Printable handwriting practice paper, to exact spec

The three lines

The top solid line is where capitals and ascenders reach: b, d, f, h, k, l, t. The dashed line marks x-height, the top of a, c, e, m, n, o and x. The heavier line below is the baseline. The space under it is for descenders: g, j, p, q, y.

One line gives a child no information about how tall anything should be, which is why letter height wanders. Three references make it checkable: does the h reach the top, does the a stop at the dashed line, does the p hang below.

The midline is dashed because it is a height to reach rather than a line to write on. Drawn solid, children write on it.

Choosing an x-height

The x-height is the gap between the dashed line and the baseline. Everything else on the sheet is derived from it.

8 to 10mm at the start, when letters are formed one at a time. 6 to 8mm once letters are reliable. 5 to 6mm as writing becomes fluent, which is close to ordinary ruled paper.

US schools usually specify in inches, and 3/8 is a common kindergarten ruling. If a school named a ruling rather than a number, measure their sheet from a dashed midline to the baseline below it.

Dotted thirds, and what the millimeter figure means

Dotted thirds is the Australian name for this ruling. It is used in schools across Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and South Australia, and the three zones get taught as sky, grass and dirt: tall letters reach into the sky, the body of the letter sits in the grass, and tails hang down into the dirt. Some schools and occupational therapists use versions with those bands printed in blue, green and brown.

The measurement is where this page and an Australian exercise book disagree. Books are sold by the height of the whole three-zone unit, so 24mm dotted thirds means 24mm from the top line down to the bottom of the descender space. This page asks for the x-height, which is one third of that.

24mm dotted thirds is 8mm here. 18mm is 6mm, 14mm is about 4.7mm, and 9mm is 3mm.

Tasmania's handwriting guidelines put 24mm dotted thirds at Year 1 and 18mm at Year 2, moving to plain lines from Year 3. Other states differ, and in practice a lot of schools use whatever is in the book cupboard.

Ruling only

This page draws ruling. No traceable letterforms, dotted letters or name sheets.

Traceable letters need an embedded handwriting font, and the fonts matching the schemes schools teach are commercial products whose licenses do not cover giving away generated worksheets.

Paper angle for left-handers

Left-handed children generally need the paper rotated clockwise, around 30 to 45 degrees, which is the opposite tilt to right-handers.

Without it the writing hand covers what was just written, and the common workaround is hooking the wrist over the top of the line. That grip is easier to prevent than to unlearn.