How to write a cursive i

Forming the cursive i

i is the base movement of the whole undercurve family, rise, then come back down the same line, so time spent on it pays off in j, p, t and u. Decide as a class or a family whether dots go on immediately or after the whole word is written, then stay consistent; both work, but switching between them is what causes missed dots. Lead-in is an undercurve, exit leaves from the baseline.

Start: On the baseline, at the left

1. Undercurve lead-in rising from the baseline to the midline
2. Retrace straight back down to the baseline, on the line you have just drawn rather than beside it
3. Undercurve exit at the baseline, swinging away toward the next letter; the pencil comes off the paper at the end of this stroke
4. PEN LIFT, then set the dot straight above the top of the stem, a short distance clear of the midline

How it joins

The cursive i finishes on the baseline with an undercurve, which is exactly where the next letter begins. That is why cursive can be written without lifting the pencil: the exit of one letter is the entry of the next. Practise i inside a word rather than on its own as soon as the shape is reliable, because the join is the part that actually needs practice.

Common mistakes

• The rise and the descent do not sit on top of each other, so a loop appears and i reads as e.
• The dot is missed altogether, which is easy to do when the child is concentrating on the join.
• The dot drifts to the right and appears to belong to the next letter instead.
• The dot is placed too far above the stem, colliding with the line of writing above.

Letters that move the same way

Retraced stem letters: An undercurve lead-in straight up to the midline or the top line, then a return journey back down over exactly the same line. The whole family lives or dies on whether the child retraces on the line rather than beside it.

jptu

Print first, then cursive

Cursive is usually introduced once print handwriting is automatic, typically around third grade. If a child is still thinking about how to form printed letters, adding a second script makes both harder. Theprinted i page covers that form, andwhen cursive is usually taughtexplains why the timing varies so much.