Free printable tracing worksheets as PDF

Cursive Tracing Sheets

Type what to practise, or pick a ready set, and trace it in joined cursive on handwriting lines.

Cursive tracing sheets are printable pages of joined cursive letters, words or sentences that a learner traces over before writing alone. This free tool makes them in your web browser. There is no sign-up, and nothing you type is uploaded or sent to a server. You can pick a ready set of lowercase or uppercase letters, letter joins, common words or short sentences, or type your own text. The preview updates as you type, so you can check the page before you print it or save it as a PDF. The letters are real cursive, so they join the way handwriting does, and the PDF draws them as vector outlines that print at true size.

How to make cursive tracing sheets

  1. Choose a set under “What to practise”. Lowercase a–z is the default. For words, pick Common words, Letter joins or Short sentences. To use your own text, pick My own text.
  2. If you chose My own text, type your words or sentences into the box, one per line, up to 600 characters.
  3. Pick a Letter size. Large is the default. Sentences start at Small so each one fits a row, and your own text starts at Medium.
  4. Choose a Tracing style: Grey letters (the default), Dotted outline, Outline or Solid black.
  5. Tick “Start with a black model” if you want a black model letter at the start of each row, followed by grey copies to trace.
  6. Set “Copies of each line” from 1 to 4. Tick “Add an empty row to write after each line” to add an empty handwriting row where the learner writes the line alone.
  7. Keep “Show guide lines” ticked for the top line, dashed midline, baseline and descender line, or untick it for plain paper.
  8. Enter a title, and add a Name and Date line if you want one.
  9. Choose US Letter or A4 paper.
  10. Click Print to open the browser’s print dialog with only the worksheet pages, or click Download PDF to save a file that prints at true size.

Click Copy link to get a link that reopens the same settings, including your text.

In what order should children learn cursive letters?

A common teaching order groups the lowercase letters by how their first stroke starts, and practises each group before the joins between groups. The three groups are undercurve letters (i, t, u, w, e, l, b, h, f, k, r, s, j, p), downcurve letters (a, d, g, o, c, q) and overcurve letters (n, m, x, y, v, z).

Letters in the same group start with a similar movement, so practising one helps with the others. Once a learner can form each group, the joins between groups are the next step. The tool’s ready lowercase set runs a to z in alphabetical order, so for a group-by-group lesson, choose My own text and type one group per line, such as the undercurve letters on one line.

Why are some letters hard to join in cursive?

Some letters are hard to join because they finish at the midline instead of the baseline. These are o, w, v and b. To reach the next letter, the pen must rise from the midline, which adds a high bridge stroke. That bridge changes the start of the next letter, so the same letter can look different depending on what comes before it.

Examples include “on”, “wh”, “br” and “oo”. In these pairs, the start of the second letter has to adjust to the bridge. This is why a learner can form each letter neatly on its own and still find words with these joins difficult. Use the Letter joins set (an, on, ing, th, ch, wh, br, oo, ll, ee, er, ou) to practise these pairs. Repeating them in a row helps the bridge stroke feel natural.

Grey letters, dotted outline or outline?

The four tracing styles suit different stages. Grey letters are solid light grey, so the learner simply writes over them and sees at once where the pencil left the letter; this is the best start. Dotted outline and Outline draw only the edge of each letter, which asks the learner to keep the pencil inside a narrow channel and suits older children practising neat joins. Solid black prints the cursive as a model to copy onto the empty rows below. A good routine for a new letter is one row of grey letters, one row of outline, then an empty row to write it alone.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make my own cursive tracing worksheet?

Choose My own text under “What to practise”, then type your words or sentences one per line. Set the letter size, tracing style and copies, then click Print or Download PDF.

What size should cursive practice letters be?

The default is Large, and Extra large, Medium and Small are also available. Sentences start at Small so they fit a row, and the letters never shrink below the size you choose. Long lines wrap at word boundaries.

Can I print cursive sentences to trace?

Yes. Pick the Short sentences set, which has 20 sentences including the pangram “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” You can also type your own sentences under My own text, one per line, up to 600 characters.

Is the cursive the same as school cursive?

The font is Playwrite US Trad, an open-source typeface by TypeTogether that is designed after traditional US school cursive. Individual schools may use slightly different letter forms, so compare the models with the handwriting sheets your child’s school uses.

Do I need to sign up or install anything?

No. The generator is free, needs no sign-up, and runs in your web browser. Nothing is uploaded or sent to a server.

Why does the page say “Loading the cursive font…”?

The page loads the font and the text-shaping engine, a few hundred kilobytes loaded once, so that the letters join correctly. The preview appears once they have loaded.