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Year 2

Pre-cursive formation of i, l and t

I can form the pre-cursive letters i, l and t.

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Year 2

Pre-cursive formation of i, l and t

I can form the pre-cursive letters i, l and t.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Pre-cursive letters all start on the baseline with a lead in
  2. The letters i, l and t all have a lead in and a lead out
  3. We remember where to start by saying 'Ready, line, go'
  4. The letters i, l and t are all formed by going up and then down

Keywords

  • Pre-cursive - the stage of writing where children begin to learn and practise the joining of individual letters, preparing them for cursive writing

  • Lead in - the stroke or line that guides us into starting a letter

  • Lead out - the stroke or line that guides us to smoothly finish a letter

  • Baseline - this is the line that most letters sit on

  • Ascender - the part of a letter that extends above the x-height line

Common misconception

Children may form the print version of the letter and then add the 'lead in' seperately.

Model and emphasise saying 'Ready, line, go' to remind them that the letter starts with the lead in on the baseline for pre-cursive letters.


To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Pre-cursive formation of i, l and t, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Having the words 'Ready, line, go' around the classroom or on their paper visually will help to remind them to start on the line.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following are helpful ways to sit for handwriting?
Correct answer: with your feet flat on the floor
with your legs crossed
Correct answer: with your stomach against the table
Correct answer: with your back against the chair
Q2.
True or false? Holding a pencil in the tripod grip helps us with our handwriting.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q3.
What's a good way to warm up your hands before practising your handwriting?
jumping up and down
Correct answer: hand exercises
Correct answer: wrist exercises
Correct answer: practising writing patterns
skipping
Q4.
True or false? There are 28 letters in the alphabet.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q5.
True or false? A capital letter is the upper case formation of a letter.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q6.
Which of the following are correct uses of capital letters?
for the pronoun 'they' in the middle of a sentence
Correct answer: at the start of a sentence
for all nouns
Correct answer: for proper nouns
Correct answer: for the pronoun 'I'

Additional material

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