Italic Handwriting Book G Grade 6
Wrap up the Italic series with a tour through writing history—scripts, tools, and numerals from ancient Rome to the 1600s. Cursive mastery meets historical flair in this sixth-grade classic.
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Italic Handwriting Book G is the seventh and final book in the Getty-Dubay italic handwriting series. Your sixth grader continues to refine basic and cursive italic, while the practice content traces the history of writing from Egyptian hieroglyphs and Phoenician script through the Roman era and into the 17th century.
Because italic uses a single alphabet across the series, your child closes out Book G having refined the same letterforms he started with in Book B—not a separate cursive system tacked on, but the natural continuation of how he was taught to write from the beginning. A final chapter introduces italic calligraphy for children who want to try edged-pen lettering—optional, and a natural extension of the italic letterforms your child has been refining all along.
We've recommended italic handwriting for nearly as long as Timberdoodle has been around. Back when our orders came in by mail, the easy-to-read ones were a small daily relief, and decades later, we still notice the difference good handwriting makes.
Book G is a good fit for a typical sixth grader, or for a child who has worked through Book F and is ready to complete the series.
How to Use Italic Handwriting Book G
- Two pages a week is a steady pace. At two pages per week, the book's 64 pages fit into a typical school year with room for breaks. More is fine if your child wants to do more; less is fine if he doesn't.
- Expect more than handwriting on each page. Book G pairs basic and cursive italic practice with a history of writing, from Egyptian hieroglyphs and Phoenician script through the Roman era and into the 17th century. The writing practice is the main work, but the historical content is worth reading and discussing with your child.
- Use a 1mm edged pen for the calligraphy chapter, if desired. Book G includes a chapter on italic calligraphy, which is built around the thick/thin stroke contrast an edged pen produces. The publisher recommends a 1mm edged pen specifically.
Handwriting today is both a tool for learning and a professional skill. We need a handwriting style that keeps up with the demands of modern life. It needs to be legible and logical, easy to write and easy to learn.
When it comes to being understood, handwriting still matters.
And yet, as authors Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay write, “American handwriting is in a woeful state. We have become a 'please print' nation. But there is hope. We can stop mumbling on paper and become legible writers. We can go italic.”
Keep the focus on learning.
For early learners, literacy and language development are foundations of readiness, and research suggests that handwriting is a key component. Learning to write letters and form words are powerful first steps toward academic success.
A seamless transition.
With the Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series, kids learn one alphabet — basic italic transitions naturally to cursive. In elementary school, handwriting is an important scaffold for basic literacy skills. For middle school students, fluent handwriting means more language arts success, and better preparation for high school.
Publisher's Information
Publisher: Getty-Dubay Productions
Authors: Barbara Getty & Inga Dubay
Age Recommendation: 11-12
Grade Recommendation: 6th
Faith-Based: No
Consumable: Yes
Pages: 64
ISBN: 9780982776247
Format: Softcover
Copyright: 1994
Made in: USA
Awards and Endorsements from:Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about this product below:
Shorter, meaningful, and regular practice is better than longer and/or sporadic sessions. For students in 3rd to 6th grade, we recommend 60-120 minutes per week (12-24 minutes per day).
Some general recommendations:
- Plan on practicing no more than a page at one sitting.
- Spend some time during practice doing some self-assessment. Encourage the student to choose which letters (or joins) they did well, have them mark them and try to replicate those. Ask them to choose which ones they feel do not match the model and therefore need a mental plan (e.g. “I want the ‘h’ ascender downstroke to be straighter”.)
- Put practice to use as soon as you can. For instance, try to avoid asking them to practice a single letter over and over.
- While you might be tempted to jump around in the book, we suggest going page by page, reading all the material as you go.
- Do start with the “Pre-Test” sample of your student's current handwriting. It will be important to see how your student's handwriting has changed over time when the book is finished and the student does the “Post-test".
While you may experience improved handwriting after just a few sessions, most gains will come from repeated practice over time. Handwriting is a lifelong skill built up over many years of study. As you use the workbook, encourage the student to try out your new handwriting on other school work, especially spelling and vocabulary lists, writing short compositions, thank you notes, and other correspondence.
Print / Basic / Manuscript: Writing with no letter joins. Some systems call their printing "ball and stick."
Cursive / Script / Longhand: Writing with joined letters. Used to increase the speed and ease of writing by limiting the number of times one lifts the pen or pencil from the paper.
Serif: An addition to the letter used in cursive writing to initiate the join.
Letterform: The path the writing tool takes to form the letter, numeral or punctuation.
Calligraphy: Literally means "Beautiful writing". Used for formal correspondence, presentations, or artwork. Not intended to be written quickly. Tools: edged pen and ink (either felt, cartridge or dipped), or brush.
Handwriting: Everyday writing used for communication and notes, often with the necessity for speed and legibility. Tools: pencil, felt-tip or ball-point pen, crayon, etc.
The Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series is a developmentally appropriate course that starts with Book A, is designed for use in Kindergarten, and progresses by grade through Book G. Each book supports the motor skill, attention span, and content level of its respective grade level.
If your student needs remedial handwriting work, it is best to use that Getty-Dubay Italic book that matches the student's language skill. For example, an 8th grader who needs help with basic italic would probably be happier using Book G, instead of going back to Books A or B.
Ask the child to look at the letter and tell you how it's different from the model. Is it wider, taller, thinner, smaller? Are the letters further apart than the model? Never, ever use the word "wrong." It is simply different from the model.
Encourage the child to assess his/her own writing, with your guidance.
Our books useful no matter with which hand you write. One way this is true is that where possible the page content is arranged carefully so that your writing hand does not cover up the handwriting model you are copying. For left handers we recommend having your wrist below the line of writing and slanting the paper down to the right — in other words, a slight turn in the clockwise direction. Having good over-all posture and enough space for comfortable movement of your arm are also important for a good handwriting experience.
For parents of left-handed children: Left-handedness is perfectly natural, but does present some challenges in our right-handed-centric world. The good news is that, with encouragement, left-handed writers do find ways to adapt. Never insist that the student change writing hands.
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- October 3, 2011
Italic Handwriting Series is AWESOME
I. B.
I have used the Italic Handwriting Series with great success with each of my six children, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, low-cost way to produce legible handwriting. Each book provides a chart of each letter, along with a pre- and post- test. Each page gives opportunity for tracing as well as freehand writing. A bonus was reading all the handwriting information in the margins, as well as the topics for the handwriting practice themselves. Topics included interesting facts about many things, like tongue twisters, geographical and historical information, etc. My children enjoyed exploring calligraphy with chiseled-tipped markers for fun, too.
- November 5, 2008
We have used Italic Handwriting for 17+ years!!
Mary S.
We have used Italic Handwriting for years (17 and counting) on Timberdoodle's initial recommendation. People have always commented on how neat our children's handwriting is. It is very legible and moves into calligraphy easily with a chiseled marker. My older children complained a little that their friends and relatives were writing a different way so, after they were proficient at italic cursive, we went over conventional cursive and I told them they were free to adjust their handwriting if they liked. I have liked the results of Italic Handwriting and we are continuing to use it with the rest of our 11 children. A benefit to teaching it is that I have improved at calligraphy myself.
- November 3, 2008
My son LOVED it!!
Michelle L.
My oldest son was resistant to learning cursive. Someone suggested letting him try calligraphy. It made me remember the information I had read about Italic Handwriting in the Timberdoodle catalog. We switched over to italic manuscript and then the transition to italic script was painless. My son LOVED it and his handwriting improved greatly. I also find using the program helpful for my other son who is dyslexic. He can work very independently and the lessons are short.
- October 24, 2008
Used this series with eight children!
Kellyanne E.
I have been using this handwriting program for almost 20 years. I have used it with eight children (so far!) and I have been very pleased with the results. The children have been able to use the books without difficulty (or tears, a big plus). Some of my children have really made the effort to duplicate the beautiful handwriting in the books and have even been inspired to try the calligraphic hand taught in book G. Some of my children have not been as eager to emphasize their handwriting to that degree. However, even those who took the "only what is required" attitude, have fine, legible handwriting.
