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The fourth join: ob, of, ot, oh with lead in

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can correctly form the fourth join with a lead in and lead out.

Key learning points

  1. The letters all have a lead in and a lead out.
  2. The pencil does not lift when forming the join.
  3. The fourth join goes from the x-height line up towards the ascender line.
  4. When joining the letter string o to b, the direction of formation changes.
  5. When forming the letter f, it has two loops: at the top of the lead in and at the bottom ready for the lead out.

Keywords

  • Cursive - style of handwriting where the letters are joined together in a flowing and connected manner

  • 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

  • X-height line - this is the line that x-height letters reach

  • Ascender line - this is the top line of the tramlines

Common misconception

Children will often want to take their pencil off to form the join.

Emphasise the flowing motion of cursive writing. The letters need to be joined together so the pencil needs to stay on the page.

Teacher tip

Give the children a visual of the letters being joined together by holding hands. If you lift your pencil then you are breaking the connection and they can't hold hands.

Content guidance

Risk assessment required - physical activity

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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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Prior knowledge starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
How many letters are in the alphabet?

25
Correct answer: 26
28

Q2.
Select the lower case letters from the list below.

Correct answer: a
F
A
Correct answer: c
Correct answer: e

Q3.
Select the letters which have descenders.

Correct answer: g
Correct answer: q
h
Correct answer: p
t

Q4.
Select the correct formation of the second join if.

An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz

Q5.
Select the correct formation of the second join il.

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 second join it.

An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz

To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: The fourth join: ob, of, ot, oh with lead in, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...