Handwriting – Letter formation Part 1

In these posts I am going to talk about letter formation of print letters and then cursive letters. It is worth asking your school which

Every school seems to have a different handwriting policy, most schools use either cursive or pre-cursive letters. Pre-cursive means that each letter is designed to be individual. Cursive font is designed so that you don’t have to take the pen off the paper allowing the writing to flow better. Each school may also have different ways of forming letters. For example there are different ways of forming f, k and s.

In these posts I am going to talk about letter formation of print letters and then cursive letters. It is worth asking your school which way they are teaching and they will be able to show you so you can support your children at home.

One thing to remember is to remain positive and praise the good. Learning to write is really hard! Children need to form new muscles in their hand and writing can make their hands ache. When I was training we were asked to write with a pen with a 6ft garden cane attached – we were then given Chinese writing to copy – it was really hard and really hurt so worth trying to empathise with your little one!

Free letter formation chart link at the bottom of the page.

Montessori methods

In a Montessori classroom and I have seen these in non-Montessori classes we use Sandpaper letters. These are tiles approx A5 size with letters cut out of sandpaper on them. Learning the letter formation in a kinesthetic way (by touch and movement) helps the children to remember the formation of the letter. There is often a sand tray as well for the children to practice forming the letters with out fear of mistake. Recording something on paper can be quite daunting for a young child, allowing access to sand – or even white boards gives an opportunity to explore the letters with out fear of permanency.

Print letters – how they are formed

	‘a’ is formed by starting at the top green dot, the letter a is formed by going round anti-clockwise in a loop back to the green dot. Then dropping down to the red dot.
	‘b’ is formed by starting at the green dot and dropping down. Then go back up the same line about 1/3 of the way and form a clockwise-loop back to the bottom.
	‘c’ is formed by starting at the green and going anti-clockwise looping round to the red dot. The ‘c’ is a really important formation to practice as it is the foundation for several other letters that are all formed starting with a ‘c’ ( a, d, g, o, q)
	‘d’ is formed by starting at the green dot and looping anti-clockwise (to form a ‘c’) then go straight up, and come back down to the red dot.
	‘e’ is formed by starting at the green dot – loop round anticlockwise past the green start point and carry on round to the red dot.
	‘f” is formed by starting at the top on the green dot and a small curve the down to the red dot. You then remove the pen from the paper and start at the orange dot to do a stroke across. F is one of the letters that has many different styles so it is worth checking with your children’s school to see what the policy is.
	‘g’ is formed by starting at the green dot and looping anti-clockwise (to form a ‘c’) then go back up to the green dot, drop down and loop clockwise to the red dot.
	‘h’ is formed by starting at the green dot and dropping straight down. Then go back up 1/3 and loop left back down level to the red dot.
	‘i’ is formed by a straight line down and a dot above it where the orange dot is.
	‘j’ is formed starting at the green dot then going down through the line and then to the left. Finishing off with a dot at the top where the orange spot is.
	‘k’ is another letter that can be formed in many different ways. Here the letter is formed in one stroke, starting at the top and right down, go up 1/3rd of the way and make a clockwise loop back to that point. Finish by doing a diagonal stroke down to the right.
	‘l’ is formed by starting at the green dot and dropping down.
	‘m’ is formed by starting at the green dot and going straight down. Go back up nearly to the top and the loop clockwise and straight down again – repeat a second time to the red dot.
	‘n’ is formed by starting at the green dot and going straight down. Go back up nearly to the top and the loop clockwise and straight down again to the red dot.
	‘o’ is formed by starting at the green dot and looping anti-clockwise (to form a ‘c’) then go back up to the green dot in full circle/ellipse.
	‘p’ is formed by starting at the green dot – going all the way down then back up about 2/3 then make a clockwise loop to finish at the red dot.
	‘q’ is formed by starting at the green dot – make an anti-clockwise loop back to the start. Drop straight down and finish with a diagonal flick upwards to the right.
	‘r’ is formed by starting at the green dot -go down then back up about 1/2 way up begin an arch to the right and finish at the red dot.
	‘s’ is formed by starting at the green dot – then move to the left and then down to the right then back left to red dot.
	‘t’ is formed by starting at the green dot -then drop down at the bottom curve round to the right to the red dot. Add a second stroke starting at the orange dot and cross the upright line.
	‘u’ is formed by starting at the green dot – draw a line down and the loop to right and back to top. Then drop straight down to the red dot.
	‘v’ is formed by starting at the green dot – in a straight diagonal line to the right go down – then back up to the red dot.
	‘v’ is formed by starting at the green dot then create to v’s joined up to finish at the red dot.
	‘x’ is formed by starting at the green dot and doing a diagonal line down to the right. Start a second stroke at the orange dot and do a diagonal line down to the right.
	‘y’ is formed by starting at the green dot and going straight down – loop round to the right and back up. Drop down and then to the left to finish at the red dot.
	‘z’ is formed by starting at the green dot draw a line to the right – then a diagonal line down and to the left. Finish by going right to the red dot.