How to write the letter F

Forming the capital F

Every stroke in F moves away from the writing hand, down, across, across, which makes it a good letter for drilling a clean return to the top line. Print lowercase f curves over at the top rather than turning a square corner, so the two cases do not share a shape.

Start: Top line, at the left edge of the letter space

1. Pull one tall stroke down the left side, from the top line to the baseline.
2. Lift and set the pencil back on the exact spot where stroke one began, then travel rightward along the top line to lay the long upper bar.
3. Lift again to the point where the stem meets the midline and travel rightward to lay a second, shorter bar.

Forming the lowercase f

Teach f after t so the midline crossbar is already automatic and the hook is the only new part. Note that its starting dot sits just below the top line rather than on it, because the letter opens with a curve rather than a straight pull.

Start: Just below the top line, right of centre in the letter space

1. Curve up and to the left until the stroke touches the top line, then bring it straight back down in one long line to the baseline.
2. Cross the stem with a short flat stroke sitting on the midline, moving left to right.

Common mistakes with f

These are the errors that actually show up on the page, rather than a generic list. Watching for them while a child writes is far more useful than correcting the finished sheet.

• Mirroring the top hook so it curls to the right.
• Crossing at the wrong height, up on the top line, or down at the baseline.
• Starting at the baseline and pushing the stroke up into the hook.
• Drawing a crossbar longer than the hook, which makes the letter read as t.
• Adding the long descending tail belonging to the cursive f.

And with the capital F

• Writing the letter mirrored, with both bars hanging off the left of the stem.
• Dropping the lower bar all the way to the baseline, which turns the F into an E.
• Making the lower bar as long as the upper one; it should stop noticeably short.
• Pulling the bars leftward, back into the stem, instead of away from it.
• Leaving a gap so a bar floats free of the stem instead of touching it.

Letters that move the same way

Letters with a one-off starting point: Neither letter starts where anything else does, e begins with a horizontal bar floating in the middle of the x-height space, f with a small curve just below the top line. Each needs its own starting dot and its own lesson rather than being folded into a family block.

Teaching these together is more efficient than working through the alphabet in order, because the hand is learning one movement rather than several unrelated ones.

e

Practise F with words

Once the letter is reliable on its own, move to words that start with it. Letters learned in isolation often fall apart the first time a child has to join them to anything.