How to write the letter M

Forming the capital M

Stroke count is genuinely split: the four-stroke version here, down, return to the top, two slants, down, is one mainstream teaching, while other programs draw M as a single continuous zig-zag from the top-left corner. Either way, the rule that matters visually is that the middle point touches the baseline. Capital M is angular where lowercase m is two curved humps, one of the biggest gaps between cases in the whole set.

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. Return the pencil to that same point on the top line and slant down and to the right, carrying on all the way to the baseline at the centre.
3. From that centre point, slant up and to the right until you reach the top line on the right.
4. Pull a tall stroke straight down the right side to the baseline.

Forming the lowercase m

m is n with one arch repeated, so teach n first and then add the repeat. Saying the path aloud, down, up and over, up and over, is what keeps both arches the same size.

Start: On the midline, at the left of the letter space

1. Draw a straight line from the midline down to the baseline.
2. Travel back up the same line to the midline, arch over to the right and come down to the baseline; travel back up to the midline again, arch over to the right and come down to the baseline a second time.

Common mistakes with m

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.

• Producing only one arch, which is n.
• Building the letter as an upside-down w, with sharp points instead of rounded tops.
• Arches of different widths or heights, so the letter looks lopsided.
• Starting each arch down at the baseline and pushing upward.
• Adding a third arch.

And with the capital M

• A middle V that stops above the baseline, giving rounded humps like lowercase m.
• Outer legs that lean outward instead of standing upright.
• Swapping M and W, a documented reversal pair.
• Letting the letter spread far wider than the letters around it.
• Drawing the middle as a curve rather than as two straight slants.

Letters that move the same way

Downstroke with a retraced arch: A straight line down first, then the pen travels back up that same line to the midline before arching or bowing out to the right. The retrace is what keeps the second part attached to the stem. n is the anchor; m repeats the arch, r stops it short, h raises the stem, b and p close the arch into a bowl.

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.

nrhbp

Practise M 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.