Handwriting Without Tears
A Parent and Paraprofessional’s Guide to HWT Language
Lowercase Letter Instruction
Lowercase letters in order of instruction: letter size is in parentheses (tall/bump/lazy)
c = “magic c.” (bump)
o = “magic c – keep on going – stop.” (bump)
s = “little curve – turn down – little curve around.” (bump)
v = “slide down – climb up.” (bump)
w = “down and up . . . down and up.” (bump)
t = “big line down – little line across.” (tall)
a = “magic c – up like a helicopter – slide down and bump.” (bump)
or
“magic c – turn it into an ‘a’.”
d = “magic c – up like a helicopter – up higher – slide down and bump.” (tall)
or
“magic c – turn it into a ‘d’.”
g = “magic c – up like a helicopter – bump – back down – and turn” (lazy)
or
“magic c – turn it into a ‘g’. “
u = “down travel up – slide down and bump.” (bump)
i = “little line down – dot.” (bump)
e = “hit the ball – run the bases (top line, start dot, bottom line) – stop.” (bump)
l = “start above the line - big line down.” (tall)
k = “start above the line – big line down – slide down – kick it out.” (tall)
y = “little line slide down – big line slide down.” (lazy)
j = “down – keep on going – turn – dot.” (lazy)
p = “dive down – swim up and around – bump the line.” (lazy)
r = “dive down – swim up and over.” (bump)
n = “dive down – swim up and over and down.” (bump)
m = “start with ‘n’ – swim up and over and down.” (bump)
h = “start above the line – big line dive down – swim up and over and down.” (tall)
b = “start above the line – big line dive down – swim up and around.” (tall)
or
“make an ‘h’ and turn it into a ‘b’.”
f = “travel up – big line down – little line across” (tall)
or
“make a candy cane and little line across”
q = “magic c – up like a helicopter – back down – and U turn.” (lazy)
x = “little line slide down – slide down.” (bump)
z = “little line across – slide down – across.” (bump)
So, Just to recap….TALL letters are letters that go above the lines. BUMP letters go in between the lines. And LAZY letters go below the lines.
If your child has trouble remembering where to start the letters, try putting a ‘start dot’ where the letter begins, and then use the language (above) to help them work through the correct letter formation. This helps them to visualize where to begin… figuring out where to start is often the hardest!