Forming Letter Families

Twinkl Handwriting | Year 1 | Steps to Progression Overview

The aim of this overview is to show the most logical sequence for teaching each area of handwriting when using Twinkl Handwriting. However, Twinkl Handwriting
is designed to be a pick ‘n’ mix style scheme. If you feel that your students need to concentrate on a specific letter family or a particular skill, you could tailor the
programme to fit the requirements of your learners.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12

Themed
The Ladder Family The One-Armed Robot Family
Autumn Assess and Review Handwriting
(l, i, u, t, y and j) (n, m and h)
Practice

The One-Armed Robot Family The Curly Caterpillar Family

Spring Assess and Review
(k, b, p and r) (c, a, d, e, s and g)

Themed
The Curly Caterpillar Family The Zigzag Monster Family
Summer Assess and Review Assess and Review Handwriting
(f, q and o) (z, v, w and x)
Practice

Year 1 Assessment Statements

By the end of these lessons, most children should be able to:
• sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly;
• begin to form lower case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place;
• understand which letters belong to which handwriting ‘families’ (letters that are formed in similar ways) and to practise these.

Forming Letter Families

Twinkl Handwriting’s Forming Letter Families packs have been created to teach year 1 children the sets of letter ‘families’ in a progressive teaching sequence.
Within each PowerPoint presentation, all lower case letters are shown using a printed style (without lead-ins or lead-outs) with the aim of securing the correct basic
letter formation of the entire alphabet before adjusting handwriting to a preferred style.

Page 1 of 8 visit twinkl.com

If you wish to adopt a cursive or continuous cursive style from year 1, a cursive (Twinkl unlooped) and continuous cursive (Twinkl looped) alternative version of
all PDF worksheets is available within each download. The PowerPoint presentation is also fully editable if you would like to use the cursive or continuous cursive
animated letter formation GIFs from later in the teaching sequence.

Resources
Within the following progression overview, you will find links to the cursive or continuous cursive lesson packs needed for each session. If you would prefer for your
learners to have a handwriting booklet to work through, click here. Letter formation and pencil control could also be practised by linking your handwriting sessions
with phonics using our range of Twinkl Handwriting phonics booklets.

Page 2 of 8 visit twinkl.com

Autumn Term Lesson Progression

Week Content Description Useful Links

The Ladder Family: Lesson 1 • Introduce the letter name and the Cursive
1 The Letter ‘l’ sound of the letter. Continuous Cursive
The Ladder Family: Lesson 2 • Show the animation of how to form Cursive
2 The Letter ‘i’ the lower case letter. Continuous Cursive
The Ladder Family: Lesson 3 • Model and then ask children to Cursive
3 The Letter ‘u’ Continuous Cursive
complete the relevant Activity Sheet.
The Ladder Family: Lesson 4 • Provide further challenge with the Cursive
4 The Letter ‘t’ Continuous Cursive
relevant Extra Practice Activity Sheet.
The Ladder Family: Lesson 5 Cursive
5 The Letter ‘y’ Continuous Cursive
The Ladder Family: Lesson 6 Cursive
6 The Letter ‘j’ Continuous Cursive
• Ask children to identify the letters
within The Ladder Family.
• Check that children can correctly
The Ladder Family: Assess and
7 Review Lesson 1
trace each letter.
• Ask children to independently form
three letters from The Ladder Family Twinkl Handwriting: The Ladder
on normal lines. Family: Year 1 Assess and Review
• Ask children to independently form Resource Pack
all letters from The Ladder Family on
handwriting lines.
The Ladder Family: Assess and
8 Review Lesson 2 • Ask children to copy a range of
real and nonsense words onto
handwriting lines.

Page 3 of 8 visit twinkl.com

 • Introduce the letter name and the
The One-Armed Robot Family sound of the letter. Cursive
9 Lesson 1: The Letter ‘n’ Continuous Cursive
• Show the animation of how to form
the lower case letter.
The One-Armed Robot Family Cursive
10 Lesson 2: The Letter ‘m’ Continuous Cursive
• Model and then ask children to
complete the relevant Activity Sheet.
The One-Armed Robot Family • Provide further challenge with the Cursive
11 Lesson 3: The Letter ‘h’ Continuous Cursive
relevant Extra Practice Activity Sheet.

Encourage children to practise their

Winter
skills and to form lower case letters
correctly by using one of our seasonal • Twinkl font
or themed Pencil Control & Letter • Cursive
Formation Activity Booklets. • Continuous Cursive
12 Themed Handwriting Practice
Christmas
• Twinkl font
• Cursive
• Continuous Cursive

Page 4 of 8 visit twinkl.com

Spring Term Lesson Progression

Week Content Description Useful Links

The One-Armed Robot Family • Introduce the letter name and the Cursive
1 Lesson 4: The Letter ‘k’ sound of the letter. Continuous Cursive
The One-Armed Robot Family • Show the animation of how to form Cursive
2 Lesson 5: The Letter ‘b’ the lower case letter. Continuous Cursive
The One-Armed Robot Family • Model and then ask children to Cursive
3 Lesson 6: The Letter ‘p’ complete the relevant Activity Sheet. Continuous Cursive
The One-Armed Robot Family • Provide further challenge with the Cursive
4 Lesson 7: The Letter ‘r’ relevant Extra Practice Activity Sheet. Continuous Cursive
• Ask children to identify the letters
within The One-Armed Robot Family.

• Check that children can correctly

The One-Armed Robot Family: Assess trace each letter.
5 and Review Lesson 1
• Ask children to independently form
three letters from The One-Armed Twinkl Handwriting: The One-Armed
Robot Family on normal lines. Robot Family: Year 1 Assess and
• Ask children to independently form Review Resource Pack
all letters from The One-Armed Robot
Family on handwriting lines.
The One-Armed Robot Family: Assess
6 and Review Lesson 2 • Ask children to copy a range of
real and nonsense words onto
handwriting lines.

Page 5 of 8 visit twinkl.com

 The Curly Caterpillar Family • Introduce the letter name and the Cursive
7 Lesson 1: The Letter ‘c’ sound of the letter. Continuous Cursive
The Curly Caterpillar Family • Show the animation of how to form Cursive
8 Lesson 2: The Letter ‘a’ the lower case letter. Continuous Cursive
The Curly Caterpillar Family • Model and then ask children to Cursive
9 Lesson 3: The Letter ‘d’ complete the relevant Activity Sheet. Continuous Cursive
The Curly Caterpillar Family • Provide further challenge with the Cursive
10 Lesson 4: The Letter ‘e’ relevant Extra Practice Activity Sheet. Continuous Cursive
The Curly Caterpillar Family Cursive
11 Lesson 5: The Letter ‘s’ Continuous Cursive
The Curly Caterpillar Family Cursive
12 Lesson 6: The Letter ‘g’ Continuous Cursive

Page 6 of 8 visit twinkl.com

Summer Term Lesson Progression

Week Content Description Useful Links

• Introduce the letter name and the
The Curly Caterpillar Family sound of the letter. Cursive
1 Lesson 7: The Letter ‘f’ Continuous Cursive
• Show the animation of how to form
the lower case letter.
The Curly Caterpillar Family Cursive
2 Lesson 8: The Letter ‘q’ Continuous Cursive
• Model and then ask children to
complete the relevant Activity Sheet.
The Curly Caterpillar Family • Provide further challenge with the Cursive
3 Lesson 9: The Letter ‘o’ Continuous Cursive
relevant Extra Practice Activity Sheet.

• Ask children to identify the letters

within The Curly Caterpillar Family.

• Check that children can correctly

The Curly Caterpillar Family: Assess trace each letter.
4 and Review Lesson 1
• Ask children to independently
form three letters from The Curly Twinkl Handwriting: The Curly
Caterpillar Family on normal lines. Caterpillar Family: Year 1 Assess and
Review Resource Pack
• Ask children to independently form
all letters from The Curly Caterpillar
Family on handwriting lines.
The Curly Caterpillar Family: Assess
5 and Review Lesson 2 • Ask children to copy a range of
real and nonsense words onto
handwriting lines.

Page 7 of 8 visit twinkl.com

 The Zigzag Monster Family • Introduce the letter name and the Cursive
6 Lesson 1: The Letter ‘z’ sound of the letter. Continuous Cursive
The Zigzag Monster Family • Show the animation of how to form Cursive
7 Lesson 2: The Letter ‘v’ the lower case letter. Continuous Cursive
• Model and then ask children to
The Zigzag Monster Family Cursive
8 Lesson 3: The Letter ‘w’
complete the relevant Activity Sheet.
Continuous Cursive
The Zigzag Monster Family • Provide further challenge with the Cursive
9 Lesson 4: The Letter ‘x’ relevant Extra Practice Activity Sheet. Continuous Cursive
• Ask children to identify the letters
within The Zigzag Monster Family.
• Check that children can correctly
The Zigzag Monster Family: Assess trace each letter.
10 and Review Lesson 1
• Ask children to independently form
three letters from Zigzag Monster Twinkl Handwriting: The Zigzag
Family on normal lines. Monster Family: Year 1 Assess and
• Ask children to independently form Review Resource Pack
all letters from The Zigzag Monster
The Zigzag Monster Family: Assess Family on handwriting lines.
11 and Review Lesson 2 • Ask children to copy a range of
real and nonsense words onto
handwriting lines.
Encourage children to practise their Summer
skills and to form lower case letters • Twinkl font
correctly by using one of our seasonal • Cursive
or themed Pencil Control & Letter
• Continuous Cursive
Formation Activity Booklets.
12 Themed Handwriting Practice
Growth Mindset/Transition
• Twinkl font
• Cursive
• Continuous Cursive

Page 8 of 8 visit twinkl.com