Cursive handwritingGrades 2–4
Cursive M
A one-letter cursive page for M and m, with a big model, tracing lines for both cases, and three practice words. It suits children in grades 2 to 4 who are learning humps.
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On this page
Small m has three humps and is one of the longest lowercase letters in cursive. The capital M has pointed peaks in print but is curved in cursive.
What prints
One letter, one page. The big Mm model leads, and a caption beside it gives the print version plus the words moon, mud, map. Underneath are seven kinds of row in order: capitals twice, small letters twice, the mmm chain, then each practice word, and a spare empty line to finish. Dark first copies show where to begin; the grey copies are for tracing.
Cedarville Cursive, an open-licence font by Kimberly Geswein, draws every letter here. It reads as natural teacher handwriting, so expect small differences from a school's official chart. Capital M on the model starts with a curve and has two rounded peaks.
The settings
- Letter. A drop-down of all 26 pairs. This page opens on M m.
- Line size. Large for beginners, Medium, or Small for confident writers; it starts at Medium.
How to form small m
Start at the baseline with a short upstroke to the midline. Curve over into the first hump and come down to the baseline. Retrace up to make a second hump, then a third, and finish with a flick. The humps should be the same width.
How to form capital M
Begin with a curl near the top, go down to the baseline, retrace up to the top and make a second peak. Bring the stroke down and finish with a small curve to the right. Not every program agrees on capitals. Zaner-Bloser style is described here; D'Nealian and the sample on the page may take another path.
Letter group and joins
Small m belongs to the overcurve group with n, v, x, y and z. They all begin with an upstroke followed by a curve over the top.
The flick at the end of m connects to the next letter on the baseline. In 'map', the flick leads to the a. In 'moon', the o needs a bridge from the top, so lift your pencil slightly there.
Practice tips
Two humps (an n) or four humps are the typical errors. Another is humps with unequal widths, so the third is tiny. Children also let the humps collapse into points, so m looks like a print w turned over.
Worked example: writing map
Kofi, age nine, traces 'map'. He draws an n with only two humps for the first try. His teacher asks him to say 'one, two, three' on each downstroke. On the second row, the third hump appears. The flick leads to the a, and the p follows with its descender. He writes map on the final line, counting the humps as he goes.
Next steps
When m feels steady, go on to cursive n or compare it with the whole cursive alphabet chart. Before this letter, you may want cursive L.