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Year 2

Formation of c, a, d, o, g and q

I can form the letters c, a, d, o, g and q.

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New
New
Year 2

Formation of c, a, d, o, g and q

I can form the letters c, a, d, o, g and q.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The letters c, a, d, o, g and q all start just below the x-height line and go round in an anti-clockwise direction.
  2. The letters c, a and o are x-height letters.
  3. The letters g and q have descenders and d has an ascender.
  4. The letter g finishes with a curl up at the descender line.
  5. The letter q finishes with a diagonal line out to the side at the descender line.

Keywords

  • X-height letter - a letter which sits between the baseline and the x-height line

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

  • Anti-clockwise direction - moving or going in the opposite direction of a clock's hands

  • Descender - the part of a letter that descends below the baseline

  • Diagonal line - a line that slants or leans

Common misconception

Children can get confused about the direction to take when forming the letters c, a, d, o, g and q.

Be very explicit about going anti-clockwise, use a clock to emphasise this to the children.


To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Formation of c, a, d, o, g and q, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

To support students with the anti-clockwise direction you can add an arrow on their whiteboard/paper.
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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 formation of the lower case letter c in print.
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q2.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letter a in print.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q3.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letter d in print.
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q4.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letter o in print.
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q5.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letter g in print.
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q6.
Select the correct formation of the lower case letter q in print.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz

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