Cursive handwritingGrades 2–4
Cursive K
A one-letter cursive page for K and k, with a big model, tracing lines for both cases, and three practice words. It suits children in grades 2 to 4 who are learning tall letters.
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On this page
Small k is a tall loop with a small loop at the middle, so it is easy to confuse with h. The capital K has a looped stem too, and many children find it the hardest capital in the second half of the alphabet.
Layout of the sheet
Think of the sheet as four small jobs stacked up. First a large model of Kk. Second, two rows of the capital. Third, two rows of the small letter and a row of kkk run together. Fourth, a row for each of kite, kid, king. On the lines with a dark first copy, you trace the grey ones after it; one grey-only row in each pair is for a second go.
These cursive shapes are drawn in the open-licence Cedarville Cursive font. Treat it as one teacher's clear hand rather than an official model; your child's class may use a variant. Capital K on the model has a tall stem on the left and a small loop at the middle where the arms meet.
What you can change
Only two choices appear for this sheet. Letter picks which pair is printed and starts on K k. Line size picks between Large (beginners), Medium, or Small (confident writers); Medium is the default.
How to form small k
Start on the baseline, go up to the top line and loop left. Bring the stem straight down, then retrace halfway up to the midline. Make a small loop, slide down and out with a short kick to the right at the baseline.
How to form capital K
Begin near the top, bring the stem down to the baseline and lift. Start the arm from the top right, move in to touch the stem at the middle, and kick out to the right along the baseline. Treat this as one common way to do it. D'Nealian and other programs, as well as the sheet's model, sometimes draw capitals with different strokes.
Letter group and joins
Small k is in the undercurve group with b, h and l. Its tall loop is the same as theirs, and the small loop at the middle is its own.
The kick at the end of k is a short stroke on the baseline that leads into the next letter, as in 'kite' and 'king'. Keep it short; a long kick throws the next letter too far right.
Watch for these
Without the small loop, k looks like h or a flat-topped letter. The loop can also grow too large and eat into the space for the next letter. Another slip is a kick that points downward, below the baseline.
Worked example: writing kid
Ruby, age eight, traces 'kid'. Her k keeps coming out as an h. Her teacher draws a dot at the midline where the small loop belongs. After that, Ruby pauses at the dot and makes the loop. The kick leads into the i, and the d follows. She does a short row of kkk before writing kid on the last line. By the end she can say aloud: 'loop up, down, half up, loop, kick'.
Next steps
If you want the full set at a glance, open the cursive alphabet chart and keep it beside the desk. The following letter is cursive l. Before this letter, you may want cursive J.