Printable Kindergarten Writing Paper

First letters and a first name

Kindergarten is the year children learn how each letter is made. The Common Core asks them to “print many upper- and lowercase letters” (L.K.1a), and the Texas standards to form every letter “using appropriate directionality”, which means starting each stroke in the right place and moving the right way. The first word most of them write is their own name.

Big rows make all of that easy to see. This page uses Zaner-Bloser’s Grade K size, a ¾” ruling with the midline halfway and 3/8 in between rows, on a sideways page like the program’s 10½ × 8 in paper. The baseline is red, and Name and Date labels sit above the first row.

Reading the three lines

Capitals and tall letters such as b, d, h, k and l reach the top line. Small letters such as a, c, e, m and o fill the half between the dashed midline and the baseline. Letters with a tail (g, j, p, q, y) dip into the space below the baseline. When a letter looks wrong, the lines usually show why: it floats above the red line, or a small letter pokes past the midline.

Making a practice sheet

• Before copying the page for a group, write one model letter at the start of each row, with a dot where the first stroke begins, so children copy it along the row.
• Six rows fit on a sideways US Letter page. Portrait fits eight shorter ones, handy for a word list.
• Set Pages to 5 for a week of practice in one PDF.
• For a name with the letters already dotted in to trace, use the name tracing worksheet generator.

When letters fit the rows comfortably, move on to the first grade writing paper, whose rows are 5/8 in tall. Other letter heights are on the lined paper generator.

Writing rows per page at 3/4 in (19 mm) letter height

Counted by the generator with this page’s settings: at least 1 inch of unruled space at the top, with the Name and Date labels just above the first row, 3/8 in (9.5 mm) between rows and a ½-inch bottom margin. Rows that don’t fit whole are left off, and the summary above the preview updates as you change the settings.