How to write a cursive o

Forming the cursive o

o is the high-exit letter children meet most often, so its level exit is worth drilling on its own, write oa, ob, oi, on and ou as units rather than practising a lone o. Keep that short exit stroke genuinely flat: the moment it tips downhill the letter starts reading as a. Lead-in is a downcurve.

Start: On the baseline, at the left of the oval

1. Undercurve lead-in up to the midline, stopping at about the one o'clock position
2. Downcurve back over the top and counter-clockwise round the outside of the oval to the baseline
3. Run along the baseline and curve back up the right-hand side, closing the oval at the midline
4. Level midline exit: a short, near-flat stroke that leaves at midline height instead of dropping to the baseline

How it joins

The cursive o is one of four letters that finish high, at the midline, rather than dropping to the baseline. The others are b, o, v and w. This is what makes them the connectors children find hardest.

A letter following o has to start from the midline instead of rising from the baseline, so its shape changes slightly. That is normal and is worth pointing out explicitly, because a child who has only ever practised letters in isolation will try to start the next letter from the baseline and produce a broken join.

Our sheets currently draw o with a baseline exit, which is a legitimate and widely taught join, so the letters connect cleanly. If your school teaches the high exit, use these sheets for the letter shape and teach the join separately.

Common mistakes

• The exit sags or drops toward the baseline, which is what makes an o read as an a in ordinary handwriting.
• The oval is left open at the top, so o reads as a or u.
• The oval is drawn clockwise. The shape can still look acceptable on its own but the join almost always collapses.
• The child starts at the top of the oval as in print, leaving no lead-in for the previous letter to meet.

Letters that move the same way

Counter-clockwise oval letters: A downcurve lead-in: rise from the baseline to about the one o'clock position on the letter body, then roll back over the top and travel counter-clockwise round the outside of an oval down to the baseline. What happens after the oval, a short stem, a tall stem, a tail, or a level exit, is all that separates these six.

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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 o page covers that form, andwhen cursive is usually taughtexplains why the timing varies so much.