NEW ALABAMA LAW ENFORCES STUDENTS LEARNING CURSIVE

By WVUA 23 Student Reporter Meredith Barbrick

Cursive has always been a requirement in Alabama’s elementary schools, but Lexi’s Law, enacted Aug. 1, requires students are taught the art of writing by the end of third grade.

Tuscaloosa City Schools Superintendent Avis Williams said learning cursive is beneficial for students because it helps improve their comprehension.

“There is research that supports (the thought that) cursive writing improves comprehension,” she said. “Because kids will have to actually think as they’re writing. The thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that cursive writing has already been in our standards so it is not new, it is part of our standards for English language arts already.”

Tuscaloosa City Schools teacher Alexandra Cole said there’s plenty of ways to teach kids the art of cursive.

“We have worksheets that we do so we start with each letter and we have done different things,” Cole said. “We have had plates that have salt on them and you can practice tracing your cursive in that and then you just shake it out and you can practice again before actually writing it on paper.”

By third grade, Cole said, students should be fluent writing words and sentences in cursive, but their writing practcie continues through the rest of elementary school.