the stroke or line that guides us to smoothly finish a letter

a group of letters that are written together in a word

the point the formation of a letter begins on the tramlines

this is the line that letters with ascenders reach up to

The second join: el, mb, at and tt with no lead in

English

The first join: id, ig, ed, eg with no lead in

The first join: en, ud and ir with no lead in

The first join: ag, ac, na and to with no lead in

The second join: ck, ch, nk, lk  with no lead in

The second join: il, it, ik, ul with no lead in

The third join: oo, og, wa and wo with no lead in

The third join: on, om, ow, oi with no lead in

The third join: os, rm, wi with no lead in

The fourth join: wl, oh and ot with no lead in

The fourth join: ol, ok and of with no lead in

The fourth join: rl, rk and rt with no lead in

Looped descenders and break letters

Review of the four joins with no lead ins

In this unit, pupils learn the four joins and break letters with no lead ins. In 'Year 2: Handwriting: capital letters and numerals', pupils practise formation and size of capital letters and numerals.

In 'Year 2: Handwriting: lower case letters revision', pupils learnt the letter formation for all 26 lower case letters. In this unit, pupils build on this knowledge, learning the four joins and break letters.

In this unit, pupils learn to form each of the four joins without lead ins. They practise using diagonal and horizontal strokes to connect letters and identify 'break letters' that do not join. Pupils also learn how to form looped descenders and how to end a join with a lead out.

The four joins

Physical activity and equipment requiring safe use

Risk assessment required - physical activity

Match the lower case letters to their capital letter.

Select the correct formation of the first join of 'an'.

Select the correct formation of the first join of 'ap'.

Select the correct formation of the first join of 'ar'.

Select the correct formation of the first join of 'aw'.

True or false? The join for 'ig' is an example of the first join as the join is from the baseline to the x-height line.

Starter Quiz

Match the lower case letters to their capital letter.