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Year 2

Pre-cursive formation of u, y and j

I can form the pre-cursive letters u, y and j.

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New
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Year 2

Pre-cursive formation of u, y and j

I can form the pre-cursive letters u, y and j.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The letters u, y and j all have a lead in and a lead out
  2. The letters u, y and j all start on the baseline
  3. The letters y and j have a loop at the bottom of the descender as the lead out line
  4. The letters u and y are similarly formed but the y has a descender

Keywords

  • Pre-cursive - the stage of writing where children begin to learn and practice 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

  • Loop - a rounded shape made in certain letters

  • Descender - the part of a letter that descends below the x-height line

Common misconception

Children can struggle with the shape and size of the loop at the end of the descender.

More tracing practice will support children to get a feel for the size and shape of the loop.


To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Pre-cursive formation of u, y and j, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pattern practice is important before attempting loops so ensure to spend time practicing the looped pattern within the warm up.
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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).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Select the correct statement.
Descender refers to the part of a letter that is above the x-height line.
Descender refers to the part of a letter that is below the x-height line.
Correct answer: Descender refers to the part of a letter that is below the baseline.
Q2.
Select the correct statement.
Ascender refers to the part of the letter that is above the baseline.
Correct answer: Ascender refers to the part of the letter that is above the x-height line.
Ascender refers to the part of the letter that is below the baseline.
Q3.
Select the letters with descenders.
Correct answer: g
b
Correct answer: y
Correct answer: q
d
Q4.
Select the letters with ascenders.
g
s
Correct answer: b
Correct answer: d
Correct answer: l
Q5.
True or false: pre-cursive lower case letters always have a lead in and a lead out.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q6.
Match the handwriting formation with the definition.
Correct Answer:print,individual letters standing on their own
tick

individual letters standing on their own

Correct Answer:cursive,style of handwriting where the letters are joined together
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style of handwriting where the letters are joined together

Correct Answer:pre-cursive,formation of letters which include a lead in and a lead out
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formation of letters which include a lead in and a lead out

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