The strokes inside every letter
Every printed letter is made of a few strokes: a line down, a line across, a slant, a curve. Children who can draw those strokes smoothly find letters much easier to learn. Tracing lines lets them practise the strokes on their own, before letters ask them to remember shapes as well.
A good order
- Straight lines, across and then up and down.
- Slanted lines and zigzags, for letters like v, w and z.
- Waves and bumps, the curves in letters like n, m and s.
- Loops, good for smooth, steady pencil control.
- Shapes, closing a line back where it started.
Next steps
When lines feel easy, move on to alphabet tracing with start dots and stroke arrows, and toname tracing for each child’s own name. Easy mazes practise the same pencil control.
MATATAG links
- KinderPhysical health and motor development, with fine motor control built through art activities.
- KinderWriting letters in capitals and lower case, which these strokes lead into.
Public Kindergarten in the Philippines is for five-year-olds, so the small size here suits Kinder, and the big size suits younger children at home or in a day care centre.
The Kindergarten guide builds fine motor skills through art rather than drills, so pair a page of lines with drawing, colouring or tearing paper.
Summarised in our own words from DepEd’s MATATAG Kindergarten Curriculum Guide (2023).
