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Cursive Z: How to Write Uppercase Z and Lowercase z

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

Download the Letter Z worksheets

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

About these letter Z worksheets

This is cursive Z and z in modern cursive: joined lowercase letters with simple capitals. How to write lowercase z: start at the midline and slide right along it, then slant down to the left to the baseline. Curve forward and down below the baseline, loop back to the left and come up to the baseline to join the next letter. How to write uppercase Z: slide right along the top line, slant down to the left, then slide right along the baseline.

Lowercase z loops below the baseline and swings back up into the next letter, so zzz and words like zoo are written without lifting the pencil. In the usual teaching order, z is learned with the overcurve letters (n, m, x, y, v, z).

The four worksheets below start with a large chart of Z, z and zzz, then give a page each for lowercase z, uppercase Z, and joins and words such as zoo, zip, zero, zebra, zigzag and buzz.

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 z with a finger, then writes it on the rows below.
  2. On the lowercase page, trace each single z, then the joined zzz, then write your own on the blank rows.
  3. Use the uppercase page for Z and names like Zoe, Zac and Zara.
  4. Finish with the words page: the joins, the words zoo, zip and zero, and the sentence “Zoe zips to the zoo.”

Teaching tips for Z

  • Lowercase z: Start at the midline and slide right along it, then slant down to the left to the baseline. Curve forward and down below the baseline, loop back to the left and come up to the baseline to join the next letter.
  • Uppercase Z: Slide right along the top line, slant down to the left, then slide right along the baseline.
  • Watch for a z that stops on the baseline. This z dips below the baseline in a loop before it joins.
  • 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 Z

How do you write a cursive z?

Start at the midline and slide right along it, then slant down to the left to the baseline. Curve forward and down below the baseline, loop back to the left and come up to the baseline to join the next letter.

How do you write a capital Z in cursive?

In modern cursive: slide right along the top line, slant down to the left, then slide right along the baseline. Capitals don't join to the next letter, so write the Z, then start the lowercase letters close by.

How does cursive z join to other letters?

The z loops below the baseline and swings back up to the baseline, then keeps going into the next letter without a lift, as in za, ze and zi.