Cursive handwritingGrades 2–4
Cursive C
A one-letter cursive page for C and c, with a big model, tracing lines for both cases, and three practice words. It suits children in grades 2 to 4 who are moving on from print.
- Type your details or print blank
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
Cursive c is close to the print c, so it is one of the easier first letters. The capital is the part that needs a closer look, as it has a small curl at the top that print does not.
Layout of the sheet
The title reads "Cursive C: Capital C and Small c", and the first thing you see is an oversized Cc. After it, the worksheet moves down the page in a fixed order. Capital C gets two lines, small c gets two lines, and a line of the joined trio ccc follows. The last stretch is the words cat, cup, cake, one line each, plus a blank line at the bottom.
Kimberly Geswein's Cedarville Cursive supplies the letters. It is an informal, natural hand and not a named method, which means your school's version of some letters could differ. Capital C on the model starts with a little curl and then sweeps into a large open curve.
What you can change
- Letter (A a to Z z), preset to C c.
- Line size: Large (beginners), then Medium, then Small (confident writers). Pick Large if your writer's strokes wander off the baseline.
How to form small c
Start near the midline on the right. Curve up and over to the left and swing down to the baseline in a half circle that opens to the right. Finish with a short upward stroke from the baseline. Do not close the curve; small c has an open mouth.
How to form capital C
Begin with a short curve at the top right, move slightly left, then pull a long counterclockwise curve down toward the baseline. Finish with a small upward flick. Make the shape tall so it reaches from the top line to the baseline. A caution: schools differ. The strokes given are Zaner-Bloser style, while D'Nealian or the printed model could draw this capital another way.
Letter group and joins
Small c belongs to the curve-forward group, which is also home to a, d, g, o and q. They all begin with the same counterclockwise curve, and c is the simplest version of it.
The upstroke at the end of c carries into the next letter, as in the 'at' of 'cat'. Be careful with 'ce' and 'ci': leave the c open and keep the flick short so the second letter does not crash into it.
Watch for these
Closing the curve until c looks like an o is the usual mistake. Another is a c that sits above the dashed midline, which turns it into a capital shape. Some children also forget the final flick, so the next letter starts from a standstill and the join looks broken.
Worked example: writing cup
Sam, age nine, practices the word cup. He notices that the c in the word is as tall as the u, so he stops at the dashed line each time. On the first row he closes the c a little, and it reads like 'oup'. His teacher asks him to say 'open, open' and he makes the next c with a wide mouth. The flick runs into the u, which goes down to the baseline and back up. He then writes a whole line of cup without lifting his pencil between letters.
Next steps
Once these lines look even, the lowercase cursive letters page gives you every small letter in one set, and cursive d comes next in order. Before this letter, you may want cursive B.