Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series, Books A-G

Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series, Books A-G

The Getty-Dubay Italic style of handwriting can be taught with this series of inexpensive worktexts for kindergarten through sixth grade. (The series is being translated into Spanish, with the first few books available in Spanish as of September 2021.) Getty-Dubay Italic is somewhat similar to slant print in appearance, but letters are formed differently. This method has simple and clear letter forms with roots in calligraphy. Also, the writing instrument is lifted far less often than when writing with a broad-edged calligraphy pen. Getty-Dubay Italic letter forms for printing and cursive are basically identical, with entrance and exit strokes added to the printed forms for joining letters in cursive. This makes the transition from printing to cursive almost effortless.

These books teach students to use a “look, plan, and practice” approach to evaluate and improve their own work, beginning with the first step in Books A through C for kindergarten through second grade, then using all three steps in Books D through G for grades three through six. The books have full-color covers, and the print explaining lessons matches the Getty-Dubay Italic style.

The teacher guide (one book for student Books A through G) contains the scope and sequence for the series; discussion of materials; tips for teaching left- or right-handed writers; and techniques for teaching and evaluating shape, strokes, size, slope, spacing, and speed of writing. It also has blackline masters for various sizes of ruled-line paper, three letter formats, and an envelope.

Getty-Dubay Italic style handwriting looks impressive without requiring extraordinary effort. This method might be a good choice for children who have struggled with handwriting and need a new approach. Introducing italic style to children with handwriting difficulties has proven very successful in some cases. It gives them a fresh start, and the results can look good with little skill. Students need not begin in Book A (kindergarten level) but can start with the book for their grade level.

For children who need even more practice than that supplied within the workbooks, there are blackline masters on a single CD-ROM that covers all levels A through G. Each half sheet references the page number in the corresponding book. Writing practice contains single-letter and/or short-letter combinations.

If you want to create your own practice sheets, you can purchase the official Getty-Dubay® Font family, 72 downloadable computer fonts for creating customized handwriting worksheets quickly and easily. The 32 cursive italic fonts join automatically as you type using ordinary word processors. More information about the fonts is at handwitingsuccess.com/fonts.

To make teaching Getty-Dubay Italic handwriting even easier, there is a DVD video titled Write Now! Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting.

For those who prefer more efficient instruction within a single book rather than child-oriented worktexts, the authors have produced a book titled Write Now. Although written for adult learners, children from about ages ten and up might be able to learn from it even if they need some adult assistance. Write Now teaches basic Getty-Dubay Italic handwriting with plenty of examples and practice exercises. The practice content is very similar to that in Book G. Unlike the workbook series described above, it goes beyond simple italic into the use of different types of pens and more complicated calligraphy. Following the instruction is a brief, illustrated history of the alphabet. Lined guide sheets are also included.

The Handwriting Success™ App for tablet and stylus, available at both the App Store and Google Play, has free samples from all nine Getty-Dubay® handwriting instruction books as ebooks that can be written in, and you can purchase the complete ebooks from the in-app store.

Pricing Information

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Instant Key

  • Need For Parent or Teacher Instruction: moderate
  • Learning Environment: group or one-on-one
  • Grade Level: grades K-6
  • Special Audience: remedial, adults
  • Educational Methods: traditional activity pages or exercises
  • Technology: video, DVD
  • Educational Approaches: eclectic
  • Religious Perspective: neutral

Publisher's Info

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