Lowercase Letter Tracing – Letters, 4 Guide Lines, 1 Page

All 26 lowercase letters

Letters that start like c 8

a a a 1 stroke. Start like c: from just under the middle line on the right, around to the left and back up to the start. Then come straight down the right side and end with a small flick on the bottom line.
c c c 1 stroke. Start just under the middle line on the right, curve up and over to the left, around the bottom and stop on the right. a, d, g and q begin the same way.
d d d 1 stroke. Make the round part first, like a. Keep going up to the top line, then come straight back down to the bottom line. The round part comes before the stick.

Show all 26 lowercase letters (23 more)

Letters that start like c, continued

e e e 1 stroke. Start with a short bar across the middle of the letter, left to right. Without lifting, curve up and around to the left like c and stop on the right.
g g g 1 stroke. Make the round part like a. Then go straight down below the bottom line and hook to the left.
o o o 1 stroke. Start on the middle line a little to the right, go around to the left and close the circle where you began.
q q q 1 stroke. Make the round part like a. Then go straight down below the bottom line. This style adds no hook.
s s s 1 stroke. Start like a small c, just under the middle line on the right. Curve left, swing back across to the right and finish with a curve to the lower left.

Letters that start with a pull down 5

f f f 2 strokes. Start at the top right of the hook, curve over to the left and come straight down. Then cross it on the middle line, left to right.
i i i 2 strokes. Short stick down from the middle line. Lift the pencil and add the dot above it.
j j j 2 strokes. From the middle line go straight down below the bottom line and hook to the left. Lift the pencil and add the dot.
l l l 1 stroke. One tall stick, straight down from the top line to the bottom line. Nothing else.
t t t 2 strokes. Start a little under the top line, so t is shorter than the other tall letters. Come down and curve to the right at the bottom. Then cross it on the middle line.

Down, back up and over 7

b b b 1 stroke. Tall stick down from the top line. Go back up the stick to the middle, then around to the right and close on the stick at the bottom.
h h h 1 stroke. Tall stick down from the top line. Go back up the stick to the middle, arch over to the right and come straight down.
m m m 1 stroke. Short stick down from the middle line. Back up the stick, arch over and down, back up again, then a second arch over and down.
n n n 1 stroke. Short stick down from the middle line. Back up the stick, then arch over to the right and come straight down.
p p p 1 stroke. From the middle line go straight down below the bottom line. Back up the stick, then around to the right and close on the stick at the bottom line.
r r r 1 stroke. Short stick down from the middle line. Back up the stick, then a short arch that stops at the upper right. It is an n that stops early.
u u u 1 stroke. Down from the middle line, around the bottom and up to the middle line again, then straight back down the same line. It is the n family upside down.

Slants 6

k k k 2 strokes. Tall stick down first. Then from the middle line on the right, slant in to the stick and slant out to the bottom right without lifting.
v v v 1 stroke. From the middle line slant down to a point on the bottom line, then slant back up to the middle line.
w w w 1 stroke. Down, up, down, up, all slants. The point in the middle stops just short of the middle line in this style.
x x x 2 strokes. One slant from the middle line on the left down to the bottom right, then one from the right down to the bottom left. They cross halfway.
y y y 2 strokes. A short slant from the middle line on the left down to the bottom line. Then from the right, a long slant that goes below the bottom line and hooks to the left.
z z z 1 stroke. Along the middle line to the right, a slant down to the bottom left, then along the bottom line to the right.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site. The 26 letters were checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_alphabet on 2026-09-18. The four stroke families, the stroke counts and the stroke notes were checked letter by letter on 2026-09-19 against the stroke paths behind the numbered arrows of this tool's Print style, the Andika font (https://software.sil.org/andika/): 19 lowercase letters take 1 stroke and f, i, j, k, t, x and y take 2. The letters that stand tall (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) and the letters that drop below the bottom line (g, j, p, q, y) were also checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descender on 2026-09-19. Each note describes one common way to form the letter, in the order the arrows are numbered. Handwriting programs differ, so follow your school's scheme where it disagrees. Licence: own work

All 17 lines of lowercase letters

The whole alphabet 5

a b c d e f g ABC order in four short lines. This is the first, and each of the first three holds 7 letters.
c o a d g q e s l t i j f n m h r b p u v w x y z k All 26 lowercase letters in teaching order: the c family, the pull-down letters, the down-up-and-over letters, then the slants.
h i j k l m n The second line of ABC order. It holds 3 of the 7 tall letters and 1 of the 5 tails.

Show all 17 lines of lowercase letters (14 more)

The whole alphabet, continued

o p q r s t u The third line of ABC order. p and q sit side by side here: the round part of p is on the right of its stick, and the round part of q is on the left.
v w x y z The last line of ABC order. All 5 are slant letters, and only y drops below the line.

The four stroke families 4

c o a d g q e s The 8 letters built on the curve of c, up and over to the left. a, d, g and q begin exactly like c, and o, e and s use the same curve.
l t i j f The 5 letters that start with a pull straight down. Dots and crossbars go on last.
n m h r b p u The 7 letters that go down, back up the same line and over. u is the same move upside down.
v w x y z k The 6 letters with slants. v, w and z never lift the pencil, and k, x and y lift once.

Sorted by height 3

a c e i m n o r s u v w x z The 14 small letters. They fit between the middle line and the bottom line, and only the dot of i sits higher.
b d f h k l t The 7 tall letters. Six touch the top line, and t stops a little short of it in this style.
g j p q y The 5 letters with a tail below the bottom line. Switch on the fourth line to show where each tail ends.

Small sets to teach together 5

b d p q One round part and one stick, turned four ways. b and p start with the stick, d and q start with the round part.
c a c d c g c q A c before each letter that begins as one. Trace the c, then turn the next c into a, d, g and q.
f i j k t x y The 7 letters that need a lift of the pencil. The other 19 are made in 1 stroke.
n u m w Two pairs that flip. n turned upside down looks like u, and m turned upside down looks much like w.
r n m h One arch that grows: r stops early, n finishes it, m adds a second and h starts from the top line.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site. The stroke families, the letters that need a lift and the three heights (tall, small, tail) were read on 2026-09-19 from the stroke paths of this tool's Print style, the Andika font (https://software.sil.org/andika/). The 7 tall letters (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) and the 5 letters with a tail below the line (g, j, p, q, y) were also checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descender on 2026-09-19, and the 26 letters against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_alphabet on 2026-09-18. The lines show one common way to group the letters, and handwriting programs differ. Licence: own work

Sample words used in the examples

a to e 10

ant
apple l stands tall and p drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
baby b stands tall and y drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
ball
cake
corn
door
duck
ear
egg

Show all 52 words (42 more)

f to j 10

fish
frog f stands tall and g drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
goat t stands tall and g drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
grape g and p drop below the bottom line and no letter stands tall.
hand
horse
igloo l stands tall and g drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
ink
jelly l stands tall and j and y drop below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
jump j and p drop below the bottom line and no letter stands tall.

k to o 10

key k stands tall and y drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
king k stands tall and g drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
lamp l stands tall and p drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
leaf
milk
moon
nest
nose
otter
owl

p to t 10

pear
puppy p and y drop below the bottom line and no letter stands tall.
queen
quilt l and t stand tall and q drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
rain
ring
snail
sock
tiger t stands tall and g drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
tree

u to z 12

umbrella
under
vase
vest
wagon
whale
x-ray
xylophone l and h stand tall and y and p drop below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
yard d stands tall and y drops below the bottom line, so this word uses all three heights.
yarn
zebra
zipper

How this list was compiled: Written for this site: 52 everyday words, two for each letter, all written without a capital. Which letters stand tall (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) and which drop below the bottom line (g, j, p, q, y) were read on 2026-09-19 from this tool's Print style, the Andika font (https://software.sil.org/andika/), and both sets were also checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case on 2026-09-19. A word carries a note only where it uses all three heights or has two tails. Licence: own work

How it works

This lowercase letter tracing sheet opens on all 26 letters on 3 rows of 1 page, in teaching order: the c family first, the slants last. Each letter has a starting dot and numbered arrows, and a dotted fourth line marks where the tails end.

Read the full guide

Teaching order, c first

The sheet starts with c o a d g q e s, the 8 letters built on the curve of c. Then come 5 that pull straight down, 7 that go down, back up and over, and 6 with slants. An empty row follows each row. For one family alone, open Pick from the 17 lines of lowercase letters and press it.

Three heights, four lines

Capitals are one height. Lowercase comes in three: 7 stand tall, 5 drop a tail below the bottom line and 14 stay small. The dotted fourth line shows where a tail should stop. For three lines only, open More options and clear Add a fourth line where the tails of g, j, p, q and y end.

To untangle b and d, lean on c: d begins as a c, and b begins with its stick.
One letter prints a large model, a row of the letter and 2 words: for g, goat and grape.

Questions and answers

Should lowercase letter tracing worksheets go in ABC order?

They can. This page opens in teaching order, so letters that share a first move sit side by side. For ABC order, open the pick list and press its 4 ABC lines. They print as 4 rows on 1 page.

Why is t shorter than the other tall letters?

In this style t starts a little under the top line, while b, d, f, h, k and l start on it. The arrows show one common way. If your school writes t at full height, say so before the child traces.

Are lowercase tracing worksheets needed once a child writes capitals?

Yes. Lowercase is used for most of any text, and capitals are kept for jobs like starting a sentence or a name. Lowercase also asks a child to judge three heights against the lines. The fourth line helps with that.

Lowercase Letter Tracing by Stroke Family, with a Tail Line