New
New
Year 1

Formation of u, y and j

I can form the letters u, y and j.

New
New
Year 1

Formation of u, y and j

I can form the letters u, y and j.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The letter u is an x-height letter.
  2. The letter u is formed by going down, around, back up, down and finish with a flick.
  3. The letter y is like a u but goes under the baseline to the descender line and curls up.
  4. The letter j is formed by going down, curls up and finishes with a dot at the top.
  5. The letter j and y have descenders.

Common misconception

Confusion on the direction for the 'curl up' on the y and j.

Be consistent with wording and modelling. Left direction is 'curl up' whereas 'flick' is when the direction is to the right.

Keywords

  • Tripod grip - a special way of holding the pencil with three fingers (thumb, index, and middle fingers) that helps us write smoothly and with control

  • X-height letter - letters that reach the middle height on the line

  • Ascenders - the part of a letter that extends above the level of the top of an "x"

  • Descenders - the part of a letter that descends below the level of the bottom of an "x"

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

Use consistent actions to support children's understanding and recall of key words. For example reaching up for ascenders and reaching down for descenders.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Pencil and paper

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - physical activity

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Select the correct formation of the letter i on the tramlines.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q2.
Select the correct formation of the letter l on the tramlines.
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q3.
Select the correct formation of the letter t on the tramlines.
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 letters u and j.
Correct answer: u
o
Correct answer: j
l
Q5.
Select the letter y.
u
Correct answer: y
e
g
Q6.
Match the word to the definition.
Correct Answer:Letter families,Letters that are formed in a similar way.

Letters that are formed in a similar way.

Correct Answer:Tramlines,Lines used as a guide to form letters at the correct size.

Lines used as a guide to form letters at the correct size.

Correct Answer:Ascenders,Parts of the letter that go above the x-height line.

Parts of the letter that go above the x-height line.

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