Letter Families: The Four Handwriting Families And The Order To Teach Them
Letter families are groups of lowercase letters that start in the same place and use the same first movement. Many UK schools teach four: curly caterpillar, long ladder, one-armed robot and zig-zag monster letters. Teach one family at a time, then plan the weeks with the planner below.
On this page
- What Are Letter Families?
- What Are The Four Letter Families?
- Which Order Should Letter Families Be Taught In?
- Why Teach Handwriting In Letter Families?
- How To Plan Letter Families Week By Week
- Do All Handwriting Schemes Use The Same Letter Families?
- What Comes After Letter Families?
- Questions About Letter Families
Curly Caterpillar Letters
Letters: c a d g q o e s f. Every one starts with the same curl back round.
Play in the repeaterLong Ladder Letters
Letters: l i t u j y. A straight line down comes first.
Play in the repeaterOne-Armed Robot Letters
Letters: r n m b h p k. Down, back up, then over.
Play in the repeaterZig-Zag Monster Letters
Letters: z v w x. Straight diagonals with sharp points.
Play in the repeaterWhat Are Letter Families?
Letter families are groups of letters that share a start point and a first movement of the pencil. The National Handwriting Association describes them as letters that "start in the same place and use the same initial movement", and gives c as the example: a, g, q, d and o all begin with the same curl.
Learn the movement once and several letters follow. That is the whole idea. The National Curriculum asks Year 1 pupils to "understand which letters belong to which handwriting 'families'" and to practise them.
What Are The Four Letter Families?
Most UK primary teachers know the four names used by BBC Bitesize. The table lists each family with its letters and the movement they share.
| Family | Letters | First movement | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curly caterpillar | c a d g q o e s f | A curl anticlockwise from the top right | Curly caterpillar letters |
| Long ladder | l i t u j y | A straight line down | Long ladder letters |
| One-armed robot | r n m b h p k | Down, back up, then over | One-armed robot letters |
| Zig-zag monster | z v w x | Straight diagonals with sharp points | Zig-zag monster letters |
Play any family in Handwriting Repeater to see the shared movement, or work through the sorter game below.
Sort The Letters Into Their Families
0 of 26 sortedChoose a letter, then choose its family. A correct letter moves into the family box. Nothing is recorded.
Choose a letter to start.
Which Order Should Letter Families Be Taught In?
The DfE does not set an order. The writing framework asks for "a clearly sequenced progression, starting from reception", and leaves the sequence to the school. Two orders are common, and both are defensible.
Order A: straight lines first. Ladder letters, then robot letters, then caterpillar letters, then zig-zag letters. It starts with the simplest movement, a straight line down. Griffin OT, a UK occupational therapy service, argues for easy letters first so that children succeed early.
Order B: curves first. Caterpillar letters, then ladder, robot and zig-zag. The argument is developmental: lines and circles are the first strokes children master, so c, o, a, d, g and q come early. The Happy Handwriter, a South African handwriting site, teaches them in that order.
Pick one, write it in the handwriting policy and keep it the same across the school. Consistency matters more than the choice. Whichever order you use, consolidate each family before moving on. The framework says teaching should be "consolidated before teaching moves on so that pupils do not practise letters incorrectly".
Why Teach Handwriting In Letter Families?
Families let a child practise one movement across several letters. Four reasons come up most often:
- One pattern, several letters. Practising c, o, a, d, g and q together repeats the same curl every time.
- Fewer reversals. Teaching b with the robot letters and d with the caterpillar letters gives each a different start. Teach Handwriting and Griffin OT both say families can help limit b and d reversals.
- Faster joining later. Consistent starting points make joins easier to learn, and the framework links weak formation to difficulty in joining.
- Easier to spot errors. A teacher who knows the family knows exactly where every letter should start.
More on b and d: b and d reversal.
How To Plan Letter Families Week By Week
A simple plan teaches three or four letters of one family each week and revisits earlier letters in every session. The DfE framework asks for teaching that is cumulative, so build on what pupils have already learned.
Here is an example nine-week plan in Order A:
| Week | Focus | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long ladder | l i t |
| 2 | Long ladder | u j y |
| 3 | One-armed robot | r n m |
| 4 | One-armed robot | h b p k |
| 5 | Curly caterpillar | c o a |
| 6 | Curly caterpillar | d g q |
| 7 | Curly caterpillar | e s f |
| 8 | Zig-zag monster | v w x z |
| 9 | Review | Mixed practice and words |
Handwriting is taught alongside phonics and is additional to any formation taught in phonics sessions, so this plan runs on its own timetable. Make your own with the planner: choose an order, set letters per week, then print the plan or open any week in the repeater.
Plan Letter Families Week By Week
Schemes order families differently. The DfE does not set an order, so follow your school's scheme.
Do All Handwriting Schemes Use The Same Letter Families?
No. UK sources use different names and different groupings, and they all group letters by where they start. The table compares five.
| Source | Groups | How it groups letters |
|---|---|---|
| BBC Bitesize | 4 | Curly caterpillar, long ladder, one-armed robot, zig-zag |
| DfE writing framework | 5 | c o a g q d, i l t k j, v w u y f, r n m h p b, e s x z |
| Teach Handwriting | 5 | Straight lines, curves to start, top exit, tunnel, hooks loops and lines |
| Griffin OT | 4 | Start at the top, start at the top with no lifting, starts like curly c, falling over |
| National Handwriting Association | any | Letters that start in the same place with the same first movement |
Even the BBC disagrees with itself. Its overview page lists only c, f, a, q and o as curly caterpillar letters, while its own caterpillar page lists c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s and f.
A few letters move between families depending on the source:
| Letter | BBC family | DfE typical group | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| f | Curly caterpillar | v w u y f | Starts at the top right like the caterpillar letters, then goes straight down |
| k | One-armed robot | i l t k j | Down, then an arm and a leg with no curve |
| u and y | Long ladder | v w u y f | Down, curve, back up and down again |
| e and s | Curly caterpillar | e s x z | Both start near the top right or the middle, with a curve |
| x and z | Zig-zag monster | e s x z | Made of straight diagonals |
The families on this site follow BBC Bitesize, because that is the vocabulary most teachers and parents use. Your school's scheme is the rule for your school.
What Comes After Letter Families?
After children form every family correctly in print, they move on to joins, usually in Year 2. The DfE framework says joined handwriting waits until pupils form print letters "correctly and consistently", and the National Curriculum asks Year 2 pupils to start using some of the strokes needed to join.
Read about pre-cursive handwriting for schools that add exit flicks first, and handwriting joins for the joins themselves.
Questions About Letter Families
How Many Letter Families Are There?
Four in the names used by BBC Bitesize and most primary schools, and five typical groups in the DfE writing framework. Programmes differ.
Is f a Curly Caterpillar Letter?
Yes, in BBC Bitesize. The DfE framework groups f with v, w, u and y, and some schemes group it with the ladder letters. Follow your school's model.
Which Letter Family Is Easiest?
Long ladder letters, because they are straight lines. Curly caterpillar letters are the most common starting point for curves.
Are There Letter Families For Capital Letters?
Families are usually taught for lowercase letters. Capitals have their own page: capital letter formation.
Can Parents Use Letter Families At Home?
Yes. Ask which order your child's school uses, then practise the same family in short sessions. Improve your child's handwriting has a five-minute plan.