The Order to Teach Letter Formation

Almost every parent starts with A, then B, then C. It feels obvious. It is also the hardest possible order, and it is not what schools do.

Why alphabetical order makes it harder

Letters are not equally difficult. A requires two diagonal strokes meeting at a precise point plus a horizontal crossbar — it is genuinely one of the harder capitals. B requires two curves stacked against a vertical line. Meanwhile L, T and I are made entirely of straight lines a three year old can already draw.

Starting with A means the first experience of letter writing is a failure. Starting with L means it is a success.

Group letters by the strokes they share

The approach most handwriting programs use is to teach letters in families that share a movement, starting with the strokes a young hand already controls.

1. Straight lines only — L, T, I, F, E, H

These need only vertical and horizontal strokes. If your child can trace a straight line, they can write these.

2. Simple curves — C, O, Q, G, S

A single continuous curved movement. Worth practicing the curve on its own first. C is the parent shape — G, O and Q are each a C with something added — and S, which changes direction halfway, is the hard one in this group.

3. Curves joined to lines — D, P, B, R, J, U

A straight line and a curve in the same letter. In B, D, P and R the line goes down first and the curve is added on its right, and drawing the line first is also the habit that keeps those letters facing the right way.

4. Straight lines with diagonals — V, A, N, M, W, X, K, Y, Z

The hardest group, so it comes last. Diagonals demand more planning, because the child has to judge an angle rather than follow an edge, and copying a slanting line tends to arrive later than copying a circle — the order the strokes usually arrive in is set out in teaching shapes and colors. M and W add stamina to the problem: four strokes without a rest.

Capitals before lowercase

Capitals use bigger, simpler movements and every one sits between the same two lines. Lowercase letters need three zones — some sit on the line, some have tails that drop below it, some have ascenders that reach up — and several involve tight curves that need finer control.

Most children are ready for capitals somewhere around three and a half to four, and lowercase closer to five.

Start with their own name

Whatever order you choose, the exception is a child's own name. It is the most motivating word there is, and children will happily practice it long past the point where they would tolerate a worksheet. Write it with a capital first letter and lowercase for the rest, even before they know lowercase properly — otherwise you spend a year unteaching ALL CAPITALS later.

Write Your Name is built for this: a box at the top for you to write the model, and ruled rows underneath for copying it, so it works for any name.

Letter reversals are normal

Writing b for d, or a backwards N, is completely typical up to about age seven. On its own it is not an early sign of dyslexia, and it does not need correcting with drills. Model the correct direction next to their attempt and move on.

If you want a page for it, Letters That Get Flipped covers the five capitals most often written back to front — B, D, N, S and Z — with a model, a few dotted copies and then empty ruling, because a reversal rarely shows up while a child is tracing. It shows up when the guide runs out.

Where to start on this site

The letter sheets here follow the order above.

Before letters. Trace Standing and Sleeping Lines practices the two strokes the first family is built from. If straight lines are still a struggle, start there rather than with letters.

One page per family.

1. Letters Made of Straight Lines — E, F, H, I, L and T
2. Letters Made of Curves — C, G, O, Q and S
3. Letters Made of Lines and Bumps — B, D and P, each drawn line first
4. Letters Made of Slants — A, K, M, N, V, W, X, Y and Z, rated for four and five year olds. For a child not ready for these yet, Trace Slanting Lines practices the stroke on its own.

Then one letter at a time. Every capital also has a page to itself, with a large model showing where each stroke starts and rows that move from tracing to writing alone. Print them in family order rather than A to Z: L, T and I first, then the curves, starting with C. R, J and U are not on any of the family pages, so they are the ones to print singly: R, J and U. The whole set runs from Trace Letter A to Trace Letter Z.

Lowercase, later. Trace Lowercase Letter a through z are rated for four and five year olds, and they are drawn in a print style with small exit flicks, which differs from plain print in more places than you might expect: a, d, h, i, k, l, m, n, q and u end in a flick; b, o, v and w end in a small tick; b and p are left open rather than closed; f has a tail below the line; and z hangs below the line like a 3. Each letter's own page says where it differs. Schools differ here. Some teach letters like these; others teach plain print with no flicks at all. If your child's school sends home a handwriting chart, follow the chart — matching what the teacher models matters more than which style it is.

For the hand strength that has to come before any of it, what has to come before tracing and the screen-free activities are worth more than any worksheet.

What changed, October 2026: diagonal letters now come last rather than second, after the curves and the curves joined to lines, which is also the order of the letter pages on this site. "Where to start on this site" used to say the site published coloring pages rather than letter sheets; it now lists the letter pages, and the reversals section says a reversal is not a sign of dyslexia on its own.