| [th] (th) | Consonant Digraph · /θ/ as in thin and /ð/ as in that | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | Undercurve from baseline ascends to the top line for the "t" stem. As you drop to the baseline, loop seamlessly without lifting into the tall ascender loop of "h", finishing with the "t" crossbar drawn last. — Avoid lifting the pen between t and h; keep the ascender stems parallel at 55°. | the, this, that, with, path, think, north, earth |
| [ch] (ch) | Consonant Digraph · /tʃ/ as in chair and chocolate | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | Begin with the counter-clockwise curve of "c" resting on the baseline, then spring directly upward from the baseline exit stroke into the tall ascender loop of "h". — Do not crowd the letter c; give the upward loop to h adequate horizontal breath. | chair, child, cheer, reach, much, beach, church, catch |
| [sh] (sh) | Consonant Digraph · /ʃ/ as in ship and shine | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | The letter "s" finishes with a retrace along the bottom baseline, exiting rightward to launch immediately into the tall ascender loop of "h". — Ensure the base of letter s closes cleanly before launching into the h loop. | ship, shine, share, wish, flash, shadow, brush, fresh |
| [wh] (wh) | Consonant Digraph · /w/ or /hw/ as in when and whisper | midline_towrope (grade1_2) | The letter "w" finishes at the midline with a horizontal towrope bridge. Connect this high bridge directly into the mid-height of "h" without dipping down to the baseline. — Do not drop to the baseline after "w". Maintain the horizontal bridge at the midline. | when, where, white, whale, whisper, wheel, wheat, whistle |
| [ck] (ck) | Consonant Digraph · /k/ as in duck and rock | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | After finishing the rounded bowl of "c", exit at the baseline and glide steeply into the tall ascender loop of "k", tucking the central knot neatly at the midline. — Keep the knot of cursive "k" tightly centered between midline and baseline. | duck, black, rock, quick, track, clock, brick, stick |
| [ph] (ph) | Consonant Digraph · /f/ as in phone and dolphin | descender_to_baseline (grade3_4) | The "p" descends below the baseline, retraces up to close its bowl at the midline, then sweeps off the baseline into the tall loop of "h". — Balance the deep lower extension of p with the tall upper loop of h. | phone, photo, dolphin, graph, phase, sphere, nephew, phrase |
| [kn] (kn) | Silent Letter Digraph · /n/ as in knee and knight | baseline_sweep (grade3_4) | Complete the knot and lower right leg of cursive "k" touching the baseline, then climb immediately to the midline for the first arch of "n". — Distinguish the exit stroke of k from the initial shoulder of n. | knee, know, knight, knot, knife, knock, kneel, knack |
| [wr] (wr) | Silent Letter Digraph · /r/ as in write and wrap | midline_towrope (grade3_4) | From the high horizontal exit loop of "w", bridge directly across to form the left peak and plateau shoulder of cursive "r" without dropping to the baseline. — High connection to cursive "r" requires keeping the shoulder flat at the midline. | write, wrong, wrap, wrist, wreath, wreck, wren, wrote |
| [qu] (qu) | Consonant Digraph · /kw/ as in queen and quick (or /k/ in Spanish queso) | descender_to_baseline (grade1_2) | Form the oval of "q", pull straight down into the descender line, loop forward (to the right), retrace back to the baseline, and sweep directly into "u". — Cursive q loops forward to the right (unlike g which loops backward to the left). | quick, quiet, queen, quilt, quest, quail, quote, equal |
| [ll] (ll) | Consonant Digraph · /j/ as in Spanish lluvia and calle | loop_to_loop (grade1_2) | Two consecutive tall ascender loops. Pull down from the first loop to touch the baseline, then spring directly into the second loop with identical slant. — Maintain identical height, width, and slant for both loops without crowding. | lluvia, estrella, calle, valle, castillo, brillar, bello, sello |
| [rr] (rr) | Double Consonant · /r/ strong trill as in perro and tierra | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Each cursive "r" forms its own tiny loop and plateau shoulder at the midline. Connect from baseline to midline between them in one continuous rhythm. — Do not merge or flatten the two separate shoulders of the double r. | tierra, carro, perro, torre, arriba, correr, sierra, barro |
| [gu] (gu) | Consonant Digraph · /g/ hard g as in Spanish agua and guitarra | descender_to_baseline (grade1_2) | The descender loop of cursive "g" crosses back through the baseline on an upward slant, smoothly transitioning into the undercurve of "u". — Ensure the intersection of the g loop occurs cleanly on the baseline. | agua, guerra, guitarra, amigo, guía, águila, juguete, guardia |
| [oo] (oo) | Vowel Team · /uː/ as in moon or /ʊ/ as in book | midline_towrope (grade1_2) | The first "o" completes its oval and finishes with a horizontal top loop at the midline. Bridge directly across into the top curve of the second "o" without returning to the baseline. — The classic towrope connector. Do not pull down to the bottom baseline between letters. | moon, cool, book, wood, bloom, school, spoon, goose |
| [ee] (ee) | Vowel Team · /iː/ long e as in tree and green | loop_to_loop (kindergarten) | Form the first loop of "e" under the midline. Rebound from the baseline with an identical slanted undercurve into the second loop, keeping both eyes balanced in height and angle. — Maintain identical size and 55° forward tilt for both loops. | tree, green, sweet, feel, breeze, sleep, deep, cheer |
| [ea] (ea) | Vowel Team · /iː/ as in read or /e/ as in bread | retrace_oval (grade1_2) | After the baseline exit of "e", climb smoothly up to the 2 o'clock position of "a". Retrace counter-clockwise around the oval, close it, and exit with a baseline sweep. — Smooth transition from open loop to closed retrace oval without sharp corners. | read, clean, dream, beach, teach, peace, season, steam |
| [ai] (ai) | Vowel Team · /eɪ/ long a as in rain and train | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Finish the closed oval and downstroke of "a", sweep up into the single point of "i", pull straight down to the baseline, and dot the "i" cleanly above the midline upon word completion. — Dot the letter "i" only after the complete word is written. | rain, train, paint, trail, sail, praise, grain, faint |
| [oa] (oa) | Vowel Team · /oʊ/ long o as in boat and road | midline_towrope (grade1_2) | From the top connector of "o", reach across along the midline to the top curve of "a", retrace counter-clockwise to form the oval, and finish with a baseline exit. — Avoid dipping to the baseline between o and a; keep transition graceful. | boat, road, coat, float, toast, oak, foam, roam |
| [ou] (ou) | Vowel Team · /aʊ/ as in out and house | midline_towrope (grade1_2) | Finish "o" with a midline towrope bridge, flowing directly into the top rim of "u" without touching the baseline between them. — Keep the connecting bridge taut and horizontal along the waistline. | out, cloud, sound, house, round, mouse, proud, shout |
| [br] (br) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /br/ as in brave and bright (brazo, libro) | midline_towrope (grade1_2) | The letter "b" concludes at the midline with a horizontal bridge. Transition directly into the left shoulder of "r", form the tiny plateau, and pull down to the baseline. — Connecting to "r" from high letters (b, o, v, w) is one of the trickiest cursive motions. | bright, brave, bread, bring, bridge, branch, brook, brown |
| [tr] (tr) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /tr/ as in tree and train (tres, trabajo) | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Pull down the stem of "t", exit cleanly at the baseline, climb to the midline for "r", create the small shoulder plateau, and exit at the baseline. — Cross the "t" cleanly only after finishing the entire word. | tree, trail, true, train, trust, travel, trip, track |
| [cr] (cr) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /kr/ as in crown and crystal (crecer, cristal) | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Exit the curve of "c" from the baseline and rise sharply at 55° to the midline to establish the horizontal shoulder of cursive "r". — Ensure the c does not collapse inward; give the connection a generous curve. | crown, cross, cry, craft, crystal, creek, crane, crowd |
| [dr] (dr) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /dr/ as in dream and drive (madre, dragón) | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | From the tall ascender of "d", pull straight down to the baseline and rebound immediately up to the midline to form "r". — Avoid curving the stem of d; keep it straight and parallel to the slant guides. | dream, draw, drive, drop, dragon, dress, drink, drift |
| [fr] (fr) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /fr/ as in friend and free (fresa, cofre) | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Cursive "f" loops through both ascender and descender guidelines, knots on the baseline, and launches up to the midline for "r". — Knotting the f exactly on the baseline before launching to r. | friend, free, fresh, frog, frost, fruit, frame, from |
| [gr] (gr) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /gr/ as in green and grow (grande, gracias) | descender_to_baseline (grade1_2) | The descender loop of "g" rises through the baseline and continues straight up to the midline to establish cursive "r". — Maintaining continuous forward momentum out of the descender loop. | green, grow, grace, grand, grass, grape, great, greet |
| [pr] (pr) | Consonant Blend (R-Blend) · /pr/ as in praise and prize (pronto, primo) | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | The bowl of "p" closes on the stem near the midline, sweeping down to touch the baseline before rising into "r". — Ensure the p bowl closes cleanly before initiating the connector. | praise, prize, proud, pride, prince, print, press, prime |
| [bl] (bl) | Consonant Blend (L-Blend) · /bl/ as in blue and bloom (blanco, hablar) | midline_towrope (grade1_2) | From the high horizontal bridge of "b" at the midline, launch directly upward into the tall 55° ascender loop of "l". — Connecting to an ascender from a high letter requires steady upward momentum without drooping. | blue, bloom, black, blade, blend, bless, blank, blush |
| [cl] (cl) | Consonant Blend (L-Blend) · /kl/ as in clean and cloud (claro, clase) | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | From the baseline exit of "c", spring straight up to the top guideline to form the graceful loop of "l". — Keep the slant of the c bowl and the l loop identical. | clean, cloud, climb, clear, clock, class, clay, cliff |
| [fl] (fl) | Consonant Blend (L-Blend) · /fl/ as in flower and fly (flor, flauta) | descender_cross (grade1_2) | The cursive "f" loops through both upper and lower zones, knots on the baseline, and launches directly into the grand loop of "l". — Maintain a consistent 55° slant through both tall, flowing loops. | fly, flower, float, flame, flag, flash, flight, floor |
| [gl] (gl) | Consonant Blend (L-Blend) · /gl/ as in glow and glide (globo, regla) | descender_to_baseline (grade1_2) | The descender loop of "g" returns through the baseline and catapults smoothly into the tall loop of "l". — Connect lower third zone directly to upper third zone in one continuous motion. | glow, glide, glass, glad, glory, glance, globe, glaze |
| [pl] (pl) | Consonant Blend (L-Blend) · /pl/ as in play and plant (plata, plaza) | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | After completing the bowl of "p", touch the baseline and sweep steeply upward into the loop of "l". — Ensure the downstroke of p is anchored before launching into l. | play, plant, plum, plane, place, plate, please, plus |
| [sl] (sl) | Consonant Blend (S-Blend) · /sl/ as in sleep and slide (isla, deslizar) | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | The base of "s" closes on the baseline. Retrace rightward along the baseline to launch into the tall ascender loop of "l". — Close the base loop of s securely so it does not blend into the l. | sleep, slide, slow, slip, slope, slate, sleeve, sleet |
| [st] (st) | Consonant Blend (S-Blend) · /st/ as in star and stay (este, pasta) | baseline_to_ascender (grade1_2) | The letter "s" finishes with a snug base loop. Sweep upward to the topline for the stem of "t", pull down firmly, and cross "t" at the midline. — Do not let "s" balloon out too wide; keep the connection tight and upright. | star, stay, step, stone, stream, stand, story, sweet |
| [sp] (sp) | Consonant Blend (S-Blend) · /sp/ as in spoon and sparkle (español, chispa) | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | After the base retrace of "s", rise to the midline and plunge straight down past the baseline to the descender line for the stem of "p". — Maintain an even 55° forward tilt when transitioning from ascending s to descending p. | spoon, spark, spin, space, spring, speak, speed, spot |
| [sw] (sw) | Consonant Blend (S-Blend) · /sw/ as in sweet and swim | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Exit the base of "s" along the bottom line, climbing to the midline to draw the two rounded undercurves of "w", finishing with the high towrope. — Ensure the bottoms of both valleys of w touch the baseline evenly. | sweet, swim, swan, swing, swift, sweep, sword, sway |
| [tw] (tw) | Consonant Blend · /tw/ as in twin and twist | baseline_sweep (grade1_2) | Draw the stem of "t", curve up off the baseline into the first valley of "w", complete both undercurves, and finish with a high towrope bridge. — Cross the t only after the complete word is written. | twin, twist, twelve, twenty, twinkle, twig, twice, twilight |