as a 2ndgrade teacher, I would start teaching the kids how to do basic letters in cursive because I couldn't stand to see the way they were trying to write them. It didn't take much to get them on the right track, then I could do some writing on the board and they would know what it looked like and could learn how to read it all at the same time.... worked well for me, but more and more nowdays, they are doing away with actually "teaching" things and are more and more letting them figure it out for themselves. I found that "teaching" or showing them how and explaining why taught them more and fed their self esteem much more than letting them figure it out for themselves.