Teach handwriting in the right order: letter families
Teaching letters from A to Z means jumping from easy to hard and back. Handwriting programs teach letters in families instead: letters that start with the same movement are learned together, so one movement unlocks several letters.
For: Kindergarten teachers, homeschool parents and occupational therapists
A cover page with the plan, then 8 worksheets in order (9 pages). Free, no sign-up.
Free, no sign-up. US Letter size. Download A4 instead · Open to print
Save to PinterestWhy it happens
- In ABC order, a hard letter like a comes first and an easy one like l comes late.
- Letters in one family share their start: c, a, d, g, o and q all begin like a c. Learn that start once and use it six times.
- Starting from the easiest strokes (straight lines) builds confidence before curves and slants.
What helps
- Capitals with straight lines first, then slants and curves; they all start at the top line.
- Lowercase in families: straight line letters, magic c letters, down-up-over letters, slant letters, then the tricky ones.
- Practise the family’s shared start before the separate letters.
- Use the same words for the same movement every time (“magic c”, “down, up and over”).
The planstep by step.
1Week 1: capitals
Straight line capitals, then slanted and curved capitals.
2Week 2: first lowercase families
Straight line letters, then the six magic c letters.
3Week 3: down, up and over
r, n, m, h, b and p all go down, back up the same line and over.
4Week 4: slants and the rest
Slant letters and the letters that start in their own way.
Questions
Questions about teaching letters in the right order
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Should I teach capitals or lowercase first?
Are these sheets available in D’Nealian and HWT style?
Related packs
The LetterSchool app
Between worksheets: practise in the app
The same letter shapes as this sheet, with instant feedback on every line, animations and stars. Children play, and learn the right formation.