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Cursive R: How to Write Uppercase R and Lowercase r

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A big model of cursive R and r with step-by-step directions, plus practice pages for lowercase r, uppercase R, joins and r words.

Download the Letter R worksheets

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these letter R worksheets

This is cursive R and r in modern cursive: joined lowercase letters with simple capitals. How to write lowercase r: start on the baseline. Swing up to just above the midline, make a small step to the right, then pull down to the baseline and flick out. How to write uppercase R: make a P. Then slant down from the midline to the baseline on the right.

Lowercase r ends with a flick on the baseline that swings straight up into the next letter, so rrr and words like rat are written without lifting the pencil. In the usual teaching order, r is learned with the undercurve letters (i, t, u, w, e, l, b, h, f, k, r, s, j, p).

The four worksheets below start with a large chart of R, r and rrr, then give a page each for lowercase r, uppercase R, and joins and words such as rat, red, run, rain, ring and rock.

Standards

  • Texas TEKS Grade 2 (handwriting)develop handwriting by accurately forming all cursive letters using appropriate strokes when connecting letters
  • Texas TEKS Grade 3 (handwriting)write complete words, thoughts, and answers legibly in cursive leaving appropriate spaces between words

How to use them

  1. Start with the chart page. Read the steps aloud while your child traces the big r with a finger, then writes it on the rows below.
  2. On the lowercase page, trace each single r, then the joined rrr, then write your own on the blank rows.
  3. Use the uppercase page for R and names like Ray, Rosa and Rex.
  4. Finish with the words page: the joins, the words rat, red and run, and the sentence “Rain runs down roofs.”

Teaching tips for R

  • Lowercase r: Start on the baseline. Swing up to just above the midline, make a small step to the right, then pull down to the baseline and flick out.
  • Uppercase R: Make a P. Then slant down from the midline to the baseline on the right.
  • Watch for an r with no step at the top, which turns it into an i or an n.
  • Print at actual size (100%). The gray letters are solid, so they copy cleanly, and each row has a black model at both ends for left-handed writers.

Questions about letter R

How do you write a cursive r?

Start on the baseline. Swing up to just above the midline, make a small step to the right, then pull down to the baseline and flick out.

How do you write a capital R in cursive?

In modern cursive: make a P. Then slant down from the midline to the baseline on the right. Capitals don't join to the next letter, so write the R, then start the lowercase letters close by.

How does cursive r join to other letters?

The r ends with a small flick on the baseline. Keep going from the flick up into the next letter without lifting the pencil, as in ra, re and ri.