Learning List has reviewed each of the handwriting products, including three Spanish-language products, submitted to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in response to the Proclamation 2019.
Below are brief discussions of each Spanish-language handwriting product. Learning List has also reviewed the English-language version of each product. [Read more…]
Learning Without Tears’ Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) Spanish is the Spanish-language version of HWT English. Both products provide developmentally appropriate visual, tactile, auditory, and kinesthetic activities that support the development of handwriting skills. HWT’s Spanish-language products are largely the same as the English-language versions but are tailored for Spanish language instruction. Variations reflect differences in spelling across the two languages. For example, in grade 2 the English version uses the word “dog” to illustrate certain handwriting skills, the Spanish-language product uses the word “hoy” to demonstrate the same skills.
Perfection Learning’s Benson Escritura con Lectura y Artes del Lenguaje is the Spanish-language complement to Perfection Learning’s Benson Handwriting. Generally speaking, content across the two products has been translated exactly. In few situations, some meaning is lost in translation. For example, a lesson addressing homophones at grade 3 uses the homophones “dear, deer” and “clothes, that close” in the English text. The Spanish text uses the translated phrases “el amigo del venado” and “ropa que se Cierra,” which are not homophones. In both languages, instruction emphasizes fluency and legibility.
Zaner-Bloser La escritura is the Spanish-language companion to Zaner-Bloser’s “Handwriting Texas”. Both products emphasize legibility and the real-world applications of handwriting. La escritura at each grade level is a direct translation of Handwriting Texas. While translations are accurate, some activities are not translated into Spanish. For example, an activity at grade 5 asks students to read a handwritten historical document and copy it in their own handwriting. While La escritura is solely in Spanish, the document students are asked to copy is in English.
Nearly all of the submitted Spanish-language handwriting products are designed for use in K-5 dual-language and/or bi-literacy instructional programs. As such, these products generally do not contain resources to support students’ transition from Spanish to English and do not reference the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). TEA does not require Spanish-language products to address the ELPS.