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Letter U Worksheets

4 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Trace uppercase U and lowercase u, trace the words umbrella, umpire and udder, and circle every U and u in a letter hunt.

Down, curve around, push up.

How to form uppercase U
Next Vv

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About these letter U worksheets

These letter U worksheets cover uppercase U, lowercase u, the words umbrella, umpire and udder, and a letter hunt with an answer key. In these words U makes its short sound, /u/, the sound in up.

Uppercase U is one smooth stroke: down, around the bottom and up. Lowercase u looks like a small U at first glance, but in ball-and-stick print it has one more part, a short line back down on the right side. That line is what separates u from a small capital U, and it gets left off a lot.

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, have your child trace each U in one continuous motion without lifting the pencil.
  2. Before the lowercase page, point out the extra line on the right side of u and say “down, around, up, and back down.”
  3. Trace umbrella, umpire and udder. Act out the first two: open a pretend umbrella, then call “safe!” like an umpire. For udder, talk about where a cow’s milk comes from.
  4. Finish with the letter hunt and check it with the answer key.

Teaching tips for U

  • Uppercase U: start at the top line and pull down straight, curve forward around the bottom, and push up straight to the top line. Say it while writing: “Pull down, curve forward, push up.”
  • Lowercase u: start at the dashed midline and pull down straight, curve around the bottom, and push up to the midline. Then pull straight back down to the baseline, tracing over the right side. Say it while writing: “Pull down, curve forward, push up, pull down.”
  • Common mix-ups: u and n (the same shape upside down), u and v (u is round at the bottom; v comes to a point), and a lowercase u written without its line.
  • Quick activities: bend a pipe cleaner into a U and use it as a cup to carry a pom-pom; say a list of words and have your child jump up each time they hear the /u/ in up.

Questions about letter U

Why does lowercase u have a line on the right?

In ball-and-stick print, lowercase u ends with a short line down to the baseline. It makes u look different from a small capital U, and it matches the u your child sees in books.

My child mixes up u and n. Any tips?

Teach them as opposites: n goes down, then over the top; u goes down, then around the bottom. Saying “over the top” for n and “around the bottom” for u helps.