Five-year-olds learning letters through handwriting vastly outperformed peers who typed. Handwriters achieved 92% accuracy in naming letters versus 75% for typers, and demonstrated far better letter formation and decoding. Neuroscience confirms that handwriting strengthens alphabetic and orthographic mapping, improving memory and recognition. Studies of older students also show deeper brain activation and retention when writing by hand. The evidence strongly suggests that handwriting remains essential, especially in preliterate stages, and that older students benefit from toggling between digital tools and paper.
Research: Early Handwriting Leads to (Much) Better Reading
by Michael Keany
yesterday
Early Handwriting Leads to (Much) Better Reading
Five-year-olds learning letters through handwriting vastly outperformed peers who typed. Handwriters achieved 92% accuracy in naming letters versus 75% for typers, and demonstrated far better letter formation and decoding. Neuroscience confirms that handwriting strengthens alphabetic and orthographic mapping, improving memory and recognition. Studies of older students also show deeper brain activation and retention when writing by hand. The evidence strongly suggests that handwriting remains essential, especially in preliterate stages, and that older students benefit from toggling between digital tools and paper.
Original Article
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Prepared with the assistance of AI software
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com