the way we sit when writing, with our feet on the ground, back straight, and our body balanced and comfortable in a chair

the way we make each letter, starting at the top and following the correct path to create the shape of the letter.

how we hold the pencil with our fingers, making sure it feels comfortable and steady in our hand.

a special way of holding the pencil with three fingers (thumb, index, and middle fingers) that helps us write smoothly and with control.

straight, parallel lines that we can use as a guide to help us write neatly and keep our letters the same size.

Introduction to skills and patterns

English

Formation of i, l and t

Formation of u, y and j

Formation of m, n and r

Formation of h and k

Formation of b and p

Formation of c, a and d

Formation of o, g and q

Formation of e, s and f

Formation of v,w, x and z

Practice of x-height letters

Practice of letters with descenders

Practice of letters with ascenders

In this unit, pupils learn print letter formation for all 26 letters of the alphabet. In ‘Capital letters’, pupils build on this by learning the formation of all the capital letters.

In this unit, pupils learn to sit comfortably and hold a pencil correctly. They learn handwriting patterns to help with letter formation and how to form all 26 lowercase letters in print. Finally, pupils practise forming letters in different letter families, for example ascenders and descenders.

Writing lower case letters in print

the part of a letter that extends above the level of the top of an "x"

letters that reach the middle height on the line

regular-sized letters that are not as tall as the tall letters

letters that reach up high and are usually taller than the other letters in the alphabet

groups of letters that look similar and belong to the same group

a special way of holding the pencil with three fingers (thumb, index, and middle fingers) that helps us write smoothly and with control

the part of a letter that descends below the level of the bottom of an "x"

this is the line that most letters sit on

straight, parallel lines that we can use as a guide to help us write neatly and keep our letters the same size

moving or going in the opposite direction of a clock's hands

a small, quick movement we make at the end of some letters

this is the line that x-height letters go up to

the line above the x-height line which most letters with ascenders reach up to

connected diagonal lines that alternate in direction

this is the place where we begin to write a letter or shape, usually at the top or left side.

the line below the baseline that descenders go down to

starting point is the place where we begin to write a letter or shape, usually at the top or left side.

this is the line that most letters sit on﻿

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Writing lower case letters in print

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