Tracing Worksheets

Use these tracing worksheets to get your child started on the path to great handwriting. There are four basic types of worksheets here that focus on tracing lines, tracing letters, tracing shapes, or tracing numbers.

I would recommend that you start with the line tracing worksheets to show your child the basic line movements needed to create letters and numbers.

Begin with tracing vertical and horizontal lines then move on to crosses and diagonals. Once your students has mastered vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines, it's time to work on tracing shapes.

The shapes worksheets will help your child build upon the line tracing skills and it introduces the circle shape which will help your child as he or she begins to write letters and numbers like B, C, 6, 8, etc., which use circular lines.

After your child has completed these lessons, she'll be ready to tackle tracing letters and numbers. Let's get started.

Tracing Worksheets & Activities

The lessons below are arranged in the order I mentioned above. If you are just starting to teach your child about writing, be sure to start with tracing lines and then work your way through the following units.

Also, I cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure that your child is holding his pencil the correct way. It is easy to develop bad habits in writing, so the best way to avoid them is to make sure they never get started.

Here's a great resource that gives you tips on how to hold a pencil and shows you common mistakes that we make. They recommend teaching proper pencil group around age 4.

After the units on lines and shapes, you can find lessons covering uppercase letters and numbers. I have included the uppercase letters here, because I feel they are easier to trace than the lower case forms. Once your child has mastered the uppercase letters, you can find letter tracing worksheets on the "Printing" section of this website (link on this page).

You may also want to check out the lessons covering cursive handwriting. I have heard from many parents that their schools don't teach cursive any more. No worries! I've created cursive tracing worksheets as well. See the related lessons below.

For help putting all the words together, I've created a unit on tracing words. You can also print out my 3-lined handwriting sheets and create your own words so you can focus on the letters or numbers that need the most work.

Finally, be sure to check out the various tracing sheets and books available for purchase from my affiliates if you find yourself wanting more practice.