Shaded Paper, as I like to call it, (otherwise known as highlighted paper) is great to use for students that have difficulty with letter formation and don’t quite understand that some letters hang below the line and others go to the top of the line.

 
My favorite shaded paper can be downloaded for free here. In this picture, you can see how the first time my student copies the sentence his letters are too big, however, he does MUCH better on his second attempt. Also, notice how he’s using the stamp to space out his words.

 
Many times students with poor handwriting write so hard that their pencils have absolutely NO POINT on them. The flat point not only makes their writing messy, but is part of the reason their letters are illegible. That’s why I like to give them mechanical pencils with different sized lead to try out. This helps make sure that they are writing with a “sharp” point at all times.

 
 
At first, your student will tend to gravitate back to their #2 pencil, since that’s what they’ve been used to writing with, a flat tipped pencil. But encourage them to keep using the mechanical pencil. At least until you start to see some improvement in their handwriting.
 

With some students, part of the problem lies with the way they like to hold their pencil. Some of them don’t like the feel of the gritty pencil tip against their skin so they hold their pencil in all sorts of weird and uncomfortable looking ways.

With these students,  pencil grips might just be the solution. Again, there are a few different varieties out on the market so test some and see which one your student feels most comfortable with.