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, a first taste of joined handwriting.
- 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.
In NZ classrooms
- Te WhārikiThe Mana reo | Communication strand includes children sharing ideas through marks, drawings and other materials.
- First 6 monthsNew entrants are taught to form letters and numbers correctly, and to describe lines as straight or curved.
Tracing lines aren’t named in either curriculum. They are groundwork for the letter formation taught from a child’s first weeks at school, and the shape page links to the circles, squares, rectangles and triangles new entrants learn to name.
Most children come to school from an early learning service or kōhanga reo, where Te Whāriki guides a play-based programme. For preschoolers, keep sheets short and mix them with painting, play dough and drawing in sand.
Summarised in our own words from Te Whāriki (2017), the early childhood curriculum, and the New Zealand Curriculum: English, Years 0–6 (2025).
