Why learn cursive at all?

Beyond tradition: signing a name, reading grandparents' letters and historical documents, and a genuine motor-memory boost; many children spell better in cursive because the word flows as one movement. It also tends to be faster than print once automatic.

Which cursive letters should come first?

The curve family: a, c, d, g, o, and q share one entry motion, so each one learned makes the next cheaper. Save the odd ones (f, z, and capital G, S, and Q, which surprise everyone) for after the families are solid. Every fresh print mixes families for review.

2nd grade cursive alphabet

2nd grade cursive alphabet worksheets

Second graders meet the cursive alphabet letter by letter: entry stroke, body, exit stroke, written in one motion on the same penmanship guides as printing. Each sheet draws a fresh handful of upper- and lowercase forms to trace and then write unaided.

Free printable PDF worksheet.

Each print is a different sheet. You don't need to sign up.

One page for every cursive letter

Each cursive letter also has its own page, with how it is formed in words and a sheet of that one letter, capital and lowercase, to trace.

The kind of words you'll practice

Trace each letter two times. Then write your own on the line.

anxpCZKP

Each word appears twice in light gray for tracing, then once as a blank line for writing it without help.

Every print pulls a new set of words at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 2nd grade sheet

2nd grade sheets draw from 52 letters, 8 to a page. 2nd to 4th grade print from the same 52 letters. The teaching notes below are written for this grade.

Some of the words:

BFGJMORUVY

Tracing. Trace each letter two times. Then write your own on the line. 8 words per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with a word list on the last page.

How to teach this

Say the motion out loud while tracing ("swing in, around, up, out"); the words keep the pencil moving, and one motion per letter is the whole discipline. Start with the low-loop letters (a, c, d, g) that share a shape family, and let f and z wait until the easy wins pile up.

Watch for: Cursive is not print written fast; the letterforms are genuinely different shapes, and learning them is learning a second alphabet. The pencil still lifts between letters on this sheet: these are the letterforms practiced one at a time. Joining them into words is the next stage, after the shapes are automatic.

Common questions about 2nd grade cursive alphabet

Why learn cursive at all?: Beyond tradition: signing a name, reading grandparents' letters and historical documents, and a genuine motor-memory boost; many children spell better in cursive because the word flows as one movement. It also tends to be faster than print once automatic.
Which cursive letters should come first?: The curve family: a, c, d, g, o, and q share one entry motion, so each one learned makes the next cheaper. Save the odd ones (f, z, and capital G, S, and Q, which surprise everyone) for after the families are solid. Every fresh print mixes families for review.