The first step in learning cursive writing is to master each individual letter. Before practicing writing entire words, we suggest the next step is to learn and master the four main letter joins. Those four letter joins are:
bottom joins
bottom to c-shaped joins
e-joins – both top and bottom joins
top letter joins
You’ll find that we have a page on cursive letter joins in our free worksheets section.
Let us demonstrate each of these four letter joins with examples:
Bottom letter joins
The bottom letter joins are the easiest to learn, so start practicing these. The reason these are the easiest is that the pen stroke extends from the first letter into the second letter in one direction. There is no need for a direction change.
The letter joins covered in bottom joins are: ai, are, au, aw, ay, xh, ck, er, ew, ff, ir, kn, ll, qu, sh, th and ur.
Bottom to c-shaped joins
The next section of letter joins are joining letters where the second letter starts with a c-shape, such as s, a and d. These are harder to master as now students need to draw a curve as they start the second letter.
The letter joins covered in this section are: as, ea, ed, igh, ing, ng, squ and ss.
e-joins: bottom and top joins
The e-joins seem to cause more confusion for students. The joined curve into the second letter e often causes some trouble, so take your time and be patient with these joins. First, practice letter e joins from the bottom.
The letter joins covered in this section are: ae, be, de, ee, fe, ge, ie, pe, se and ue.
Next, tackle the harder top letter e-joins. These are harder to master, so lots of practice is needed.
The letter joins covered in this section are: oe, re, ve, we, ere and ure.
Top letter joins
We leave the hardest joins for last – the top letter cursive joins. We believe the reason these are hard is because it often seems counter-intuitive for students to join letters at the top. For example, students who learn to join the letters o and a, will often draw the joining stroke at the bottom before they learn to join them at the top.
The letters covered in this section are: oa, oh, oi, on, oo, op, or, ou, ov and ow.
We hope you find these practice worksheets of use as your child continues to learn cursive writing.
