How to write the letter G

Forming the capital G

Teach G straight after C so the opening curve transfers while it is still fresh; the whole letter is the C shape plus a short line drawn inward at the dotted line. Lowercase g drops below the baseline and children frequently pull capital G down there too, so say the difference out loud.

Start: Top line, at the centre of the letter space

1. Open exactly as for C: curl back to the left, sweep counter-clockwise down to the baseline, then carry the curve up the right-hand side and halt at the midline.
2. Add a short straight bar on the midline running inward, from the right-hand edge back toward the middle of the letter.

Forming the lowercase g

The circle is the same one used for a and d, so only the tail is genuinely new. Teach g and q as a deliberate pair, g's tail curls back to the left, q's does not, because everything above the baseline is identical.

Start: Just below the midline at the upper right of the letter space

1. Make a complete counter-clockwise circle: up and left to the midline, over the top, down the left side, along the baseline and back up to seal at the starting dot.
2. Set the pen on the midline at the right-hand edge of the circle, draw straight down through the baseline into the descender space, then turn the end back to the left.

Common mistakes with g

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.

• Flipping the letter into q.
• Turning the tail to the right instead of the left.
• Keeping the tail above the baseline, which leaves the letter reading as a.
• Copying the two-storey printed g from a book rather than the single-storey handwritten shape.
• Running the tail so deep it tangles with the line of writing underneath.

And with the capital G

• Curving clockwise on the way in.
• Running the bar outward to the right instead of inward toward the centre.
• Placing the bar on the top line or the baseline instead of the midline.
• Leaving the bar off entirely, which leaves you with a C.
• Closing the curve all the way round, giving an O with a mark on it.

Letters that move the same way

Letters that begin with a counter-clockwise curve: The pen starts just below the midline at the upper right of the letter space and travels counter-clockwise, up and left to the midline, over the top and down the left side. c leaves the shape open, o closes it, a/d/g/q close it and add a line on the right, and s reverses direction halfway down. Teaching c properly buys most of this family for free.

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.

coadqs

Practise G 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.