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Uppercase letters A–Z
Lowercase letters a–z
About these letter tracing worksheets
These letter tracing worksheets cover the whole alphabet in ball-and-stick print, the upright style built from straight lines, circles and slants. If you are looking for alphabet tracing worksheets in one download, start with the packets. Download the uppercase or lowercase alphabet tracing packet (26 pages each, one letter per page) or the one-page alphabet tracing chart with every pair from Aa to Zz. Each letter also has its own page (pick one from the A–Z above) with four worksheets: uppercase tracing, lowercase tracing, word tracing and a letter hunt.
Every tracing page moves from support to independence. A large model letter shows where each stroke starts and which way it goes. Then come dotted letters, faint letters, a row with one dotted letter and the rest blank, and finally a blank row to write on their own.
By the end of kindergarten, Common Core expects children to recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters and to print many of them. Tracing builds the habits printing depends on: starting at the top, pulling down, and making circles and curves in the right direction.
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
- Pick an order. A–Z works well for a letter of the week. For handwriting, many teachers group letters by stroke instead: straight-line capitals first (L, F, E, H, T, I), then slants (A, K, M, N, V, W, X, Y, Z), then curves (C, O, Q, G, S, D, P, B, R, J, U).
- For lowercase, start with the circle-back letters c, o, a, d, g and q, then the straight-line letters l, t, i and j, then the hump letters n, m, h, r, b and p, then the slant letters v, w, x, y, k and z, and finish with u, e, s and f.
- Keep sessions short: one careful page beats three quick ones. Ask your child to circle their best letter on each row.
- Use the alphabet tracing chart as a warm-up or a quick check. Once your child traces all 26 pairs from the right starting spots, move on to writing letters from memory.
Teaching tips
- Print at actual size (100%) on US Letter paper; “Fit to page” shrinks the letters slightly. The sheets are black and white with mid-gray dotted letters, so they copy well on a school photocopier.
- Name the lines and use the same words every time: top line, dashed midline, baseline, and the line below the baseline for letters with tails (g, j, p, q, y).
- Watch the start, not just the finished letter. A letter drawn from the bottom up will slow your child down later, when they write whole words.
- Short pencils, golf pencils and broken crayons nudge small hands toward a tripod grip. Have your child hold the paper still with their other hand.
- For left-handed writers, tilt the paper so the top leans to the right, and point them to the model letter at the top, since their hand may cover the row.
- To reuse a page, slide it into a clear sheet protector and trace with a dry-erase marker.
Questions teachers and parents ask
Is tracing actually good for handwriting?
Tracing helps most when children go slowly, start at the right spot and follow the right direction. It is a step toward writing letters independently, which is why every page ends with partly blank and blank rows.
Should I teach uppercase or lowercase letters first?
Many kindergarten teachers start with uppercase, because every capital starts at or just below the top line and capitals are easier to tell apart. Lowercase should follow soon after, since most of what children read and write is lowercase.
Are these letter tracing worksheets free?
Yes. Every PDF is free to download and print for your classroom or home, with no account or email sign-up.