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Letter O Worksheets

4 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Trace uppercase O and lowercase o, trace the words ox, otter and octopus, and circle every O and o in a letter hunt.

Circle back all the way around.

How to form uppercase O
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About these letter O worksheets

These letter O worksheets cover uppercase O, lowercase o, the words ox, otter and octopus, and a letter hunt with an answer key. In these words O makes its short sound, /o/, the sound you make when a doctor asks you to say “ah.”

O is a circle, but the direction matters. Children who start near the top and go backward, to the left, are practicing the same stroke they need for a, c, d, g and q. Uppercase and lowercase o are the same shape in two sizes, so O is also a good check on letter size.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.APrint many upper- and lowercase letters.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.DRecognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

How to use them

  1. On the uppercase page, put your hand over your child’s for the first one or two letters, moving backward from the start dot. Then let them trace alone.
  2. On the lowercase page, check size. The top of each o should touch the dashed midline and the bottom should sit on the baseline.
  3. Trace ox, otter and octopus. Octopus is long, so clap its three syllables (oc-to-pus) before tracing it.
  4. Finish with the letter hunt and check it with the answer key.

Teaching tips for O

  • Uppercase O: start near the top, just to the right of the middle. Circle back to the left, down around the bottom, up the right side, and close the circle where you began. Say it while writing: “Circle back all the way around.”
  • Lowercase o: the same circle, smaller, starting just under the dashed midline and touching the baseline at the bottom. Say it while writing: “Circle back all the way around.”
  • Common mix-ups: circles drawn clockwise or started at the bottom, an o that is too tall for its space, a circle left open (that is a c), and the letter O confused with the number 0, which is narrower.
  • Quick activities: trace around jar lids of different sizes to make big and small O’s; open wide like at the doctor’s and say /o/; draw an octopus head as an O and count out eight arms.

Questions about letter O

Does it matter which way my child draws a circle?

Yes. Going backward from the top (counterclockwise) is the same move used in a, c, d, g, o and q. If your child draws O clockwise, those letters get harder.

What is the difference between the letter O and the number 0?

In handwriting they look very similar. Zero is usually narrower, more like an egg, and the words around it tell us which one we mean. Kindergartners mostly need to know that letters go in words and numbers go with counting.