How to write the letter R

Forming the capital R

Build R out of P: make the P, then kick out from the point where the bowl shut. It comes last in the downstroke-plus-curve group because it stacks a diagonal on top of an already-learned shape. Lowercase r has no bowl at all, just a stem and a small shoulder, so the two cases look nothing alike.

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, curve out to the right and down, and shut the bowl onto the stem at the midline.
3. From the exact point where the bowl shut, kick a straight slanted stroke out and down to the baseline on the right.

Forming the lowercase r

r is the arch that starts and never finishes. Teach it straight after n so the child can feel the contrast: n's arch comes back down to the baseline, r's stops in the air at the top.

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 stem to just under the midline, then make a short shoulder that curves up and over to the right and simply stops. There is no second line down.

Common mistakes with r

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.

• Carrying the shoulder all the way down to the baseline, which produces n. This is by far the most common r error.
• Letting the shoulder droop, so the letter reads as v or as a hook.
• Adding a bowl underneath and producing a lowercase-sized capital R.
• Starting the shoulder without retracing first, so it hangs free of the stem.

And with the capital R

• A leg drawn straight down instead of slanting out to the right.
• A leg starting somewhere other than the point where the bowl closed, so it appears to float.
• A bowl taken all the way to the baseline, which turns the letter into a D with a tail.
• Reversal, with both bowl and leg on the left of the stem.
• Pushing the leg upward from the baseline.

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.

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Practise R 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.