Resources for Teaching Handwriting

If you’re looking for some freebies and resources for teaching handwriting, you’re in the right place! I’ve collected ALL our handwriting resources and put them here so you can find them easily.

You’ll find handwriting resources for print, slant (a.k.a. D’Nealian), and cursive!

*This post contains affiliate links.

A Little About Teaching Handwriting

Teaching handwriting does not begin with pencil and lined paper. Before a child can write neatly within the confounds of those lines, she needs to develop her fine motor muscles.

And I have good news! Developing fine motor muscles can be FUN! Yes, fun!

One of my favorite ways to develop fine motor muscles with playdough. We have several free, open-ended playdough mats, designed for fine motor fun. Our most popular playdough mats by far are our Alphabet Playdough Mats.

Visit our list of fine motor toy ideas, perfect for tots, preschoolers, and even older kiddos!

Once learners have some fine motor skills developed, they’re probably still not ready for that lined paper. I recommend letting them write in big, open spaces, like in the bathtub, on dry erase boards, or even on the window!

You can read about more ideas like this in our post, Teaching Handwriting to Preschoolers.

My youngest tot really enjoyed these SIMPLE handwriting practice pages because they allowed her to write/trace letters in big spaces. {Print and slant resources included!}

Print or Slant Handwriting?

Once learners are ready for that paper, what will you choose? Slant or print?

Now, I know some people feel very strongly about one or the other. But honestly, when the rubber meets the road, there isn’t a right or wrong answer. It really depends on the learner’s needs. I’ve used both styles at various times for different learners and for different reasons.

Uppercase or Lowercase First?

If you’re teaching preschool, I recommend uppercase first. Uppercase letters are easier to differentiate between and for the most part, they are easier to write than lowercase letters.

If, however, you are teaching Kindergarten and above, I recommend doing both, which leads to the next question…

Is there a Handwriting Order?

When teaching handwriting, I recommend grouping similarly formed letters together. For example, just by using the letter c, young writers can learn to form a, d, g, o, and q.

The same is true with capital letters. For example, E, F, H, I, L, and T all start with vertical lines.

You might like our printables for c letters, l letters, and little line letters to help you see specifically how lowercase letters can be grouped.

No matter the exact order you decide to teach them, start with the easier letters first.. Letters that have straight lines {without diagonals} are often the easiest, like t and l.