We are constantly adding new resources to Letter-join, many suggested by our subscribing schools.

Autumn 2024
Seasonal resources

Hanukkah

Hanukkah handwriting

This year, the Jewish Festival of Hanukkah begins on Wednesday 25th December and ends on Thursday 2nd January 2025.

 

Go to Letter-join’s Seasonal Resources to find out about the eight day festival with Letter-join’s newly-created Hanukkah worksheets for all key stages.

 






Create a Hanukkah Word Bank

Use Letter-join’s Word Animator to create word animations of Hanukkah related words and save them into a Word Bank.

 

Pupils can then log in to the Pupil account, chose their class name and access their class Word Bank at school or at home on a PCs or tablets.







 

 

Christmas

Christmas Word Banks

Select from three levels of ready-made Christmas Word Banks on the pull-down menu using printed or cursive letters. Click on ‘Activities’ to create a spelling list or word search modelling these words.

 

 

Christmas Cards

Choose from a selection of Letter-join Christmas cards to trace, copy, colour and practise handwriting.

 

 

Christmas Craft

Children can make their own Christmas pudding decoration and practise their handwriting by writing festive words with this fun Letter-join craft activity.



 

Remembrance Day

Introduce your children to the meaning of Remembrance Day with Letter-join’s handwriting worksheets for each key stage. These can be found in Letter-join’s Seasonal Resources.

 

Help pupils to understand that on this day we remember the soldiers who died fighting for their country to make sure that their families were safe and how we remember them to say thank you for what they did.

August 2024
When I Grow Up activity

When I Grow Up is an engaging new handwriting activity from Letter-join for Early Years and Key Stage 1. Children will have great fun making their own colourful posters for display in the classroom or to take home to show family and friends.

 

Children can easily follow these simple steps to produce a poster to be proud of!

 

• Select When I Grow Up from the Letter-join Fun section to start.

• Children can type their name into the box and trace over it.

• Choose the speaker icon to listen to the name of each job, then the tick symbol to select one.

• Scroll through the pictures and ‘tick’ the one you like.

• Neatly trace over the name of the chosen job.

• Select the ‘printer’ icon to print a poster.

• Now trace neatly over the sentence for real handwriting practice.

 

As with all Letter-join activities the When I Grow Up posters will be displayed in your chosen letterforms and class font.

June 2024
Summer handwriting activities

Early Years

Playground handwriting
Now the weather is finally improving, why not make the most of the fresh air and get outside for some summer handwriting fun!

Here are some suggestions for outdoor activities using Letter-join’s Large Display Sheets for pre-writing patterns and letters:

Children can:

• Practise making the patterns or letters on the ground in the playground using coloured chalk.

• Copy and paint big patterns or letters on walls or fences using thick paint brushes and water.

• Squirt water from squeezy bottles to make patterns or letters on walls or fences.

• Teachers can draw, paint or squirt large patterns or letters for children to trace or follow by walking along them.


Seaside handwriting

Combine handwriting with counting practice with this colourful and engaging On the beach worksheet, great for improving number and letter formation.
And why not practise some seaside phonics too! Just select the beach picture on Phozzle, play the game, then use the picture as a cue for a class discussion about the seaside.

Key Stage 1

Summer handwriting

Your learners will have plenty of fun refining their sequencing skills with How to build a sandcastle and writing a Summer poem while improving their handwriting neatness too.

With summer weekends and school holidays on the way, check out Letter-join’s Bucket and spade list which can be displayed on your class whiteboard with no printing or planning required. Packed with fun ideas for summer activities as well as plenty of handwriting practice.


Key Stage 2

Polish those English skills and work on neat handwriting presentation with Summer morning a poem to copy which uses great examples of personification.

Encourage your class to get creative whilst improving their cursive handwriting and exploring new vocabulary with Drawing with Words Pupils can use one of Letter-join’s simple shape outlines or create their own pictures using words. The aim is to fill the outline with cursive handwritten words relating to the shape they have chosen using any colours and materials of their choice.

How about some French or Spanish? Try handwriting in another language with At the beach worksheets.

End of term activities
Why not try these great handwriting suggestions as we near the end of the summer term - no planning or preparation required!  

 
Thank you note: Children can write a thank you note to someone at school who has helped them during the year.

My new teacher: Ask children to think about what their next teacher would like to know about them.

 

Pupil log-in for summer activities

With the summer break approaching, now is a good time to remind your children of Letter-join’s Pupil login details. This will allow them to practise handwriting at home, in a fun way over the school holidays on their PCs or tablets.

 

To do this, simply click ‘Info’, then the ’Pupil log-in’ button for more information. You’ll also see information on how to make a Word Bank of summer words for them to practise.

 
Direct your pupils to the ‘Fun’ section which contains a selection of some excellent Letter-join online activities; a little, regular handwriting practice over the school holidays will help reinforce all the great handwriting skills they’ve learnt over the last school year.
 

 

When your pupils log in at home and select your class name, they’ll be automatically using the same fonts and handwriting style you’ll be teaching them when they return to school. 
May 2024
Left-handed Guidance

The Letter-join Team have created a document complete with useful tips and handwriting support for your left-handed learners. Packed full of practical guidance for making the appropriate provision for left-handed children, such as how to:

 

• recognise the needs and challenges of left-handed pupils

• model left-handed writing

• practise the correct pencil grip

• sit and position the paper correctly

 

Some practical help right from the start can make a huge difference to the learning outcomes of left-handed children.

Letter-join’s Guide to Provision for Left-handed Writers is available with a school subscription and can be accessed from any Classroom page by selecting Info > Instruction Guides > Left-handed Guidance or just type ‘left’ into the Search bar.

March 2024
Joining Practice

Take a look at these the new additions to Letter-join resources for joining techniques - double and tricky letters!

Your pupils can polish their letter joining skills by watching the animations in the Word Banks and tracing them on IWBs and tablets before completing the worksheets for real handwriting practice.

Now teachers can choose from a collection of fun handwriting practice tasks, from how to join letters horizontally and diagonally, to practising double letters and other tricky joins.

All the resources are available in the Letter-join Lead-in or No-Lead font to suit your school’s preferred handwriting style.

 

To find these new resources, select ‘More …’ and then ‘Joins’ from a Classroom page.

December 2023
Dictation updates

Try Letter-join’s newly updated Dictation Exercises!

 

Letter-join’s Dictation section has been updated to include extra resources accompanied by colourful illustrations and a new, easy-to-use player console. Any Letter-join font can be chosen to use with these resources.

 

The Dictation Exercises are a great tool for developing children’s written language skills and strengthening spelling in a meaningful way. Pupils can start by practising new sounds and words linking reading with spelling and work towards the legible, speedy handwriting required in Year 6. Pupils are encouraged to check for mistakes, and edit their writing, helping them to identify errors in their own written work. The exercises are divided into six categories which contain a series of exercises ranging from Phonics phases 2 to 5 to KS2 statutory words.

 

Key Stage 1

• Phonics Phases 2 to 5 Sentences – practise simple sentences using CVC words through to more tricky graphemes in phase 5 phonics.
• Sentences and Stories – a series of sentences and short narratives using the Year 1 and 2 common exception and high frequency words.
• Extra Practice – Easy/Harder exercises ranging from CVC words to numbers, sentences and poems.

 

Key Stage 2

• Traditional Stories and Poems – extracts from well known, familiar tales and poems for children to practise speedy handwriting.
• Year 3/4 and 5/6 Statutory Words Stories - short stories modelling the spelling and context of the Key Stage 2 statutory words.
• Extra Practice – Challenging exercises covering numbers, digits, lists and a longer paragraph.

 

For more information, watch the Dictation video >

May 2023
Remember Write
Letter-join’s fun new handwriting and memory game

Develop your pupils’ memory skills while they practice their handwriting and spelling with Remember Write.

Children can choose from five different levels which show pictures and names of colourful objects. The words on the cards range from Key Stage 1 Phonics to Key Stage 2 statutory spellings.

The picture cards are displayed on screen for children to memorise and are then covered. If they can guess which picture is missing, and they can trace the word neatly, they will be rewarded with a cheer of congratulations.

When the level is completed, they can play again or make the words into a word search or spelling list.

As with all Letter-join activities Remember Write will be displayed in your chosen class font.
 
How to play:
• Choose ‘Remember Write’ from Letter-join’s Fun tab
• Choose a level to play
• Select the number of cards
• Click on the pictures to hear the names of the objects
• Memorise the objects
• Click ‘NEXT’ to hide the cards
• Guess which object is missing
• Trace neatly over the word
• Have another go or make the words into a word search or spelling list.
August 2022
Write in Time!
A brand new game for Key Stage 2 from Letter-join

The National Curriculum states that in Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed. Letter-join’s new handwriting challenge, Write in Time! provides children with the opportunity to practise fast and fluent handwriting which is neat and legible.

To play the game, children can choose from eight familiar Key Stage 2 topics. When they have selected a topic, they need to match the correct word to the picture and then trace the word quickly and neatly. The aim is to match and neatly write as many words as possible against the clock, to help build speed and stamina into their handwriting.

July 2022
Newly updated!

Letter-join’s Lesson Planner video

With Staff Development days just around the corner, now’s the time to watch this step-by-step guide to walk you
 through the teaching of handwriting in your school using Letter-join’s Lesson Planners.


This video explains the two routes into teaching handwriting with Letter-join. Teachers can choose to start teaching with either printed or cursive letters, to suit their school’s handwriting policy. There are 7 modules in each section (print or cursive) which cover Early Years through to Year 6, offering a whole school approach to the teaching of handwriting.

Also, available: 

• Handwriting Assessment Tracker: provides a complete scheme for assessing pupils’ progression in handwriting skills from Early Years to Year 6. 

• KS2 Handwriting Recovery Programme: designed for pupils in upper Key Stage 2 and above who require extra handwriting support.

• Phonics Lesson Planner: delivers extra activities to support phonics teaching and combines the teaching of phonics with handwriting.

 

May 2022
New! Phonics Lesson Planner
Teach phonics with handwriting
Letter-join is pleased to announce the launch of a new Phonics Lesson Planner, delivering extra activities for teachers to support phonics teaching and help to meet National Curriculum requirements. Letter-join’s phonics lesson plans offer an extension to your school’s chosen phonics programme, preparing children for learning to read by reinforcing their phonic knowledge and skills.


Letter-join’s Phonics Lesson Planner provides a structured approach to the teaching and learning of the phonics phases using the Letter-join Print Plus font; ideal for combining the teaching of handwriting with phonics. It delivers a multi-sensory approach using a combination of interactive animations, posters, games, activities and Phonics Sentences and Stories worksheets.

Bring phonics teaching to life and watch your pupils have fun learning with Letter-join’s fun phonics games and activities: Magic Words, SoundMatch, PhonicsMatch and Phozzle.
March 2022
New! Phase 2 to 5 Phonics sentences and stories

A great additional resource to support the teaching and learning of the phonics phases using the Letter-join Print Plus font; ideal for combining the teaching of handwriting with phonics.

Strengthen your pupils’ phonics skills through phases 2-5 with these fun, new worksheets from Letter-join. Every set of sentences and stories contain the relevant phonemes and graphemes to support each phonics phase.

The graphemes related to each phase are highlighted, enabling children to practice reading and writing the sounds within the words of a sentence or short story.        

Find these by selecting the ‘More resources’ tab at the bottom of each of the Phonics Phases pages.

January 2022
Phozzle, a phonics handwriting puzzle

Phozzle supports the teaching of phonics with handwriting. Strengthen your pupils’ phonics knowledge, handwriting and reading skills with this great new activity.

 

Phozzle is ideal to use on whiteboards for a fun, whole-class activity and for children to use individually on iPads and tablets at school and at home. Children can consolidate their phonics learning and practise the orientation of letters whilst having fun with this online jigsaw puzzle game.

 

Successfully tracing over a phoneme or grapheme will remove a puzzle piece revealing a colourful picture underneath. Once the illustration is fully revealed, there is plenty of opportunity to stimulate discussion as each picture is packed full of interesting characters and colourful scenes, for whole-class or paired discussion. For some added amusement, children can hunt for the curly caterpillar hiding in every picture!

 

As with all Letter-join activities, a school’s preferred letterforms for f, k, w, x and z will be used, and the font (printed or cursive) will be as chosen by class teachers.

Find Phozzle in Letter-join’s Phonics section.

How to play Phozzle >

September 2021
Handwriting Assessment Tracker Pack for all pupils

Letter-join’s Handwriting Assessment Tracker Pack has been designed in line with National Curriculum targets for handwriting. It provides a complete scheme for assessing pupils’ progression in handwriting skills from Early Years to Year 6.

The pack contains:

• An individual attainment checklist for each child to track their handwriting development as they move through the school.

• Supporting assessment tasks which can be used as a record of each child’s progress.

As with many of Letter-join’s resources, this pack is designed to be flexible. Teachers can print out the resources included in the reference document or use their own assessment tasks, as appropriate.

Using this pack

Handwriting Assessment Tracker: Record Sheets

For each child, print out one copy of the 6-page Record Sheets document. This will travel with the child from Early Years to Year 6, with the class and teacher names being added each year.

The tasks in this document are for each child to complete, although teachers may choose to use their own assessment tasks, if preferred.

Reference Document for Handwriting Assessment Tracker

The Reference document can be viewed online or one copy printed out for each year group. The Reference Document provides useful resources and tasks to help staff assess each child’s handwriting, although alternative tasks may be used if preferable.

Early July 2021
New font resources added

To help class teachers prepare for September’s new intake, there are now more links to printouts using Letter-join’s latest font, Print Plus. The font has been designed in line with the DfE’s latest Phonics guidance with simple exit strokes for letters that end ‘on the line’.

New printouts include:
• large A4 alphabet posters
• phonics posters (phases 2 to 5)
• A4 alphabet reference sheet
• large A4 outline letters

Links to these printouts can be found by logging in to a classroom account and going to: Info > Lesson Planners > Printed Letters worksheets (in the Early Years - Printed letters section).
June 2021
June updates

In line with the latest DfE guidance on phonics teaching, Letter-join are delighted to announce the first of our roll-outs for Early Years and KS1.

The first two resources for schools to download are the Early Years - Printed letters supplementary Lesson Planner and the Print Plus font for using in MS Word.

 

Early Years - Printed Letters Lesson Planner

PDF available to download and worksheet links now live!

Letter-join has produced a brand new, supplementary handwriting Lesson Planner for those schools who choose to start teaching handwriting with printed letters. All resources supporting this planner will be rolled out in time for the start of the Autumn term.

Letter-join resources to support the Early Years–Printed letters Lesson Planner will include:

• all lowercase letters and words

• all the Phonics activities

• all games and activities

• all EYFS and KS1 worksheets and printouts

Find this on the Teacher Information page > Lesson Planners

Letter-join Print Plus font
for MS Word

Now available to download from school Admin page!

Introducing Letter-join’s new Print Plus font with simple exit strokes for letters that end ‘on the line’. With this font there are alternative letterforms for ‘f’ and ‘k’ which complement your school’s chosen cursive options. This will allow teachers to use the font in MS Word to produce name labels, displays, etc in preparation for the start of term.

 

May 2021
Coming soon!
New Letter-join fonts in line with DfE Phonics Guidance 1 April 2021:
In line with the latest DfE guidance on phonics teaching, Letter-join’s Phonics resources will soon be available with a choice of two printed fonts: Letter-join Print and new Letter-join Print Plus with simple exit strokes for letters that end ’on the line’. Resources using these fonts include instructional animations, on-line activities and posters. 
 
This will be rolled out over the summer term ready for the beginning of the new academic year.
 
Starting Handwriting with Printed Letters
Letter-join is also producing a supplementary Lesson Planner for schools who choose to start teaching handwriting with printed letters. Supporting resources using a printed font include: 
• all lower case letters and words
• all of the Phonics activities
• all games and activities
• all KS1 worksheets
 
There will be two printed fonts; the existing ‘ball and stick’ style and a new, more fluid, printed style.
May 2021
New Letter Families!

Improve your pupils’ letter formation with this great new Letter Families activity.

Children can watch the animations and hear the verbal pathways for the letters in each letter family before 
tracing them. When completed, the letters they have written are displayed on a moving screen with a cheer of encouragement!

As with all Letter-join activities, a school’s preferred letterforms for f, k, w, x and z will be used, and the font (lead-in or no lead-in) will be as chosen by class teachers.

Here’s what to do:
• Choose a letter family to practise.

• Click on the ‘watch’ icon next to the large letter to listen to the sound and see how this family of letters is written.

• You can then watch each letter in the family and listen to the verbal path by clicking the ‘watch’ icon next to each letter.

• Click on ‘Trace the letters’ to practise writing each letter in the family.

• Trace over the letters neatly and when you are happy with your writing, click on the ‘tick’ icon.

• Repeat this with all the letters in the family.

• When you have finished you will get a cheer and see all the letters you wrote!

• You can now choose another letter family to practise.

This activity is ideal for children to use on their iPads and tablets or teachers can demonstrate on the IWB and invite children up to the board to trace on screen.
January 2021
Home Learning Packs: Term 2

A second set of packs for all year groups 

There is now a second set of home learning handwriting packs for each year group which are 
linked to the handwriting learning in Letter-join’s Lesson Planners for term 2. They are ideal for when children have to work from home and each pack is full of handwriting tasks and Letter-join’s online games and activities to keep pupils on track with their learning. They are designed to be easy to follow for both parents and children.           

Class teachers can simply print a pack, fill in the pupil log-in details and photocopy to send home to each child. Alternatively, the PDFs of the packs can be emailed to pupils or posted on a school website for children to copy the handwriting worksheets into their exercise books, try out the on-line activities and have a go at the crafting tasks.

Each pack lists the activities, complete with instructions, and contains a selection of worksheets and printouts, with lots of suggestions for extra tasks. Now, children are all set to enjoy lots of fun handwriting with Letter-join’s colourful and engaging animations and resources.

As with all Letter-join activities, a school’s preferred letterforms for f, k, w, x and z will be used, and the font (lead-in or no lead-in) will be as chosen by class teachers.

The Home Learning Packs are available to school subscribers only and can be found on the teacher Information page.

Find out more about Home Learning packs >

December 2020
Handwriting rescue kit for older pupils

Letter-join announce a Handwriting Recovery Programme for KS2+

Designed to speedily address poor handwriting in Key Stage 2, Letter-join subscribers can now download a new series of Lesson Plans, along with embedded links, to a series of Letter-join worksheets and activities.

This resource is designed for pupils in upper Key Stage 2 and above who require extra support to improve their handwriting. Letter-join’s aim is to deliver an intervention to pupils who are not forming and/or joining letters correctly.

Some children may struggle with their handwriting due to a change of schools or teachers in their early years, or a lack of direct teaching due to absence from school. Other children may simply find handwriting difficult.

Poor handwriting habits in older children, resulting in untidy, illegible handwriting and incorrect letter formation, requires a targeted approach.

Comprehensive lesson plans cover common topics such as:

• Incorrect letter formation
• Letters are not sitting on the baseline
• Ascenders are different heights
• Incorrect spacing between the words
• Adapting handwriting for a range of tasks

Daily 10-15 minute practice sessions are recommended to focus on what needs improving and practice using the lesson plans as required.

Links can be found by going to the Info page on any classroom account and clicking on the Lesson Planner page.

September 2020
Home Learning Packs: Term 1

From Early Years through to Year 6

Letter-join has launched a series of home learning handwriting packs for when it’s necessary for pupils to stay at home. There is now a pack available for each year group 
linked to the handwriting learning in Letter-join’s Lesson Planners for term 1. Each pack is full of handwriting tasks and Letter-join’s online games and activities to keep pupils on track with their learning and are designed to be easy to follow for both parents and children.          

Teachers can simply print a pack, fill in the pupil log-in details and photocopy for each child in their class to use at home. Each pack lists the activities, complete with instructions, and contains all worksheets and printouts required. Now, children are all set to enjoy lots of fun handwriting with Letter-join’s colourful and engaging animations and resources.

As with all Letter-join activities, a school’s preferred letterforms for f, k, w, x and z will be used, and the font (lead-in or no lead-in) will be as chosen by class teachers.

The Home Learning Packs are available to school subscribers only and can be found on the teacher Information page.

Find out more about Home Learning packs >

September 2020
Five and fifteen minute fillers

When you have a few minutes to fill, these whiteboard activities are ideal. 
These easy-to-follow handwriting games and activities will keep your pupils engaged at a minute’s notice. Simply select an activity and display on your class whiteboard; no printing or planning is required. 

Find these in Resources > Printouts > Seasonal and Fillers:

5 minute fillers:

  • GMS warm-ups
  • FMS warm-ups
  • Tripod grip
  • Magic Patterns
  • Magic Words
  • Phonics Phase 1
  • Phonics Phase 2
  • Phonics Phase 3
  • Phonics Phase 4
  • Phonics Phase 5


15 minute fillers:

  • Punctuation Actions
  • PhonicsMatch
  • Word Search
  • Write it Right!
  • Jokes
  • Tongue Twisters
  • ei or ie?
  • Synonyms
  • Capital Letters in Titles
  • Crossword
August 2020
Back to school

Classroom Admin checklist

This easy-to-follow checklist from Letter-join will help you to prepare everything you need for the teaching of handwriting when the children return to school

Print out the correct Handwriting Lesson Planner for your class:
Build handwriting lessons into your timetable and download the Letter-join Handwriting Lesson Planners by logging into a Classroom account and choosing the ‘Info’ button. Print out the relevant worksheets by choosing the ‘Download Worksheets’ button. There are seven modules which cover the teaching of cursive handwriting from EYFS through to Year 6. 

Choose your fonts
Be prepared with fonts to teach handwriting to your class. Download the fonts to create documents in MS Word (use Letter-join Basic for Smart Notebook and Powerpoint). Choose which type of Letter-join font to use in your class for Worksheet Generator, On-line Word Processor and Letter-join’s Fun activities.

Create some fun children’s name labels:

In the Fun section:
• select the Magic Words facility 
• choose a background
• type in the child’s name
• trace over it
• take a screen shot
• print on to card and laminate

Laminate A4 printouts:
Printouts of cursive, capital and printed letters can be laminated for each table in your classroom for children to refer to when undertaking handwriting tasks.

Make classroom displays:
Brighten up your classroom and model good handwriting, ready for the children’s return, with:

• Letter-join’s gross motor skills posters
• Phonics posters (phases 1-5)
• Numbers and alphabet friezes

Watch Letter-join’s video tutorials:

For new subscribers and schools that need to introduce new staff members to the website, Letter-join has produced a series of video tutorials and a Powerpoint staff training presentation. To locate these, follow the links below:

• A six minute overview of Letter-join, introducing the wide range of available resources and facilities.

• A comprehensive Powerpoint presentation, helpful for explaining how the website works, for members of staff or schools that are new to Letter-join.

• Become familiar with Letter-join’s handwriting Lesson Planners which offer a whole school approach to the teaching of continuous cursive handwriting. Choose your year group from Early Years to Year 6.

• To set up your school Letter-join account, the named school administrator needs to log in using the details sent with the ‘Welcome’ email. This video will guide you through how to access all the different facilities on the School Admin page.

• Find out how to build a word bank to make your own word animations for children to watch and practise at school and at home.

• For help with fonts (whether it’s downloading them, displaying them correctly, choosing fonts for your class or selecting your preferred letterforms) these video tutorials  are an essential aid for staff members.
  - Alternative letterforms >

  - Classroom fonts >
  - Download fonts for MS Word >
  - Use fonts correctly in MS Word >

• Finally, don’t forget, Letter-join school subscriptions include lots of great handwriting activities for pupils to enjoy at home, using the same letterforms which have been selected by your school. See where you can find your schools’ Pupil log-in details and prepare parents to set up for home learning with Letter-join.

 
July 2020
New Game! LetterLotto

Here’s another fun game from Letter-join to encourage children to practise their handwriting at home. Great for home learning and to reinforce classroom handwriting lessons.

LetterLotto is ideal for children to use at home on iPads and tablets for independent learning. Children can practise letter recognition and orientation of cursive letters and hear the sound of the letters whilst having fun matching them with the letters on their Lotto card. The letters are then displayed on a moving screen with a cheer of encouragement!

As with all Letter-join activities, a school’s preferred letterforms for f, k, w, x and z will be used, and the font (lead-in or no lead-in) will be as chosen by class teachers.

Click the button and display a random letter. Is it on your card? Trace it neatly and it will be marked off your card. Complete the card to be rewarded with a cheer.

Here’s how to play:

• Under the Fun tab, select ‘LetterLotto’.

• Choose a level to play from Easy, Harder or All.

• Click for a letter on the icon displayed and listen to its sound.

• If the letter is not on the Lotto card, click on the ‘cross’ icon to display the next letter.

• If the letter is on the Lotto card click on the ‘tick’ icon.

• Trace over the letter neatly and it will appear on the Lotto card.

• Repeat this until all the letters on the Lotto card have been matched.

May 2020
LetterMatch
Just added to Letter-join, a new, fun, home learning activity to teach children the names and sounds of the letters of the alphabet. 

Ideal for children to use at home on iPads and PCs for independent learning.

Under the Fun tab, select ’LetterMatch’. Choose a section and listen to the sounds of lowercase letters and names of capitals by clicking on each letter. 

When the sounds have been learned, play a matching pairs game to reinforce the learning task.

As with all Letter-join activities, a school’s preferred letterforms for f, k, w, x and z will be used, and the font (lead-in or no lead-in) will be as chosen by class teachers.
March 2020
Be prepared!

Get ready to practise handwriting at home
Letter-join includes lots of great handwriting activities for pupils to enjoy at home, using the same letterforms which have been selected by your school.

NEW! ‘How to’ videos
Watch Letter-join’s new videos to help ensure that teachers, pupils and parents are set up for home learning with Letter-join.

Video instructions for class teachers >

Video instructions for parents >

Class names
When children log in from home, they can select their class name from the list. If your class name has not already been changed you can do it by selecting: Info > Account Information 

Here are some suggestions of tasks to set for home learning:

Early Years

  • Watch and practise: Patterns, Easy letters, Easy words
  • Magic Patterns
  • Write it Right! (Easy)
  • Phonics phase 1 – click on the picture and make the noises
  • Phonics phase 2 – listen to the sounds and trace the phonemes
  • PhonicsMatch (Phase 2)
Key Stage 1
  • Watch and practise: Easy words, Harder letters, Harder words
  • Watch and practise ’More letters’: Capitals, Printed letters, Numbers, Symbols
  • Magic Words
  • Write it Right! (Medium or Hard)
  • Class Word Banks for:
    - high frequency words
    - spellings
    - seasonal vocabulary, etc.
  • Word search (Easy or Medium)
  • Phonics Phase 3, 4 or 5 – listen to the sounds and trace the phonemes and graphemes
  • PhonicsMatch (Phase 3, 4 or 5)

Key Stage 2

  • PhonicsMatch (revisit Phase 5)
  • Word search (Hard or Harder)
Class Word Banks for:
  • topic words
  • French/Spanish vocabulary
  • spellings, etc.

Go to Key Stage 2 Printouts and try:

  • Note-taking – read the example and practise making notes
  • Nice and Neat – practise copying longer passages in neat handwriting
  • Word of the Week – use the template to explore a new and unfamiliar word
  • History – research a topic and using the template, label a picture and write about it

Set class tasks

Find out how to set learning tasks for your pupils to access at home.
Follow this link >

9th March 2020
Holi activities

It’s Holi on 9th March 2020.

Learn about the most popular Hindu festival with our Holi worksheets and activities which offer lots of handwriting practice too!

For the worksheets click: Resources > Printouts > Seasonal and Fillers > Festivals and select Holi.

Find Holi word banks in Letter-join’s Fun section. Teachers can select a bank of ready-made animations of Holi words on the pull-down list, with or without lead-in lines, for children to practise at school or at home. Great for building and improving your class’s vocabulary and sparking interest for seasonal activities.

Children can choose ‘Watch’ to see the word being written and then ‘Try’ to trace over the words on a whiteboard or tablet.

For further handwriting practice click on ‘Activities’ to:

• Automatically produce a look, trace and copy spelling list using all the words in the seasonal word bank.

• Produce a word search using a selection of words from the bank which can be completed online or printed out for real handwriting practice.

 



February 2020
Phase 5 Phonics

Letter-join’s phonics section has been updated and the addition of phase 5 completes this handy resource from Letter-join, offering further activities to support the teaching of phonics using cursive handwriting.

 

In phase 5, graphemes that have the same sound but different spellings are presented, for example, the long ‘a’ sound: a, ai, ay, ei, ea, a-e. Children can also see how to write split digraphs in words such as the ‘a-e’ in ‘cake’. They can then trace each grapheme on their tablets.

Phase 5 phonics also introduces alternative pronunciations for graphemes, for example, the different sounds made by the grapheme ‘ou’ as in ‘house’, ‘four’, ‘group’ and ‘country’.

The completion of Letter-join Phonics enables the teaching of all the phonics phases using the Letter-join font, building a joined-up approach to teaching cursive handwriting. It also includes PhonicsMatch, a fun matching pairs game where children can test their memory powers against the clock!
February 2020
Five and fifteen minute fillers

When you have a few minutes to fill, these whiteboard activities are ideal. 
These easy-to-follow handwriting games and activities will keep your pupils engaged at a minute’s notice. Simply select an activity and display on your class whiteboard; no printing or planning is required. 

Find these in Resources > Printouts > Seasonal and Fillers:

5 minute fillers:

  • GMS warm-ups
  • FMS warm-ups
  • Tripod grip
  • Magic Patterns
  • Magic Words
  • Phonics Phase 1
  • Phonics Phase 2
  • Phonics Phase 3
  • Phonics Phase 4
  • Phonics Phase 5


15 minute fillers:

  • Punctuation Actions
  • PhonicsMatch
  • Word Search
  • Write it Right!
  • Jokes
  • Tongue Twisters
  • ei or ie?
  • Synonyms
  • Capital Letters in Titles
  • Crossword
January 2020
New Printouts section
Easily find worksheets and printouts

The Printouts section, in Letter-join’s Resources, has recently been updated and now offers easy access to all of the Letter-join worksheets and printouts.

Teachers can choose from our wide range of printed resources by selecting from Early Years, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Posters and Handouts, or Seasonal and Fillers. Each section has a comprehensive list of all printouts, making it easier for staff to locate exactly what they need for teaching handwriting.

December 2019
Search facility
Letter-join has a new way to find resources

Save valuable time looking for worksheets, web pages and activities with Letter-join’s new search facility. Find what you need at the click of a button!

Simply click on the magnifying glass located at the top right of the Letter-join web page and a search bar will appear. Type in a key word for what you are looking for and a list of options will be given for you to choose from.
November 2019
Christmas Word Banks
Christmas Word Banks are now available and ready to use

Find these in Letter-join’s Fun section. Teachers can select a bank of ready-made seasonal words from three different levels on the pull-down list with lead-in or no-lead letters for children to practise at school or at home.

Great for building and improving your class’s vocabulary and sparking their interest for seasonal activities.

Children choose ‘Watch’ to see the word being written on a whiteboard or tablet and then ‘Try’ to trace over the words.

For further practice click on ‘Activities’ to:

• automatically produce a look, trace and copy spelling list using all the words in the seasonal word bank.

• produce a word search using a selection of words from the bank which can be completed online or printed for real handwriting practice.
October 2019
Write it Right!
Check out our latest fun, interactive, cursive handwriting activity

Aimed at EYFS and KS1, this is an independent activity that rewards children’s neat handwriting with a picture gallery of their handwritten words for them to share. Perfect for practising cursive handwriting with the added benefit of strengthening your learners’ reading, spelling and phonic knowledge and skills.

Here’s how it works:

• Select ’Write it Right!’ in Letter-join’s ’Fun’ section
• Children choose a level - easy, medium or hard.
• Then, they type their name and neatly trace over it.
• Next, they select a picture; the word matching the picture is spoken and children trace over the word.
• Children can have as many attempts as they like until they are happy with their handwriting.
• This is repeated for each picture.

Each child’s completed handwritten words are then displayed on a moving screen with a cheer of encouragement!

There is an option to print the page with the completed words for display or to measure progress.
April 2019
Letter-join Phonics
A new, easy and seamless way to combine phonics with cursive handwriting

Letter-join phonic resources encompass Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4. Simply choose one of the phases and select a phoneme for children to hear and practise the sound. Watch the animation of the phoneme and then trace the letters on screen using your chosen Letter-join cursive font and pre-selected letterforms. There is also a picture that uses that phoneme which is sounded out.

Each of the phonemes can be printed out as colourful A4 posters to display in the classroom.

The aim of Letter-join phonics is to be flexible, allowing teachers the opportunity to reinforce the children’s phonics learning as required.

Letter-join’s Phonics resource is designed to support your school’s phonics programme, preparing children for learning to read by strengthening their phonic knowledge and skills. Letter-join Phonics will allow you to teach Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4 using the Letter-join font. This will build a joined-up approach to teaching cursive handwriting in Early Years.

Letter-join phonics includes a fun matching pairs game where children can test their memory powers to beat the clock! There are 3 levels, easy, medium and hard for pupils to explore.

Find out more >
March 2019
Module 7 completes Lesson Planners
Seven Lesson Planners are now available covering EYFS through to Year 6

In our latest module, Module 7, learners will consolidate the stamina and skills required to write at length. They will begin to develop more of a personal handwriting style as they write with automaticity. They will learn to write at different speeds and with different attention to neatness, depending on the task.

Letter-join’s Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar worksheets provide children with a variety of fun and colourful activities. These play a vital part in ensuring that children’s handwriting (including punctuation symbols) is legible ready for the KS2 SATs SPaG test, so no marks are lost due to unclear answers.
January 2019
Year 5 Lesson Planner now available
We are pleased to announce the release of Lesson Planner, Module 6 for Year 5 learners.

Module 6 continues to build on combining fluent handwriting with other subjects across the curriculum.

By the end of this module, children should be producing cursive writing automatically, enabling them to focus on the content of their work rather than the process of writing.

Module 7 for Year 6 is currently in production and should be ready shortly after the Easter break.

December 2018
New! Letter-join Basic
Smart Notebook* users can now download a Letter-join cursive font

Designed for schools wishing to use Letter-join fonts in Smart Notebook, Letter-join Basic is based on our most popular Letter-join Plus font.

The two fonts are almost indistinguishable but Letter-join Basic does not have lead-out lines on the letters o, r, v and w. Letter-join Basic will download with your school’s preferred letterforms.

 *  Smart Notebook V.15 and onwards. 
November 2018
New Year 4 Lesson Planner
We have just released our fifth Lesson Planner which delivers structured handwriting lessons for continuous, cursive handwriting from EYFS through to Year 4.

Each lesson planner is developed in line with the National Curriculum and Letter-join’s resources are used throughout to provide a thorough and interesting way to teach handwriting.

Letter-join’s Handwriting Lesson Planner Module 5 - Year 4, aims to promote meaningful links with other subjects such as English, maths, science, geography and MFL. Making such links enables children to apply the skills they are learning in context and also provides depth to the curriculum.

By the end of this module, children should be well prepared to aim for the handwriting quality, speed and stamina required in upper KS2.

Download sample pages of all modules >
September 2018
No lead-in line animations
Animations for letters and words with no-lead in lines can be chosen by class teachers wishing to teach cursive handwriting in this way. The worksheets associated with letters and words are also available without lead-in lines.

Lead-in line or no lead-in lines - the Letter-join view
Based on many years of experience by our staff, we at Letter-join continue to emphasise fully cursive handwriting with lead-in and lead-out lines in our Lesson Planners and on-line resources.
July 2018
New HD layout
Letter-join users will see that we have improved the layout of the website which is crisper and sharper on desktops, tablets and particularly, on interactive whiteboards. The navigation has been simplified with all resources accessible through a single tab and a new ‘Fun’ section has been added for children to easily access.

• Easier access to Letter-join’s resources
• Same design on desktop and tablet editions
• Future-proof HD graphics
June 2018
GMS Posters!
All of Letter-join's Lesson Planners include a set of fun gross motor activities that can help improve your pupils’ core strength, control and endurance in preparation for handwriting.

Subscribers can now download the 14 A4 posters which can be laminated and displayed in the classroom.
June 2018
New! Lesson Planner Module 3
Handwriting lessons to improve letter formation and orientation of letters through regular practice and to support spelling, grammar and punctuation in readiness for KS1 SATs.

The 3 sections in this module cover:
1) Letter families, high frequency words, joining practice, sequencing sentences and dictation exercises.
2) Further dictation exercises, more high frequency words, 2, 5 and 10 times table facts and SPaG practice for KS1 SATs.
3) More dictation and number writing practice.

Download sample pages >
May 2018
Highlighted writing paper
When learning to write, some children may be confused when using writing paper that shows the guidelines; the number of lines for the 'x' height, descenders and ascenders can be perplexing for them.

To help these children we have produced highlighted writing paper in three different sizes which uses a band of colour that represents the ‘x' height. Ascenders and descenders rise above and drop below the coloured area.

This type of handwriting paper is particularly good for children with dyspraxia and dyslexia or children who find spacial awareness challenging.

Download small highlighted paper >

School subscribers and free trial users can download medium and large sizes.

Click the button above to log in or register for a free trial.
April 2018
Classroom Word Banks
The Letter-join Word Animator can now be used on a class by class basis to create and save word banks of animated words. We’ve also added a feature that automatically creates spelling lists from any Letter-join word bank.

This is ideal for weekly homework spelling lists or project word banks.

Automatically create a ‘Look, Trace and Copy’ spelling list from any Letter-join word bank in the new on-line Word Processor. Designed for teachers wishing to use the Letter-join fonts WITHOUT downloading them it includes templates to create cursive spelling lists and classroom presentations.

See how to create a spelling list >
February 2018
Handwriting Lesson Planner: Module 2
Module 2 of the Handwriting Lesson Planner, is for teaching how to write capital letters, printed letters, numbers and symbols using Letter-join’s on-line and printed resources.

It is available to download as a PDF by all subscribing schools.

Module 2 is divided into 3 sections:
1) Capital letters
2) Printed letters
3) Numbers, punctuation marks and symbols


See sample pages >
November 2017
Handwriting Lesson Planner: Module 1 - EYFS
Letter-join is pleased to announce the new 30 page Handwriting Lesson Planner: Module 1 for pre-cursive patterns and continuous cursive, lower case letters. It can be downloaded by subscribing schools who wish to follow a structured handwriting lesson plan.

Module 1 starts with Getting Ready for Handwriting: warm-up exercises, sitting position and tripod pencil grip.

This first module has been divided into three sections covering:
1) Pre-cursive patterns
2) Easy letters & words
3) Harder letters & words 

See sample pages >
April 2017
Word Animator
By popular request from teachers we are proud to add the Word Animator to Letter-join. Designed for teachers to use at the whiteboard the Word Animator records a word as it is traced. The animations can be saved to a word bank which can then be replayed and practised by pupils on IWBs.
March 2017
New KS1 Dictation Exercises
A series of fun dictation exercises covering Years 1 and 2 common exception and high frequency words.
There are 12 lists of spoken sentences which each lead on to a spoken paragraph using the same words.
Find out more about dictation exercises >
January 2017
KS2 SPaG Worksheets
We have designed a series of worksheets covering spelling, punctuation and grammar topics for KS2 SATs. As well as providing excellent revision and homework sheets, the printouts also enhance pupils' cursive handwriting.
Click here to download an example >