Hello, everyone.

This is Ms. Apsel and I'm really happy to be here with you today as we practise some of our handwriting letters.

I hope you're ready.

I hope you're all set to have fun and do some great handwriting.

Let's begin.

The outcome of today's lesson is, "I can form the x-height letters correctly," and this comes from the unit of work Writing Lowercase Letters in Print.

There are a number of keywords that I want you to look out for, that I want you to listen out for in today's lesson.

Let's go through each of these.

First, it'll be my turn to say them, and then your turn.

X-height letter, small letter, x-height line, baseline, starting point.

These are our superstar keywords for our lesson today.

Make sure you look out for them.

Make sure you listen out for them.

Today's lesson has four parts.

First of all, we'll be forming the lowercase letters, M, N, and R in print.

Then we'll be forming the lowercase letters, A, C, O, E, and S in print.

Next, we'll be forming the lowercase letters U and I in print.

And finally we'll be forming the lowercase letters X, W, V, and Zed in print.

Let's get started with the first part of our lesson.

Can you remember why is it important to warm up your hands before handwriting? It's because your hands and your wrists get stronger when you exercise them.

Just like any muscle in your body.

Making your hands and your wrists stronger will help you to hold your pencil using your tripod grip.

So let's do some warming up of our hands.

First of all, I am going to play the piano.

I am going to stretch out all my fingers and I'm going to press them down on the keys of my imaginary piano, and I'm going to play a lovely, lovely tune.

Oh my goodness, this sounds great.

It's your turn.

Get your hands ready.

Stretch out those fingers, so they can reach all the keys on the keyboard and press down your fingers and play a really lovely tune.

Oh, that sounds great.

I love your tune.

Well done.

Now let's have a go at the clapping position movement.

So I'm going to press one hand against the other so that all of my fingers and my thumbs are touching and the palms of my hands are touching and then pressing them together like this.

That feels great.

And now it's your turn.

Get your hands together as if you were clapping and pressing one hand into the other.

So all your fingers and your thumbs and your palms, the palms of your hands are touching, pressing against one another.

Feels good.

Okay, well done.

Can you see these three letters that have appeared on the screen? What do you notice about these letters? Pause the video and tell someone nearby, "What do you notice about these three letters? Is there something the same about each of these letters?" Did you notice that they are all x-height letters? So they all go up as high as the x-height line and down to the baseline.

So we call these letters x-height letters.

We could also say that x-height letters are small letters.

They sit between the x-height line and the baseline.

And all x-height letters are the same height.

They just go up as high as the x-height line.

Check for understanding.

Select the two true statements.

X-height letters are tall letters, x-height letters are small letters, x-height letters sit between the x-height line and the baseline, x-height letters sit between the x-height line and the descender line.

Pause the video here.

Well done if you selected B and C, x-height letters are small letters and x-height line sit between the x-height line and the baseline.

Let's take another look at these three letters on our screen.

Do you notice anything else about these letters? Pause the video here and tell somebody nearby anything else you notice about them.

Did you notice that they are all formed by going down and then back up? Did you notice that they all have the same starting point at the x-height line? We are going to practise forming these letters now.

Are you ready? Okay, let's have fun forming these letters.

So first of all, I'm going to practise forming the letter M in the air using my finger.

I'm gonna start on the x-height line.

I'm going to go down to the baseline.

I'm going to go back up and over, down to the baseline, and back up and over and down again to the baseline, and finish with a flick.

Let me show you again.

Start on the x-height line, down to the baseline, up and over, down to the baseline, up and over, down to the baseline, and flick.

Now it's your turn.

Are you ready? Get your finger in position.

Let's go.

Down to the baseline.

Up and around, down to the baseline, up and around, down to the baseline, and flick.

Should we do another one? Just to be really sure that we've got this one practised.

Let's start at the x-height line down to the baseline, up and around, down to the baseline, up and around, down to the baseline, and flick.

Next, I'm going to have a go at forming the letter N in the air.

It's the same starting place as the letter M on the x-height line.

I'm going to go down to the baseline, back up and around, down to the baseline, and flick.

So it's almost like forming half of the letter M.

It's just the beginning half of the letter M.

Ready? Start at the x-height line down to the baseline, up to the x-height line, around, down to the baseline and flick.

Now it's your turn.

You get ready with your finger.

Let's go.

From the x-height down to the baseline, up and around, down to the baseline and flick.

One last one.

From the x-height line down to the baseline, up and around, down to the baseline and flick.

Fantastic.

Now I'm going to have a go at forming the lowercase letter R.

It's got the same starting position as the M and the N at the x-height line.

It does the same thing and then it goes down to the baseline and then it does the same thing.

It goes back up and over.

Let me try that again.

Start at the x-height, down to the baseline.

Back up and over.

Now it's your turn.

Are you ready? Get your finger at the x-height line, down to the baseline.

Back up and around.

Start at the x-height line, down to the baseline.

Back up and around.

Well done, everybody.

Great job.

Lovely M's, N's, and R's.

Now it's time for your task.

I'd like you to practise forming the lowercase letters M, N, and R.

First of all, go over the grey examples, starting in this starting position at the x-height line for the M, going down, back up, over, and down to the baseline, back up to the x-height, over, down and a little flick.

And then try the N.

Starting at the x-height line, down to the baseline, back up and over, down to the baseline and flick.

And then the R, start at the x-height line all the way down to the baseline, back up and over.

Next, try using the starting dots to write the letters M, N, and R.

And finally, complete one line of each letter independently on your tramlines.

Have fun writing your M's, N's, and R's.

Pause the video here.

How did you get on with forming the lowercase letters M, N, and R? Did you go down and back up for each letter? Did you stay between the x-height line and the baseline for each letter? Did you have fun? Circle your best N, your best M, your best R, and celebrate.

Well done, everyone.

For the next part of our lesson, we'll be forming the lowercase letters A, C, O, E, and S in print.

Take a look at these letters.

A, O, C, E, and S.

What do you notice about them? Take a look at them very carefully and then tell someone next to you, "What do you notice about these letters?" Pause the video here.

Did you notice they are all x-height letters? They all curl around in an anti-clockwise direction, so it's not the way that a clock goes around.

They're going anti-clockwise.

Check for understanding.

Select the two true statements.

Letters A, C, O, E and S have ascenders.

Letters A, C, O, E and S curl around in an anti-clockwise direction.

Letters A, C, O, E, and S have straight lines.

Letters A, C, O, E, and S are x-height letters.

Pause the video here.

Well done if you selected B and D.

The letters A, C, O, E, and S curl around in an anti-clockwise direction and the letters A, C, O, E, and S are x-height letters.

It's time to practise forming our letters in the air.

I'm going to have a go at forming letters first of all and then it will be your turn.

First of all, I'm going to form the letter A.

I'm going to start just around the x-height line.

I'm going to go around in an anti-clockwise direction and then come all the way back up to the x-height line, down to the baseline and flick.

Let me show you that again.

I'll start just below the x-height line and I'm going to go around in an anti-clockwise direction, make a circular movement, then come all the way back up to the x-height line, down to the baseline and flick.

It's your turn.

Get your finger ready to make the letter A.

Let's go.

From the x-height line, we're gonna go round anti-clockwise, make a circular movement all the way up to the x-height line, down to the baseline and flick.

Should we do one more? Ready? Anti-clockwise, down to the baseline, all the way up to the x-height again, down to the baseline, finish with a lovely flick.

Well done.

Next, we're going to form the letter E.

For the letter E, I'm going to start in between the x-height line and the baseline in the middle.

I'm gonna do a straight line across and then I'm gonna go up to the x-height line and I'm going to go in an anti-clockwise direction and I'm gonna curl around down to the baseline.

Let's try that again.

I start in between the x-height line and the baseline.

I do a line across and then I'm going to go up to the x-height line and go around in an anti-clockwise direction down to the baseline.

Fantastic.

It's your turn.

Are you ready? Get your finger in position, across and then up to the x-height line, curling around in an anti-clockwise direction down to the baseline.

Let's do one more letter E.

In the middle of the x-height in the baseline, let's make a line across.

Then we go around in an anti-clockwise direction down to the baseline.

Look at those lovely A's and E's.

Fantastic.

Next, we're going to form the letter C.

We're going to start just below the x-height line and we are going to curl back in an anti-clockwise direction and we're going to go down to the baseline and then finish just above the baseline.

Let me try that again.

So I'm starting just below the x-height line and I'm going back in an anti-clockwise direction, curling around down to the baseline and we've finished just above the baseline.

It's your turn.

Are you ready? Get your finger in position just below the x-height line and let's go backwards, anti-clockwise direction, curling around and we finish just above the baseline.

Let's do one more.

Just below the x-height, we start and then we go back and we go anti-clockwise, making a circular movement.

We finish just above the baseline.

Well done.

Beautiful letter C's.

Next, we're going to form the letter O.

This is a fun one.

We're making a circular movement.

We're going to start at the x-height line and we're going to go around in an anti-clockwise direction down to the baseline and then we're gonna close the circle back up where we started at the x-height line.

Let me show you again.

I put my finger at the x-height line and I'm going back in an anti-clockwise direction, making a circle, down to the baseline, and then I'm gonna close the circle at the x-height line.

It's your turn.

Let's get started at the x-height line, go anti-clockwise, make a circular movement down to the baseline and then we close the circle at the x-height line.

One more at the x-height, anti-clockwise down to the baseline.

Close the circle.

Lovely, well done.

Look at all those beautiful letter O's.

Now we're going to make the letter S.

I'm going to start just below the x-height line and I'm going to go back and I'm gonna go anti-clockwise and then I'm gonna curl into the space that's in between the x-height line and the baseline.

And then I'm gonna curl around again down to the baseline.

So, this is a super curly letter.

We've got one curl in one direction and then another curl the other way.

Let me show you again.

I'm starting just below the x-height line and I'm gonna go anti-clockwise and I'm gonna curl around so that I'm in the middle of the x-height line and the baseline, and then I'm gonna curl around again down to the baseline.

It's your turn to do this super curly letter S.

Let's go.

Just below the x-height, going anti-clockwise.

Then we're gonna curl around into the middle of the x-height and the baseline.

Then we're gonna curl around down to the baseline.

Let's do one more letter S.

First, anti-clockwise, curl into the middle of the x-height line and the baseline and then curling back around to the baseline.

Well done all those lovely letter S's look great.

For your task, I would like you to practise forming the lowercase letters A, C, E, O, and S.

First of all, go over the grey examples of each letter.

Next, try using the starting dot to help you form each letter and finally complete one line for each letter independently on your tramlines.

Enjoy forming these fantastic curly curvy letters.

Pause the video here.

How did you get on forming the lowercase letters A, C, E, O, and S? Did you go around, curl around in an anti-clockwise direction? Did you keep your pencil on the paper the whole time you were forming each letter? Did you have a lot of fun? For the next part of our lesson, we'll be forming the lowercase letters U and I in print.

And here they are.

Here's the U and here's the I.

What do you notice about these letters? Turn to someone next to you and tell them everything you notice.

Pause the video here.

Did you notice they are both x-height letters? They both sit between the baseline and the x-height line.

They have the same starting point.

They both go down and to the right.

Check for understanding.

Select the writing pattern which would help you to practise forming the letters U and I.

Is it the pattern A, B, or C? Pause the video here.

Well done.

It was the pattern C, which will help us, because we are going down and to the right in this pattern.

It's time to form the letter U and letter I in the air.

I'm going to go first with the letter U.

I'm going to start at the x-height line.

I'm gonna go down to the baseline and then curl back up to the x-height line, down to the baseline and flick.

Let me show you again.

X-height line, down to the baseline.

Curling around, back up to the x-height line, down and flick.

It's your turn.

Are you ready? Start at the x-height line, down to the baseline.

Curl around.

Go back up to the x-height line, down and flick.

Let's do one more.

X-height down to the baseline, curl, and then up to the x-height, down and flick.

Those U's look wonderful.

Well done.

Let's try the letter I.

I'm going to go first, start at the x-height line.

I'm going to go down to the baseline.

Finish with a little flick.

I'm gonna take my pencil off the page and then just on top of where I started, I'm going to place a little dot.

That's fun.

Let me show you again.

Start at the x-height, down to the baseline, flick.

Take off my pencil.

Go to the top of the I and dot.

It's your turn.

Get ready to form the letter I.

Start at the x-height down to the baseline, flick.

Take off your pencil from the page and place a dot above the I.

Let's do another one.

X-height down to baseline, flick.

Take our pencil off and dot the I.

Wonderful.

For your task, I would like you to practise forming the lowercase letter U and I.

First of all, go over the grey examples, starting at the x-height line for the U down to the baseline, back up to the x-height, down to the baseline and flick.

For the I, you'll start at the x-height line down to the baseline and flick.

Take off your pencil and then put a little dot on top of that I.

Next, try using the starting dots to form your U's and I's.

And finally, complete one line for each letter independently on your tramlines.

Enjoy forming every single letter U and I.

Pause the video here.

How did you get on with practising forming the letters U and I? Did you go down and to the right? Are all your letters the same height? Circle your best U, circle your best I, and celebrate.

Well done, everybody.

Next, we will be forming the lowercase letters X, W, V, and Zed in print.

Here they are, here they all are.

X, W, V, Zed.

What do you notice about these letters? Take a close look, pause the video here, and tell someone next to you, "What do you notice?" Did you notice they are all x-height letters? They all sit between the baseline and the x-height line, and they all have the same starting point at the x-height line.

And they all have diagonal straight lines.

Check for understanding.

Select the pattern which has diagonal straight lines.

Is it pattern A, V, or C? Pause the video here.

Well done.

It was pattern A that has diagonal straight lines and this pattern is a really helpful one for forming the letters X, W, V, and Zed.

It's time to form our letters.

I'm going to begin by forming the letter V in the air.

I'm going to start at the x-height line, go down to the baseline diagonally and then diagonally up to the x-height line.

It's so simple this one.

I love this one.

Ready? X-height line, diagonal down to the baseline.

Diagonal up to the x-height line.

It's your turn.

Ready? Let's go.

X-height line.

Diagonal down to the baseline.

Diagonal up to the x-height line.

Again, x-height, diagonal to baseline.

Diagonal to x-height.

Lovely.

Let's move on to the letter W.

This is a great one to follow on from the letter V, because it's basically like doing two letter V's.

Let me show you.

Start at the x-height diagonally down to the baseline, diagonally up to the x-height.

And then I just do the same thing again.

Let me show you one more time.

X-height line diagonal down, diagonal up, diagonal down, diagonal up.

It's your turn.

Are you ready? Let's go.

Make the W starting at the x-height.

Diagonal down to baseline.

Diagonal up to x-height and repeat again.

One more time.

X-height, diagonal down, diagonal up, diagonal down, diagonal up.

What fun.

Our next letter is the letter X.

The X starts on the x-height line and we go diagonally down to the baseline.

We pick up our pencil and we put it back on the x-height line just to the right of where we started and we make a diagonal down to the baseline and we make sure those two lines cross in the middle.

Let me show you that again.

X-height line down to the baseline diagonally.

Lift up the pencil, put it on the x-height line to the right of where we started and then we go diagonally down to the baseline and we make sure those lines have crossed in the middle.

It's your turn.

For the X, starting at the x-height, let's go diagonally down.

Pick up your pencil, place it on the x-height line to the right of where you started and a diagonal across to the baseline.

One more time.

Start the X at the x-height, down to the baseline diagonally.

Pick it up, go to the x-height line and another diagonal line across.

Make sure they meet in the middle.

Wonderful.

Our final letter is the letter Zed.

This one is so much fun, because there's lots of zigzags involved.

We're going to start at the x-height line, go across the x-height line, diagonal line down to the baseline and then back across on the x-height line.

So we've got a lovely zigzag shape.

Let me show you one more time.

The x-height, line across, diagonal down to the baseline and then another line across.

It's your turn.

Are you ready? Start at the x-height line.

Go across, diagonal down to the baseline and across.

Let's do one more lovely zigzagging Zed.

Across, diagonal, across.

Oh, that felt so good.

For your task, I would like you to practise forming the lowercase letter X, W, V, and Z.

Go over the grey examples first of all.

Next, try using the starting dots for your V, W, Zed, and X.

And finally, complete one line for each letter independently on your tramlines.

Enjoy all of these letters.

Pause the video here.

How did you get on practising the letters X, W, V, and Zed? Did you start on the x-height line? Did you draw straight diagonal lines? Circle your best of each letter and celebrate.

Well done, everyone.

In this lesson, practise of x-height letters, we have covered the following.

X-height letters can be called small letters.

X-height letters sit between the baseline and the x-height line.

Small letters are the same height.

The formation of the letters depends on the starting point and the starting direction.

The small letters are A, C, O, E, I, M, N, R, S, U, V, W, X, and Zed.