D'Nealian handwriting
Practice D’Nealian
Worksheet and print settings
Print at 100% (Actual size).
D’Nealian alphabet
Under each D’Nealian letter, the link opens that letter’s lesson with its cursive form in all five styles.
Print the D’Nealian alphabet
Print the D’Nealian sheet for a child’s desk, or the SVG to enlarge the letters for first tracing.
What makes D’Nealian distinct
- The letters lean to the right, and every stroke has the same weight.
- Capitals stay simple and open, close to slanted print forms such as C, E, K, U, V and X.
- Small letters are plain and compact, with short entry strokes.
A short history of D’Nealian
Donald Thurber created D’Nealian in 1978. Its slanted manuscript letters lead into cursive.
Thurber’s slanted print letters carry small tails, often called monkey tails, so that a child learning cursive adds joins rather than new shapes. Scott Foresman published the program.
How to practice D’Nealian
- Trace. Trace the small letters first; they carry most of the joins and the short entry strokes.
- Copy. Copy the capitals beside their slanted print forms, so the change from print to cursive stays small.
- Write words. Write familiar words such as cat, dog and sun, joining each tail to the next letter.
Keep every stroke the same weight and the slant steady. The capitals are simple, so spend your time on joining the small letters.
Open a letter
Children can move letter by letter: each page shows the stroke steps, the joins and one mistake to fix.
Other cursive styles
Spencerian script
An ornate business script from the mid-1800s, written with shaded strokes.
Zaner-Bloser
The Columbus, Ohio method of Charles Zaner and Elmer Bloser, widely used in US schools.
Palmer Method
Austin Norman Palmer’s plain business writing, taught in US schools.
