New
New
Year 2

Pre-cursive formation of m, n, and r

I can form the pre-cursive letters m, n and r.

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New
New
Year 2

Pre-cursive formation of m, n, and r

I can form the pre-cursive letters m, n and r.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The pre-cursive letters m, n and r all have a lead in and a lead out
  2. The pre-cursive letters m, n and r are all x-height letters
  3. The pre-cursive letter r has a dip down below the x-height line as the lead out
  4. The pre-cursive letters m, n and r all start on the baseline for their lead in
  5. The pre-cursive letters m and n are formed in similar ways

Keywords

  • Pre-cursive - the stage of writing where children begin to learn and practise the joining of individual letters, preparing them for cursive writing

  • Lead in - the stroke or line that guides us into starting a letter

  • Lead out - the stroke or line that guides us to smoothly finish a letter

  • X-height letter - letters that sit between the baseline and the x-height line

Common misconception

The lead out on the pre-cursive letter r can be challenging and children can sometimes dip too far.

Lots of modelling and opportunities to trace the grey examples will support correct formation.


To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Pre-cursive formation of m, n, and r, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You may want to introduce a fun way to do the letter r lead out. For example, 'then we do a little wiggle' as the lead out.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - physical activity

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

6 Questions

Q1.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letters m and n in print.
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q2.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letter r in print.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q3.
Select the correct formation of the pre-cursive letter i.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q4.
Select the correct formation of the pre-cursive letter l.
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q5.
Select the correct formation of the pre-cursive letter t.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q6.
Order the journey of handwriting from single letters to joining writing.
1 - print
2 - pre-cursive
3 - cursive
Q3 image 1 incorrect pre-cursive i 1 Q3 image 2 Correct pre-cursive i Q4 image 1 incorrect pre-cursive l 1 Q4 image 2 incorrect pre-cursive l 2 Q4 image 3 Correct pre-cursive l Q5 image 1 incorrect pre-cursive t 1 Q5 image 2 Correct pre-cursive t

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