Final answer:
Students in the United States are usually introduced to cursive writing in the third grade as part of the English curriculum, where they learn to write in a flowing manner. Learning cursive helps improve handwriting, reading fluency, and cognitive skills.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the United States, students are usually introduced to cursive writing in the third grade, which is typically around the age of 8 or 9. This is when they have developed the fine motor skills necessary to form the letters and connect them together in a flowing manner. Cursive writing is taught as part of the English curriculum and is usually practiced throughout elementary school. Students need to learn cursive because it helps improve their handwriting, reading fluency, and cognitive skills.
Our modern form of cursive writing is usually credited to 15th-century Italian Niccolo Niccoli. His unique script evolved over time into what we now call italics. However, forms of cursive writing had been in use long before. Some date back to the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks.
Though modern cursive is often associated with languages that use the Latin alphabet, including English, Spanish, and French, cursive writing existed long before the development of written English. For instance, hieratic script was a form of ancient Egyptian cursive used from about 2925 bce to about 200 bce.