Grade 2 | CURSIVE
WEEK 4 • TEACHER GUIDE • DAYS 1–5
Use this guide with the Week 4 Copybook. Each lesson takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Model each letter or stroke first, say the cue while the child writes, and keep the practice short and careful. Day 5 is an independent check.
Week 4 Copybook | Week 4 Teacher Guide | Week 3 Copybook | Week 5 Copybook | Grade 2 index
This week
Week: Cursive Week 4 of 10 (C4): Loop Letters e, l, h, k, b, f. Suggested alongside Academic Week 20.
Standards (Alabama Course of Study, English Language Arts 2021):
- 2.LF.37.c: Form uppercase and lowercase letters in cursive.
Materials: A sharpened pencil, the printed Week 4 sheets (print at 100%, actual size, on letter paper), and a table and chair that let the child sit with feet flat.
Models: Cursive letter models are drawn from Playwrite US Trad, a school handwriting font by TypeTogether released under the SIL Open Font License. Start dots and arrows were placed by hand on each letter and checked against the letter’s path. Print models in Week 1 are simple ball-and-stick letters drawn for this copybook.
Day 1: The Letters e and l
Goal: The child forms e and l correctly and joins them in the words let, tell, well.
Cue for e: “Undercurve, loop back, curve up.”
Watch for: A closed loop with no opening, or a loop so big the e looks like an l.
Cue for l: “Undercurve tall, loop, slant down, curve up.”
Watch for: A loop that stops at the midline (looks like e); a slant that is not straight.
Left-handed note: Left-handed writer: slant the paper the other way (top turned to the right), hold the pencil a little higher, and keep the wrist below the writing line so the hand does not cover or smudge the letters. Pull strokes toward the elbow.
Routine checklist. Check each step as the child finishes it.
- ☐ Warm up: the child writes the letter large in the air with a straight arm while saying the cue.
- ☐ The child traces the model with a finger, starting on the green dot and following the arrows.
- ☐ The child traces the gray letters on the sheet, then writes on the empty rows.
- ☐ The child joins the letters in the practice words.
- ☐ The child circles his or her best letter, and the adult names one thing to fix next time.
Day 2: The Letters h and k
Goal: The child forms h and k correctly and joins them in the words the, kite, with.
Cue for h: “Tall loop, slant down; trace up, hump, slant down, curve up.”
Watch for: Lifting the pencil after the loop; a hump that starts at the baseline.
Cue for k: “Tall loop, slant down; trace up, small loop in, kick out, curve up.”
Watch for: Lifting after the loop; a small loop that does not touch the slant.
Left-handed note: Left-handed writer: slant the paper the other way (top turned to the right), hold the pencil a little higher, and keep the wrist below the writing line so the hand does not cover or smudge the letters. Pull strokes toward the elbow.
Teaching note: h and k are written without lifting: after the loop and slant, the pencil traces back up the slant before the hump or the small loop.
Routine checklist. Check each step as the child finishes it.
- ☐ Warm up: the child writes the letter large in the air with a straight arm while saying the cue.
- ☐ The child traces the model with a finger, starting on the green dot and following the arrows.
- ☐ The child traces the gray letters on the sheet, then writes on the empty rows.
- ☐ The child joins the letters in the practice words.
- ☐ The child circles his or her best letter, and the adult names one thing to fix next time.
Day 3: The Letter b and the Bridge
Goal: The child forms b correctly and joins it in the words be, bet, bike.
Cue for b: “Tall loop, slant down, curve around, bridge.”
Watch for: Closing the b at the baseline and leaving out the bridge.
Left-handed note: Left-handed writer: slant the paper the other way (top turned to the right), hold the pencil a little higher, and keep the wrist below the writing line so the hand does not cover or smudge the letters. Pull strokes toward the elbow.
Teaching note: The b also ends with a bridge along the midline. In “be”, “bet” and “bike” the next letter starts from that bridge, not from the baseline.
Routine checklist. Check each step as the child finishes it.
- ☐ Warm up: the child writes the letter large in the air with a straight arm while saying the cue.
- ☐ The child traces the model with a finger, starting on the green dot and following the arrows.
- ☐ The child traces the gray letters on the sheet, then writes on the empty rows.
- ☐ The child joins the letters in the practice words.
- ☐ The child circles his or her best letter, and the adult names one thing to fix next time.
Day 4: The Letter f
Goal: The child forms f correctly and joins it in the words if, fit, life.
Cue for f: “Tall loop, slant down below, loop up right, tie.”
Watch for: A tail loop on the left side; leaving out the tie.
Left-handed note: Left-handed writer: slant the paper the other way (top turned to the right), hold the pencil a little higher, and keep the wrist below the writing line so the hand does not cover or smudge the letters. Pull strokes toward the elbow.
Routine checklist. Check each step as the child finishes it.
- ☐ Warm up: the child writes the letter large in the air with a straight arm while saying the cue.
- ☐ The child traces the model with a finger, starting on the green dot and following the arrows.
- ☐ The child traces the gray letters on the sheet, then writes on the empty rows.
- ☐ The child joins the letters in the practice words.
- ☐ The child circles his or her best letter, and the adult names one thing to fix next time.
Day 5: Handwriting Check
Check: The child writes the letters e, l, h, k, b, f and the words bike, life, the kite in cursive without models. The child may look at the printed letters and words; do not show the cursive models.
Rubric: Score each area 1 (not yet), 2 (sometimes) or 3 (consistent).
| Area | What to look for | Score (1, 2 or 3) |
|---|---|---|
| Letter formation | Starts on the dot’s spot and follows the strokes in order. | |
| Size | Short letters reach the midline; tall letters reach the top line; tails go below the baseline. | |
| Slant | Letters lean the same way, a little to the right. | |
| Spacing | Even space between letters; a clear space between words. | |
| Joins | Each letter flows into the next without a lift, except where a dot or cross needs one. | |
| Legibility | Another reader can read every letter and word. |
Next step: If any area scores 1, repeat this week’s hardest lesson before moving on. Scores of 2 can be practiced alongside next week’s lessons.
Sources
- Alabama State Department of Education, ALEX, English Language Arts 2021, Grade 2, standard 37 and parts a to c: https://alex.alsde.edu/node/8723, https://alex.alsde.edu/node/8724 and https://alex.alsde.edu/stds/COS/8725/printer_friendly
- Alabama State Department of Education, Alabama Reading Initiative, Handwriting Guide K-3 (posture, grip, paper position and the scoring rubric adapted for Day 5): https://www.alabamaachieves.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ARI_20221019_Handwriting-Guide-K-3_V1.0.pdf
- TypeTogether, Playwrite US Trad (SIL Open Font License 1.1), via Google Fonts: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Playwrite+US+Trad
Week 4 Copybook | Week 4 Teacher Guide | Week 3 Copybook | Week 5 Copybook | Grade 2 index