Parent’s guide · 3 of 5
Letters, heights and the order
About 5 minutes
Two things parents ask about constantly. Both have real answers.
Why the letters are not in alphabetical order
Because cursive a, b and c are three unrelated hand movements. Teaching them in that order asks a child to start from nothing three times in a row.
The letters are grouped by the movement they share instead. Each group drills one motion until the hand does it without thinking, and then the next letter in the group is mostly a variation on something already learned.
Lowercase, in the order they are taught
| Group | Letters | The movement |
|---|---|---|
| The swing up | i t u w | Start on the line, swing up to the middle. |
| The bridge over | n m v x y z | Arch up and over, then down to the line. |
| The round ones | a c d g o q | Over the top, round to the left, close the oval. |
| The tall loops | e l h k b f | Climb tall, loop back down through your own line. |
| The tricky four | j p r s | The shapes that follow no rule. Slow and steady. |
Capitals, in the order they are taught
| Group | Letters | The movement |
|---|---|---|
| Capital curves | A C E O | Begin below the top line and sweep left. |
| Capital arches | N M H K | Up, over, and straight back down. |
| Capital tails | U V W X Y Z | Curve forward, finishing with a tail to the right. |
| The double curve | T F | A small wave across the top before the stem. |
| Capital bridges | I J Q | Arch over the top, then down. |
| The cane stem | B P R D L | A tall loop down, then the shape beside it. |
If your child asks why they are not doing b after a, that table is the answer, and children generally find it satisfying: the letters are sorted by how your hand moves, not by the alphabet song.
Letter heights
This is the single most common cause of a low placement score, and it is worth learning so you can name it.
- Most lowercase letters stop at the dotted middle line: a c e i m n o r s u v w x z
- The tall letters reach the top line: b d f h k l t
- Some letters drop below the bottom line: g j p q y, and f
- Capitals touch the top line
Say it as a rule your child can repeat: *most letters stop at the dotted line, the tall ones go all the way up, and a few hang down below.*
When the dotted line disappears
Early on there is a dotted middle line to aim at. Part way through Level 5, the sentences, it goes away, and your child is holding the size themselves.
Scores usually dip at that point. That is expected and it is the whole purpose of the exercise: it is the moment they stop copying a letter and start writing. Do not treat the dip as a problem, and do tell your child it is coming, because a child who is warned handles it far better than one who thinks the program broke.
What the seven levels are
| Level | What they write |
|---|---|
| 1 | All 26 lowercase letters |
| 2 | All 26 capitals |
| 3 | Their own name |
| 4 | One hundred words |
| 5 | Seventy-five sentences |
| 6 | Thirty paragraphs of five sentences |
| 7 | Open practice: anything they type in themselves |
Level 1 is always open. Every other level opens only when the one before it is finished, so nothing gets skipped, and a child cannot jump to the fun part because the fun part is built on the part they would be skipping.
Level 3 is their own name, and it is where most children decide whether they like cursive. It is the first thing they write that is genuinely theirs. The name comes from what you typed when you added them, so if it is spelled wrong, fix it before they get there rather than after.
When Level 6 is finished, a certificate in your child's name becomes available with a Save as PDF button. Level 7 is open practice with nothing after it, so it is not part of the certificate.
Not covered here? Write to support@skhillzacademy.org and a person will answer.