a particular assessment. The section also provides feedback that students can easily understand, such as, “Try making your D sit on the baseline.”

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of the supplemental program to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition provides guidance on how to use the supplemental program to address student performance trends. In the “Evaluation” section of the Teacher Edition, guidance includes support for students identified as needing improvement. The guidance states, “If a student has not mastered a skill, provide additional basic instruction and practice.” Further guidance suggests that educators return to the initial teaching steps to help the student. In addition, the material guides the educator to provide specific feedback to students on their handwriting, such as, “Make sure your D is sitting on the baseline.”

The supplemental program also provides educators with guidance as they respond to trends in performance assessments. In the grade 4 Teacher Edition, the “Corrective Strategies for Cursive Letters” section offers suggestions for educators as they give students corrective feedback. Educators can provide constructive feedback as they evaluate and discuss performance assessments with students. For example, if a student struggles to form the letters oa together, one suggested correction is to have the student swing wider on the checkstroke. These corrective strategies also include visual examples of potential difficulties a student might encounter and provide an example and a non-example for problem areas, along with possible feedback from the educator, such as, “Pause after the undercurve to avoid looping when writing the capital letter Y.”

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for educators to track student progress and growth, and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition provides educators with a “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills” that tracks students’ progress as they work through the program. This tool lists all the essential skills taught in the program, such as “Sits correctly,” “Holds pencil correctly,” and “Writes with correct shape,” and allows the educator or student to check whether a student’s skills need improvement or demonstrate mastery. The directions for the “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills” instruct the educator to make a copy for each student and to mark whether the student needs more work or has mastered the skill. The educator should review the list throughout the year and check for mastery when the student demonstrates it. The student uses the same checklist to chart progress and growth throughout the year.

Another tool for students to practice skills and track progress and growth is available online. Students access the “Zaner-Bloser Handwriting” tool in the My ZB Portal, where they can practice proper letter formation and review basic strokes. After they practice, students can capture a digital image of their work and revisit it later in their “Handwriting Portfolio.” This portfolio enables students to track their progress as they evaluate their growth. Also, students complete free-writing tasks, tracing activities, and save snapshots to their portfolios to earn achievements. As students progress, they can access their portfolios and assess how well they are mastering the necessary skills.

Evaluation for 2.2d
If applicable for the stated purpose of the supplemental program, materials include guidance for entry and exit criteria.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because the program has a stated purpose of additional instruction and/or practice, not targeted remediation or acceleration.

Evaluation for 3.1a
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes educator guidance on differentiated instruction and activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills. Throughout the program, the materials provide multiple opportunities for educators to find activities and guidance to reinforce skills students have not yet mastered. As outlined in the grade 4 Teacher Edition, the “Corrective Strategies for Cursive Letters” section provides guidance on how to provide corrective feedback to students who struggle with different strokes. Educators use corrective statements to guide conversations with students and provide specific guidance to correct strokes. For example, when a student struggles with cursive p, the educator says, “Close the loop near the baseline.” The grade 4 Teacher Edition also includes “Manuscript Maintenance,” which offers guidance to help educators differentiate instruction for students who are not ready for cursive handwriting. Educators use simple corrective statements to help struggling students address common handwriting issues. The guide presents a problem, such as letters with loops, and provides a corrective strategy, such as, “Push up carefully to retrace vertical lines without a loop.” These corrective statements allow educators to give students targeted feedback.

Furthermore, the program offers “Teacher Tips” that address students who struggle. Each tip provides guidance or an activity to target a skill students might be struggling with. One “Teacher Tip” in unit 4 addresses students who struggle with pencil position, including holding their pencils too close to the point, and suggests that educators place a rubber band tightly around the pencil at least an inch away from the point. The rubber band helps students hold the pencil correctly and avoid finger slippage, thereby giving them more control over the shape, size, spacing, and slant of their writing. Another “Teacher Tip” in unit 2 addresses sky-writing. The tip asks educators to model the sky-writing process by using their index finger to form the featured strokes and letters in large size in the air. After educators model, they ask students to demonstrate correct letter formation with their eyes closed using sky-writing. Finally, if a student struggles with spacing, the “Teacher Tip” in unit 4 suggests that the educator reminds students to allow a little more space before a word that begins with a letter with a downward curve. These tips help educators meet the needs of students who have not mastered the necessary skills.

Evaluation for 3.1b
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level skills.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition lessons include “Writing in the Content Areas” callouts that educators can use to differentiate instruction for students who have already met grade-level handwriting skills. For example, a “Writing in the Content Areas” callout in unit 2 guides educators to have students write a paragraph about how they work to protect the environment each day. In another “Writing in the Content Areas” callout in unit 4, students write a letter to a friend or relative about an imagined trip they would like to take one day. In unit 4, “Writing in the Content Areas” suggests that educators have students reflect on the meaning of Shel Silverstein’s poem and discuss why the speaker says, “His handwriting is not clear.” Educators also discuss how lighting, posture, pencil position, and hand position affect the neatness of their writing. Students then write a short poem about handwriting. These activities extend the daily lesson presented to all students.

In addition to opportunities in the daily lessons through “Writing in the Content Areas,” educators assign “Handwriting Activity Cards” to give students differentiated opportunities to practice skills independently. For example, for Card 3, students write the poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” in their best manuscript. Card 6 instructs students to write the answers to clues like “time of day…” in cursive, and for another activity card, students practice checkstroke joinings, such as biology, opinion, and vandal. The activity cards provide extra practice for students in centers, small groups, independently, or as enrichment activities.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include educator guidance for providing specially designed instruction (SDI) for students receiving supports and services through special education.

Grade 4 materials provide specific guidance for educators to support students who receive special education services. First, the materials include a section titled “When Should I Call the Occupational Therapist?” This section highlights ways the educator and the therapist can work together to help struggling students. For example, “Occupational therapists can work with teachers to provide interventions that won’t conflict with the handwriting program in use.” This collaboration with a therapist in the classroom leads to successful outcomes for all students. An occupational therapist can help identify and treat underlying problems, facilitate the development of handwriting skills, and devise accommodations to enable the student to participate successfully in classroom activities. The materials also provide a checklist for educators to determine when to consult with a therapist. For instance, the checklist directs educators to document interventions and outcomes. One scenario notes that after direct instruction in letter formation followed by regular guided practice, the student continues to form letters incorrectly. The checklist identifies this outcome as an indicator that consultation with an occupational therapist may be appropriate.

In addition to the checklist used for therapist consultation, the materials include an “Occupational Therapist Tip” on lesson pages throughout the Teacher Edition. One example in unit 2, “Practicing Strokes,” guides educators to have students tape large pieces of construction paper onto the board or wall. Students practice each beginning stroke with large, sweeping motions. Another “Occupational Therapist Tip” in unit 3 suggests that educators develop finger dexterity and fine motor skills by having students manipulate pieces of a large puzzle. The materials provide practical strategies for use with students who receive special education services.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Educator-led supplemental programs include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance to support the educator in modeling and explaining the skill(s) to be learned.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition supports educators as they model and explain handwriting skills through a “Model,” “Practice,” and “Evaluate” lesson cycle. Each section of the lesson cycle includes explicit prompts to support educators. For example, in unit 2 of the grade 4 Teacher Edition, the materials prompt educators to first “tell students that joinings are formed by connecting one letter with another letter.” The educator then discusses the different types of strokes with students. In the “Practice” section of the lesson cycle, the materials prompt the educator to “ask students to complete the student page.” Finally, the guidance prompts the educator to use the provided questions to support students’ self-evaluation. For example, educators ask, “Which of your joinings are satisfactory?” Each lesson includes similar prompts throughout the lesson cycle.

The materials also provide educators with additional “Teacher Tips” to guide them as they model and explain the skills taught. These specialized tips align with the skill taught on the page. “Teacher Tips” also provide ideas for whole-class or individual work to help students learn the new skill, including ways to review specific techniques and to recognize and overcome misconceptions. For example, in unit 4, the “Teacher Tips” emphasize the importance of a correct sitting position to help the student write smoothly. The tip reminds the educator to have the student sit comfortably and erect, with feet flat on the ground. The tips included throughout the grade 4 Handwriting program provide additional guidance for educators to review techniques, address misconceptions, and model handwriting skills.

Evaluation for 3.2b
Educator-led supplemental programs include educator guidance and recommendations for effective delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition uses a variety of instructional approaches to support effective delivery and facilitation. One approach the program offers is “Teacher Tips,” which educators can find throughout many of the lessons in the program. For example, in the Teacher Edition, the tip discusses “Writing Smaller.” First, the tip reminds students to adjust their writing to the lines and shift words with ascenders so that tall letters do not collide with descenders above them. Students practice writing tall letters beneath letters with descenders. In a second approach, students evaluate errors in shape, size, spacing, and slant. A student volunteer then explains the errors and rewrites the words correctly.

The materials provide virtual tools as another way to support effective instruction, including the Animated Letter Model available on the My ZB Portal. The educator can use this tool to model letter formation for students. Another tool available for use at school or at home is the letter-formation digital tutoring tool found on the Practice Masters sheets.

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials include guidance for educators on recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition “Fast, Efficient Instruction” section provides guidance on where to find whole-group, independent practice, and at-home practice activities. Educators use these recommendations as they implement the program. For example, the “Program Components” section notes that the Practice Masters sheets “can be used in small groups, centers, or for homework.” Each lesson design includes whole-group instruction in the “Model” section. Students complete the practice portion independently, then meet with the educator to self-evaluate their work.

The activity cards included in the grade 4 program materials support implementation through 20 engaging activities for students to complete. Educators assign these activities to students to supplement the program and assign the cards for small groups, independent work, or center time.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include educator guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition provides educators with guidance on how to offer linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency, designed to encourage students to use increasingly academic vocabulary. Most lessons include “Emergent Bilingual Tips” as additional guidance. For example, in unit 1, the “Emergent Bilingual Tips” section guides educators to explain the three positions of letters. One student stands in a chair to model a tall letter, while another student sits in a chair with their legs crossed to model a short letter. Finally, for a descender letter, a student sits in a chair with their feet dangling. Another example focuses on vocabulary building, a tip that educators use to explain multiple-meaning words such as ship. Educators use the opportunity to explain that a ship is a vessel larger than a boat, and that ship also means to send a package. In unit 3, the “Emergent Bilingual Tips” provide guidance to help emergent bilingual (EB) students with nouns. The educator reminds students that a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. The students write nouns on a chart under the correct heading, then take the list of nouns and write each noun in a sentence.

Although “Emergent Bilingual Students” tips appear throughout the materials, they do not include guidance on how to provide linguistic accommodations differentiated by language proficiency levels. The tips provide guidance on multiple subjects related to linguistic accommodations, including vocabulary, compound words, and cognates. These tips encourage students to use more academic language.

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes a “Handwriting Instruction and Emergent Bilingual Students” section, which provides educators with information that states, “Even when students do not yet share the same spoken language, they can all learn handwriting simultaneously side by side.” The section also states, “Participating with peers in a writing community helps shape students’ identities as writers and their individual competencies.” Additionally, the page outlines how Zaner-Bloser La escritura is a parallel instructional program to the English program.

The instructional pages in the grade 4 Teacher Edition include specialized tips that provide additional guidance for the program’s handwriting skills. The “Emergent Bilingual Students” tips offer ways to reinforce English language learning skills, such as reading, writing, and speaking, as well as ideas to help students from diverse cultural backgrounds understand lesson concepts. For example, in unit 2, the materials provide a tip for additional practice with the letter w. Students write words with w, such as watch, west, with, and walk. Students then say the word and sky-write w in the air. Additionally, tips for educators working with EB students appear in most lessons throughout the grade 4 Teacher Edition. These tips help accommodate EB students’ assignments. One tip discusses “Lesson Management.” The guidance in this tip helps the educator balance rote letter-formation practice with higher-order thinking as they ask questions and discuss concepts.

Evaluation for 3.3c
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance does not apply because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 7.1a
Materials include explicit (direct) and systematic handwriting instruction (e.g., sequenced from lowercase letters to uppercase letters) in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition provides educators with a systematic handwriting program aligned with the grade-level TEKS. First, the Teacher Edition includes a “Table of Contents” that shows the systematic progression of letter instruction. Unit 1 reviews manuscript and cursive letters and the four basic strokes. Units 2 and 3 refine lowercase and uppercase cursive letters. Lastly, in unit 4, students apply the handwriting skills they have acquired to real-world writing, such as a “Journal Entry,” “Schedule,” and “Friendly Letter.”

In addition, the grade 4 Teacher Edition provides explicit, systematic handwriting instruction aligned with grade-level TEKS, and each lesson clearly states its objective. One objective in unit 2 reads, “Practice and master lowercase cursive i and t.” The Teacher Edition includes a three-step lesson cycle for the educator to follow for each lesson. The first step is “Model,” in which the educator explains the skill and uses various modeling techniques. For example, in unit 2, students practice the lowercase i and t. During the “Model” section, the educator uses guidelines on the board to demonstrate correct letter formation and models joining the letters it, ta, and ty. The Teacher Edition also has the educator use the Animated Letter Model and sky-writing to model letter formation. After the educator completes the “Model” section, the next step in the lesson cycle is “Practice,” in which students complete the practice assignment independently. In the final step, students self-evaluate their work. During this step, the educator guides the evaluation through questions such as, “Did you write with correct strokes so your letters have good shape?” or “Did you remember to dot your i?”

Evaluation for 7.1b
Materials include frequent opportunities for students to develop and refine handwriting skills through guided practice and independent practice in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The grade 4 Student Edition provides opportunities for independent practice to develop and refine handwriting skills aligned with grade-level TEKS. For example, unit 3 reviews uppercase cursive letters A, O, D, C, and E. This page includes an independent practice activity that encourages students to refine their handwriting skills. In the activity, students write place names with letters they have already learned, such as El Paso and Arizona.

In addition to the Student Edition, the grade 4 edition includes Practice Masters pages that provide independent practice activities to help students develop their handwriting skills. For example, “Practice Master 31” requires independent practice with the capital letter D. On this page, students practice writing their capital cursive D and names that begin with D, such as Damian, Dante, and Dean.

Evaluation for 7.1c
Materials include guidance for educators to provide feedback to students to develop and refine their handwriting skills (e.g., writing position, writing grip, letter spacing, size, slant, directionality) in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The grade 4 Teacher Edition includes guidance for educators to provide feedback to students to develop and refine their handwriting skills in alignment with the grade-level TEKS. As the educator develops the lesson, the last step in the lesson cycle is “Evaluate.” During this step, the student stops writing and circles their best letter, then the student and the educator meet to evaluate the writing. The materials provide questions the educator can use to guide the discussion. For example, in unit 3, the questions include, “Does your D touch the baseline twice?” or “Does your C and E have correct slant?” This part of the lesson provides the educator with questions to evaluate the student. As the educator meets with the student, they can use specific feedback from “Corrective Strategies for Cursive Letters.” This section of the Teacher Edition provides specific guidance for educators to use as they develop and refine handwriting skills. For example, if the student writes with letters that slant in different directions, educators prompt them to check their paper position and pull strokes in the proper direction.

In addition, the grade 4 Teacher Edition provides educators with guidance on how to give feedback as they evaluate students’ handwriting. For instance, “Teacher Tips” in unit 3 guide educators on how to provide feedback on letter spacing. The guidance tells the educator to “Remind students that extra space is needed before words that begin with a downcurve letter such as a, d, or ga.”