Should children trace capitals or lowercase letters first?

Both orders are taught: capitals first because they are mostly straight lines of one height, or lowercase first because most of what children read is lowercase. The sheet sets either, or both side by side.

What do the rings on the dotted letters mean?

Each ring marks where a stroke begins, so a child learns the order of the strokes along with the shape. With arrows on, the example to copy shows which way each stroke runs.

How big should tracing letters be?

For a first try, Extra large, with an inch between the top line and the baseline, about the size of kindergarten writing paper. Move to Large, 3/4 inch, and then Medium, 1/2 inch, as the letters get steadier.

Letter tracing worksheets

Print the alphabet, the numbers or a name to trace. The sheet sets them in dotted school letters on handwriting lines, with a small ring where each stroke starts and an empty row under each to write them again. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

3 handwriting models · US Letter or A4 · free, nothing to sign up for

01 / The fonts

The tracing fonts

School fonts from Google Fonts, free under the SIL Open Font License. Install one to type your own sheets in Word or Google Docs.

The dotted letters are the school print of Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, so b, k, v, w and x are drawn as children there learn them. For a closed b and a crossed x, choose Plain.

02 / How to use it

Trace, then write

Start at the ring: Each stroke of a dotted letter starts at its small ring. With arrows, the example to copy also shows which way every stroke goes.
Trace, then write: Trace a row from left to right, then write the same letters on your own in the empty row under it.
Print at full size: Print at 100%, not fit to page, so the rows keep the size you chose: from the top line to the baseline.

Ready to join the letters? The cursive worksheets set any word in a school cursive to trace, and the cursive alphabet shows how each of its 52 letters is written.

03 / Practice

Letters in order

Preschool and kindergarten, roughly ages 3 to 6, and any child or adult meeting the Latin alphabet for the first time. Start with the alphabet or a name, then move on to short words.

The order to practise in

1l i tStraight lines first: down, and down again with a crossbar.
2c o a d g q eThen the letters that begin like c, curving round to the left.
3n m h r b pThen the ones that go down and spring back up into a hump or a bowl.
4v w x y z kDiagonals, which slant one way and then the other.
5f s u jThe rest, each with a stroke of its own.

Letter tracing, answered

Should children trace capitals or lowercase letters first?: Both orders are taught: capitals first because they are mostly straight lines of one height, or lowercase first because most of what children read is lowercase. The sheet sets either, or both side by side.
What do the rings on the dotted letters mean?: Each ring marks where a stroke begins, so a child learns the order of the strokes along with the shape. With arrows on, the example to copy shows which way each stroke runs.
How big should tracing letters be?: For a first try, Extra large, with an inch between the top line and the baseline, about the size of kindergarten writing paper. Move to Large, 3/4 inch, and then Medium, 1/2 inch, as the letters get steadier.