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How to Write in Cursive

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A four-step guide with a worksheet for each step: getting ready, the basic strokes, first letters and joining.

Download the how to write in cursive worksheets

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

About these how to write in cursive worksheets

Learning to write in cursive takes four steps, and each one has its own worksheet here. Work through them in order, a step or two a day, then move on to the full set of cursive writing worksheets.

Step 1, get ready: sit tall with both arms on the table, hold the pencil lightly, and turn the paper a little in the same direction as your writing arm. Step 2, the strokes: every lowercase letter is built from four movements, an undercurve, a downcurve, an overcurve and a straight pull down. Step 3, first letters: start with i, t, u and e, then c and a, which use one or two strokes each. Step 4, joining: most letters end with a flick on the baseline that swings straight into the next letter; b, o, v and w join along the midline instead; and f, g, j, y and z loop below the baseline before they join.

These pages teach modern cursive: joined lowercase letters with simple capitals. The letters are large, with a dashed midline, so children can see exactly where each stroke starts and stops.

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. Do step 1 together and check posture and paper position before every cursive session for the first week.
  2. Trace the strokes on step 2 slowly, saying the stroke names out loud.
  3. On step 3, trace each letter, then write it from memory on the blank rows.
  4. After step 4, start the cursive writing worksheets with the undercurve letters.

Teaching tips

  • Relaxed fingers write smoother cursive. If the pencil marks dent the paper, your child is pressing too hard.
  • Left-handed writers turn the paper the other way, with the top right corner a little higher, and keep the hand below the line of writing.
  • Write slowly at first. Speed comes from smooth joins, not from rushing.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is the easiest way to learn cursive?

Short daily practice in the right order: strokes, then a few easy letters, then joins. Ten minutes a day works better than a long session once a week.

Can adults use these worksheets to learn cursive?

Yes. The steps are the same at any age. Adults usually move through the strokes and first letters quickly and spend most of their time on joins.

What are the basic cursive strokes?

The undercurve (from the baseline swinging up), the downcurve (curving back to the left and down), the overcurve (up and over to the right) and the straight pull down.