Beginning Manuscript Handwriting Lessons with Arrows
About this Set
The manuscript handwriting printable lessons offered here have arrows and each letter is presented in both capital and lower case on the same printable.The letters and numbers are large and the page is printed horizontally.
The rule is about 1 3/4 inches tall in the first set and about 7/8 of an inch in the second set. See this chart to compare the rule sizes in the manuscript handwriting worksheets at donnayoung.org
Optional: Use these after using the Printing Readiness Handwriting Worksheets.
Options Regarding A, M, N
In this set, you can choose to teach the A as a 3-stroke letter or choose the file Aa na for no arrows.
You have the similar choice with M: a 2-stroke M or one with no arrows. The N can be draw in 1,
2, or 3 strokes, however; this set presents the N as a 2-stoke
character. This matches the way the M is drawn in the Mm2 file. Of
course you can "white-out" the arrows on the N and any
other letter and teach your child the way that you think is best.
As of May 5th 2011, all of the files have been remade to repair some of them that had not been printing right. The letters in the newer files are a quarter of an inch smaller. The old letters were 2 inches tall, the new ones are not quite 1 3/4 inches tall. Not only did I remake all of the old files, I made a new set using the same image set. The letters in the new set are just over 7/8 of an inch tall and they have other features that are not on the old set -- smaller letters and pictures. The smaller set is listed last on this page. Donna Young, 5-5-11
The Sets
Set One
Set Two
Teaching Suggestion
To conduct the lesson, first draw the letter that you are going
to teach on a white board or on paper. Demonstrate which direction
to make the strokes. If your child enjoys writing on the white
board, allow him to practice the letter a few times. After this
introduction and if there is still time, hand your child a practice
sheet. Your child can use markers, crayons, or a pencil to trace the
letters. If you have a theme color, use a crayon or marker in that
color or you could let your child choose which color to use.
Observe your child tracing the characters! This is THE time to teach character formation. If you hand the printable to your child and then walk away, you are giving opportunity to error. Stand by and watch your child draw the first and second character (at least).
You can opt to teach both capital and lower case on the same day or you can teach them on different days. Either way, try to keep the session between 7-15 minutes. Practice 4-5 days a week.
The lessons can be given as needed or use one of the schedules listed in the right side bar.
The Handwriting Lessons - Set One
The lessons are PDF
The Handwriting Lessons - Set Two
The rule height in this set is around 7/8 of an inch tall.
Blank Paper | Blank Paper with the alphabet
Introduce Letters By Shape
There are a few shapes that letters have in common as well as stroke direction. If you want to introduce the letters in an order based on shape and stroke see the chart below.
c, o, a, d, g, q, f, e, s, C, O, Q, G, S
r, n, m, h, b, p, P, B, R, D
*t, u, U,
*t can be taught with a hook or without a hook.
l, *t, i, j, y, v, w, x, k, z, E, F, I, H, L, T, N, M, A, K, X, Y, Z, J, V,
Possible Schedules
Schedule- One Letter Each Week
Monday - Thursday
General Instructions for each day:
Print 2 sheets of the same file. Cut each one in half dividing the upper case from the lower case. Teach, then assign one of the half-sheets.
Friday
Review last weeks letter with a printable, Blank Paper, or the white board/chalk board. Or teach one of the numbers.
Schedule- Two Letters Each Week
Monday - Thursday
General Instructions for each day:
Print 1 sheet each of the 2 different letters that you are teaching this week. Cut each one in half dividing the upper case from the lower case. Teach, then assign one of the half-sheets.
Friday
Review last weeks letter with a printable, Blank Paper, or the white board/chalk board. Or teach one of the numbers.
Schedule- Two to Four Letters a Week
Monday - Thursday
General Instructions for each day:
Print a sheet for each day. Teach, then assign one of the sheets.
Friday
Review last weeks letter with a printable, Blank Paper, or the white board/chalk board. Or teach one of the numbers.
Updated July 14, 2011, Donna Young
Italic Handwriting Book A
