C Curriculum Explorer
English·Handwriting & Transcription·procedural

Sitting and holding a pencil

Sit correctly at a table holding a pencil comfortably and correctly; form lower-case letters in the correct direction starting and finishing in the right place

Suggested ages 4–6

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Evidence of understanding

  • Hold a pencil with a comfortable tripod or near-tripod grip
  • Write all 26 lowercase letters with correct starting points and direction
  • Maintain consistent letter size on lined paper

Assessment prompt

When Sitting and holding a pencil sits down to write, do they hold their pencil comfortably and form each letter the right way — starting from the right place and going in the right direction?

Standards alignment

Eng_Y1_WH_01GB · uk-nc-2013

Sit correctly

The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key stage 1

Eng_Y1_WH_02GB · uk-nc-2013

Form lower-case letters

The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key stage 1