Handwriting 2026 Texas, Grade 5

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 5 Teacher Edition “Efficacy” section identifies the supplemental program’s stated purpose. The section states, “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 section also outlines the program's short- and long-term goals. In the short term, the program aims to help students write automatically, efficiently, and legibly. Long-term goals include helping students communicate their thoughts and ideas as they build connections within learning communities.

Additionally, the grade 5 Teacher Edition “Getting Started” page directs educators to explain that the book will help students improve their ability to write letters, words, numerals, and sentences. Students learn strategies to make their handwriting easier to read. Ultimately, the materials explain that explicit, systematic handwriting instruction, combined with practice, helps students become stronger 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 5 Teacher Edition provides clear guidance on how to appropriately integrate handwriting instruction into a core reading and language arts program. The “Sequence of Instruction” section explicitly outlines the three-step approach for use with this supplemental program. Educators can easily integrate this process into their existing program.

The grade 5 Teacher Edition includes a “Program Components” page that explicitly explains how educators can implement effective handwriting instruction in 15 minutes per day. To maximize instructional time, the Teacher Edition includes actionable tips for quick, explicit modeling, practice, and evaluation. The program design allows educators to implement the curriculum during brief five- to 10-minute instructional windows. The implementation is flexible and allows educators to work within any existing program.

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

Grade 5 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 5 Teacher Edition includes a “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” section that outlines the rationale for the program’s scope and sequence. The section explains that the skills taught include how to group letters by case (uppercase and lowercase), as well as by commonalities like 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 5 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 lesson design allows for flexible implementation within the daily plan to align with the existing schedule. The Teacher Edition also divides lessons into a consistent three-part format of “Model,” “Practice,” and “Evaluate.”

The virtual My ZB Portal includes a pacing guide for grade 5 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 5 Teacher Edition’s “Program Components” pages support effective program implementation as they provide educators with visual examples of the materials, including the student and educator guides. These examples identify and explain each page's sections and describe how educators and students should use the materials during instruction. Each section of the sample page is highlighted and labeled to clarify its purpose for educators. For example, the section titled “Strategies for Improving Handwriting as a Whole Class” directs educators to the “Teacher Tips” feature on the sample page. In addition, the “Your Components at a Glance” page offers further implementation support as it lists each program component, briefly describes its purpose and benefits, and identifies where educators can find the resource.

Implementation support appears throughout the grade 5 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 includes research-based instructional guidance, streamlined three-step lessons, and supplemental supports such as differentiation tips. The Practice Masters provide additional opportunities for student practice through reproducible pages that educators can use for small-group instruction, learning centers, or 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 included in the Practice Masters guide families to support their student’s progress. Educators can access printable pages to send home so students can practice handwriting skills with their families. Some of these pages include “Notes to Families” that offer guidance and tips to help support student learning at home.

The grade 5 Teacher Edition includes a “School–Home Connection” initiative to encourage family involvement in students’ handwriting development. The materials highlight the role of family support and identify practice materials and digital resources available for use outside the classroom. For instance, 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 to help support handwriting at home, and is 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 5 Teacher Edition includes appropriate assessments that support the supplemental program’s stated purpose. “Evaluate” is the third and final step of the lesson cycle and helps the educator assess students’ progress with the use of scripted questions. For example, in unit 3, students correctly rewrite a geography report. After students write, the educator asks, “Did you write with correct strokes so your letters have good shape?” and “Does your writing have uniform forward slant?” These questions guide students’ self-evaluation and help educators assess their progress. This formative assessment allows educators and students to assess progress frequently.

Additionally, the grade 5 Teacher Edition includes a posttest that the educator uses as a summative assessment. After students complete all lessons in the program, the posttest requires them to rewrite the same poem from the pretest. After they finish the posttest, students compare their pretest and posttest writing. They then meet with the educator individually to discuss how their writing has changed.

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

The grade 5 Teacher Edition “Evaluation” section defines the program’s instructional assessments and explains their intended purpose. The section also describes self-evaluation as “an important step in the handwriting process.” To become independent learners, students need to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The program includes a five-step self-evaluation process of “Question,” “Compare,” “Evaluate,” “Diagnose,” and “Improve.” Within these steps, students ask themselves questions such as, “Is my slant correct?” Students then compare their handwriting with the correct models and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses with the use of the “Keys to Legibility.” As students use this five-step process to self-evaluate their progress, the materials help them diagnose the causes of any difficulties, such as inconsistent pressure or incorrect strokes.

Additional information in the grade 5 Teacher Edition, found in unit 2, “Evaluate,” explains the purpose of instructional assessments for the program. This page states the objective for the pretest assessment: “Evaluate cursive handwriting.” The page also has the educator explain that the purpose of this assessment is to compare the pretest with the posttest at the end of the school year. Educators are encouraged to meet with students individually to help them assess their handwriting skills and discuss improvement goals.

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

The grade 5 Teacher Edition includes explicit instructions for administration of the pretests and posttests, and provides directions for educators as they guide students through the assessment's three steps: “Model,” “Practice,” and “Evaluate.” The script helps ensure consistent, accurate administration of the instructional assessment. For example, in step 1, “Model,” the educator tells students they will learn to write the letters of the alphabet in cursive. Educators direct students to read and discuss the poem’s author. Finally, the educator explains that the pretest “needs to be in their best handwriting” and that the writing will be compared with the posttest to evaluate improvement. During the “Practice” step, the educator asks students to write the poem in cursive, if they can, carefully. In the last step, the educator observes students as they write and notes whether they write in manuscript or cursive. Educators then meet with students to discuss goals to improve their handwriting.

In addition, the materials provide guidance in the grade 5 Teacher Edition “Keys to Legibility” to ensure consistent and accurate administration. Students and educators use the “Keys to Legibility” to assess their writing after each lesson, and the materials explain how to compare posttest writing with pretest writing. The program also provides educators with a four-point rubric to evaluate students’ writing. Educators use the rubric to assess the “Keys to Legibility”: shape, size, spacing, and slant.

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

The grade 5 Teacher Edition assessments in the program include items at varying levels of complexity. The program provides pretests and posttests, unit evaluations, and daily self-evaluations. The “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” section 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. The lessons progress from writing strokes to letters, then to words, sentences, and paragraphs.

In addition, the grade 5 Teacher Edition provides the educator with an evaluation at the end of each unit. The unit 1 evaluation has students assess strokes, letters, and words. By the end of the program, students write paragraphs to evaluate their progress, and each evaluation focuses on one of the four “Keys to Legibility.” For example, the unit 3 evaluation has the educator focus on the shapes of the letters within the paragraph’s words. Finally, the program includes a pretest presented to students in cursive, but by the end of the program, the posttest requires students to transcribe the manuscript into cursive.

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

The grade 5 Teacher Edition “Cursive Keys to Legibility” section provides educators with guidance for the evaluation and scoring of student performance. The materials provide educator tips for all four “Keys to Legibility.” For example, for the key of shape, educators are prompted to “point out to the students that the basic strokes—undercurve, downcurve, overcurve, and diagonal—are the basics for a letter’s shape.” Spacing refers to the space between letters, words, and sentences. Examples of the “Cursive Keys to Legibility” appear in unit 1 of the Teacher Edition.

The grade 5 Teacher Edition includes scoring information and guidance for the interpretation of student performance. The “Cursive Evaluation Rubric” guides educators to evaluate students’ handwriting for correct shape, size, spacing, and slant on a four-point scale. The rubric has four rating categories: “Proficient,” “Satisfactory,” “Developing,” and “Emergent.” The rubric also provides further guidance and describes the criteria for each rating. For example, under the size category, the rubric classifies “Proficient” as when “all of the letters are the appropriate size and touch the appropriate lines.” “Satisfactory” is when “most of the letters are the appropriate size and touch the appropriate lines.” Additional guidance is provided 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 provides feedback that students can understand and implement quickly, such as, “Try making your A more pointy.”

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 5 Teacher Edition includes an “Evaluation” section that guides the use of the supplemental program to address student performance trends, including students who need help improving. The guidance states, “To improve letter forms, have the student practice writing the letter both in isolation and within words and sentences.” The guidance also directs the educator to provide additional basic instruction and practice, then to look for tips on the page with the initial teaching steps. In addition, the materials guide the educator to provide students with specific, easy-to-understand feedback, such as, “That A needs a sharper point.”

The grade 5 Teacher Edition also provides guidance in the “Corrective Strategies for Cursive Letters” section, and offers suggestions for giving corrective feedback to students. Examples of common misconceptions, followed by corrective strategies for specific letters of the alphabet, help the educator address student trends. For example, when a student forms the letter d incorrectly with a loop, the guidance states, “Pull the diagonal stroke toward the baseline with a good retrace.” The materials also provide corrective strategies for common groups of manuscript letters. For instance, if the letter strokes are disconnected, the corrective strategy states, “Be sure to complete each stroke so that it helps to form the whole letter.” These strategies help the educator respond appropriately to assessment trends.

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 5 Teacher Edition provides educators with a “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills” to help track students’ progress as they work through the program. This tool lists all the essential skills taught in the program, and enables the educator or student to check whether a skill needs improvement or demonstrates 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. Educators should review the list throughout the year and check for mastery when the student demonstrates it.

Another tool for students to practice skills and track progress and growth is the “Zaner-Bloser Handwriting” tool in the My ZB Portal, where students can practice proper letter formation and review basic strokes. For example, students choose a stroke, such as “Cursive Basic Stroke: Diagonal,” and complete the tasks. 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. In addition, students earn achievements as they complete free-writing tasks, tracing activities, and save snapshots to their portfolios. 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 5 Teacher Edition includes educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills. Throughout the program, educators have multiple opportunities to find activities and guidance to reinforce skills students have not yet mastered. As outlined in the grade 5 Teacher Edition, “Corrective Strategies for Cursive Letters” provides guidance on how to give corrective feedback to students who struggle with different strokes. Educators use corrective statements to guide conversations with students and provide specific, actionable guidance to correct strokes. For example, when a student struggles to write the cursive capital R with a loop, the educator says, “Pause at the diagonal stroke before beginning the second curve forward.” The grade 5 Teacher Edition also provides a Manuscript Maintenance guide that helps 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 are closed and cramped,” and then provides a corrective strategy, such as “For letters that begin with a curved backstroke, start between 1:00 and 2:00 on a clock face.”

Furthermore, the program offers “Teacher Tips” to support struggling students, which educators can find scattered throughout the Teacher Edition. Each tip provides guidance or an activity to address a skill students may be struggling with. One “Teacher Tip” in unit 2 addresses students who struggle with vertical strokes, and instructs the educator to place dots about six inches apart on the board. Students then practice making good vertical strokes. Another “Teacher Tip” in unit 3 addresses pencil position and explains that, if a student holds the pencil too tightly and tires easily as they write, the educator has the student place a crumpled piece of paper in the palm of their writing hand. The paper reminds the student not to squeeze the pencil. These tips help educators meet the needs of students who have not yet 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 5 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, in unit 2, a “Writing in the Content Areas” callout guides educators to have students apply their handwriting skills by writing an informational or explanatory paragraph about what they know about mustangs. In another unit 2 “Writing in the Content Areas” activity, students review a list of words, write definitions, and use each word in a sentence. In unit 3, a “Writing in the Content Areas” activity directs students to write a short story that includes characters, setting, and a plot with a problem, climax, and resolution. These activities extend the daily lesson presented to all students.

In addition to the opportunities in the daily lessons through “Writing in the Content Areas,” educators assign “Handwriting Activity Cards” to provide differentiation opportunities for students to practice skills independently. The activity cards guide hands-on handwriting practice. For instance, for card 1, students write the names of the planets as a way to practice their best manuscript. For an extra challenge, students write the planets in alphabetical order. Card 13 instructs students to write the names of United States presidents in cursive. Another card asks them to write a narrative paragraph. Students use these cards in centers, small groups, or independently for extra practice or enrichment.

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

The grade 5 Teacher Edition provides specific guidance for educators to help 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, “An occupational therapist can help to determine the underlying disorders. They intervene differently based on what they observe in the classroom.” The second page provides a checklist with scenarios to help the educator decide about instructional effects and whether to consult the occupational therapist. One example is when the educator allows “the student to experiment with writing tools of differing widths” and “choose one that the student finds most comfortable to use.” In the scenario, the outcome is that “the student continues to have an awkward pencil grip,” which warrants an occupational therapist consultation.

In addition to the checklist used for therapist consultation, the materials include “Occupational Therapist Tips” on lesson pages throughout the Teacher Edition. One example in unit 2, “Origami,” guides educators to have students create origami paper figures to develop the intrinsic muscles of the hand and manual dexterity. Another “Occupational Therapist Tip” in unit 4 suggests that students play catch while “tall kneeling.” This position helps build trunk stability and control. In summation, these 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 5 Teacher Edition supports educators as they model and explain handwriting skills through a “Model,” “Practice,” “Evaluate” lesson cycle. Each section of the lesson cycle includes explicit prompts to support educators. For example, in unit 2 of the grade 5 Teacher Edition, educators are prompted to first “review the letter formation and model any letters students have difficulty writing.” In the “Practice” section of the lesson cycle, the materials prompt the educator to “pair students and give them two minutes to write quickly but legibly as many words as possible to contain kn, ra, and ju.” Students complete the student page during independent work. Finally, the guidance prompts the educator to use the provided questions to support students’ self-evaluation. 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 correspond to the skill taught on the page and offer additional guidance, including ideas for whole-class or individual work to help students learn the new skill. The tips also include ways to review specific techniques and to recognize and overcome misconceptions. For example, in unit 3, the “Teacher Tips” guide the educator to show the difference between manuscript verticality and cursive slant. The educator writes the same word on the board in cursive and manuscript, and uses parallel lines to highlight the differences. The “Teacher Tips” included throughout the grade 5 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 5 Teacher Edition offers a variety of instructional approaches to support effective delivery and facilitation. One approach the program offers to help educators is “Teacher Tips,” which educators can find throughout many of the lessons in the program. For example, in unit 1 of the Teacher Edition, one tip addresses “Left-Hander” and “Right-Hander” as students write on the board. The tip tells educators to have left-handers pull the downstroke toward the left elbow, and right-handers pull the downstroke toward the midsection of the body. In another instructional approach, students evaluate the educator. The educator writes several uppercase and lowercase letters on the board with intentional errors, and students use the models in the book to identify and discuss the inaccuracies.

The materials provide virtual tools as another way to support effective instruction, including the Animated Letter Model available on the MyZBPortal. The educator can use this tool to model letter formation for students during initial instruction. Students can also use this tool at home with their families. In addition, the materials provide Practice Masters for students to practice skills. The practice master sheets include a QR code that students can use to access a digital tutor to practice the skill.

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 5 Teacher Edition “Fast, Efficient Instruction” section recommends instructional structures, including whole-group instruction, independent practice, and home practice opportunities. Educators use these recommendations as they implement the program. The “Program Components” section notes that the Practice Masters sheets “can be used in small groups, centers, or for homework.” In addition, 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.

In addition, the program includes activity cards for grade 5 to support implementation, which educators assign to students to supplement the program. Cards can be assigned to small groups, individual students, or used during 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 5 Teacher Edition includes guidance for educators to provide 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, “Emergent Bilingual Tips” encourage educators to build “Stroke Description Vocabulary.” To do so, educators make flashcards with a picture and a label for each stroke. Students say the name of the stroke, trace the line with their finger, and then repeat the name as they draw the stroke in the air. Another example addresses compound words. Educators use this tip to explain that a compound word is two or more words that form one word. Students say each word, then underline the two smaller words. In unit 3, “Emergent Bilingual Tips” guide the educator to help emergent bilingual (EB) students make connections to state names. Students pronounce each state name, locate each state on a map of the United States, then write a sentence about the state they live in.

The “Emergent Bilingual Students” section appears throughout the various lessons. This section provides guidance on multiple subjects related to linguistic accommodations, including stroke description, vocabulary, compound words, cognates, capitalization of proper nouns, and making connections. However, these tips do not include guidance for educators on how to provide linguistic accommodations differentiated by language proficiency levels.

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 5 Teacher Edition includes a “Handwriting Instruction and Emergent Bilingual Students” section that explains to educators how “skills acquired under one language can support learning skills in a second language system.” The section also states, “Handwriting performance in one language connects with handwriting performance in another language.” In addition, the page includes information about how Zaner-Bloser La escritura acts as a parallel instructional program to the English program.

The materials in the grade 5 Teacher Edition include specialized tips that guide instruction in the skill. For instance, “Emergent Bilingual Student Tips” offer ways to reinforce English language learning skills, such as reading, writing, and speaking. The EB tips provided for most lessons give educators information on how to use the materials in a state-approved bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) program. For example, one tip, “Giving Feedback,” addresses culture and the perception of feedback. Since cultures receive feedback differently, the tip suggests that educators give feedback individually, and help students understand that feedback is a common and constructive practice in U.S. classrooms.

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 5 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, including a “Journal Entry,” “Schedule,” and “Friendly Letter.”

In addition, the grade 5 Teacher Edition provides explicit, systematic handwriting instruction aligned with grade-level TEKS, in which 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. In the first step, “Model,” the educator discusses 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. 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 a practice assignment independently. Students self-evaluate their work in the final “Evaluate” step, which the educator leads by asking questions such as, “Do the undercurve strokes of your i and t curve up?” or “Do your letters have good shape?”

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 5 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 I, J, Q, T, and F. This page includes an independent practice activity that encourages students to refine their handwriting skills as they write the names of former U.S. presidents. For example, when students write “Thomas Jefferson,” they practice both capital T and F.

In addition to the Student Edition, grade 5 includes Practice Masters pages that provide independent practice activities to help students develop their handwriting skills. For example, “Practice Master 22” requires independent practice with the lowercase m. On this page, students write the single letter m, join letters to m, such as mb, and write words that contain the letter m. Students also write sentences to practice and refine the letter m.

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

In addition, the grade 5 Teacher Edition provides educators with guidance on how to give feedback as they evaluate students’ handwriting. For example, “Teacher Tips” in unit 3 offer guidance on how to provide feedback regarding letter spacing. The guidance tells the educator to “remind the students that the ending stroke of an uppercase letter will determine if and how it joins to the next letter.”