Handwriting: free letter formation, tracing sheets and joins
Animated stroke order for every letter and number, letter families, a printable sheet maker and ready-made PDFs. For ages 4 to 9, with notes for teachers and parents.
What the national curriculum expects
The English programmes of study set out handwriting expectations for each stage (paraphrased from the Department for Education document).
| Stage | What pupils are taught | On this site |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Sit properly and hold a pencil comfortably and correctly. Begin to form lower case letters in the right direction, starting and finishing in the right place. Form capital letters and the digits 0 to 9. Recognise which letters belong to the same handwriting families and practise them. | Letters, numbers, families |
| Year 2 | Form lower case letters of the correct size relative to one another. Begin to use the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters, and know which adjacent letters are best left unjoined. Write capitals and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower case letters. Space words to match the size of the letters. | Sheet maker, joining |
| Years 3 and 4 | Use the diagonal and horizontal joining strokes. Improve legibility, consistency and quality, for example parallel downstrokes and enough line space so that ascenders and descenders do not touch. | Joining |
| Years 5 and 6 | Write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed, choosing which letter shape to use and whether to join. Choose the writing tool best suited to the task. | Sheet maker |
Source: National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, DfE. The document also notes that left-handed pupils should receive specific teaching suited to their needs.
Our model
We teach unjoined print first. The lower case letters have no exit flicks by default; switch them on with the tick box on any letter page or in the sheet maker. The letters are drawn on a four-line guide, and every stroke has a numbered start dot. All the letter shapes on this site were drawn for Litlings. They do not copy any published scheme or font.
Schools follow their own scheme. The curriculum does not prescribe one. If your school uses a particular scheme, follow it, and treat this site as extra practice.
Ready-made PDFs
All A4, free, no login. Print at 100% (Actual size) so the line sizes are true.
Letters, lower case and capital together
a Ab Bc Cd De Ef Fg Gh Hi Ij Jk Kl Lm Mn No Op Pq Qr Rs St Tu Uv Vw Wx Xy Yz Z
Numbers
Letter families
Down-and-offRound-and-backDown-up-overZig-zag
Pre-writing patterns
Straight lines downStraight lines acrossCirclesCrossesZig-zagsWavesLoopsArches
Joins
in, an, thch, ck, ll, ee, oo, ou
Blank lined paper
Reception, 20 mmKey Stage 1, 15 mmKey Stage 2, 10 mm
Questions
Which handwriting scheme does this follow?
None. The letter shapes were drawn from scratch for this site, and the family names are our own. England's national curriculum does not prescribe a scheme, so schools choose their own. Use this site for extra practice and follow your school's scheme where it differs.
Should children learn print or joined writing first?
The national curriculum for Year 1 is about forming letters correctly, and the non-statutory notes say pupils should move to a joined style once they can form letters securely with the correct orientation. We teach unjoined print first, then joins from Year 2.
Is there help for left-handed children?
Yes. The sheet maker has a left-hander option that puts the model on the right of each row, and the grown-ups page has tips on paper angle and grip. The national curriculum notes that left-handed pupils should receive specific teaching suited to their needs.
Can I print these for my class?
Yes. Everything here is free to print for your own children or class. Print at 100% on A4 so the lines are true size.