# Write Right Formation Stories Level: All Levels Notes: Complete letter formation stories for all 26 letters, organised by family. Includes patters, narratives, and illustration briefs. Publication: PLD Pack, Resource Pack, Student Book 2, Teacher Handbook Status: In Progress Type: Framework --- ## How Stories Work with Patters | Element | Purpose | When Used | | --- | --- | --- | | **Formation Patter** | Procedural instruction ("what to do") | Teacher modelling, guided practice | | **Formation Story** | Memorable narrative ("why it looks like that") | Introduction, recall prompts, struggling learners | | **Visual Cue** | Image that embeds the letter shape | Posters, flashcards, worksheets | **Teaching sequence:** 1. Tell the story (engagement) 2. Show the letter (visual connection) 3. Say the patter while forming (motor memory) 4. Children practice with patter (independence) --- # 🌀 Family 1: Curly-C Letters --- ## Letter: c ### Formation Patter **"Curl around and stop"** ### Formation Story *"Curly the cat curls up for a nap. Around she goes... and stops."* ### Teaching Notes - Foundation letter for this family - Start just below midline - Anticlockwise curve - Stop before closing the circle ### Visual Cue **Curled-up cat** (viewed from above) ### Common Errors - Starting at wrong point - Going clockwise instead of anticlockwise - Closing the circle (making 'o') ### Illustration Brief A cat curled into a 'c' shape, sleeping. The curve of the cat's body forms the letter. --- ## Letter: a ### Formation Patter **"Curl around, up, down, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Curly curls up, then stretches her tail up and lets it drop down with a little flick at the end."* ### Teaching Notes - Start with 'c' shape - Retrace up the right side - Straight down - Exit flick for joining ### Visual Cue **Cat with tail** — the curl is the body, the line is the tail ### Common Errors - Not closing the 'a' bowl - Lifting pen mid-letter - Forgetting exit flick ### Illustration Brief Curled cat with a straight tail pointing down, small flick at tail tip. --- ## Letter: d ### Formation Patter **"Curl around, up tall, down, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Curly curls up and stretches her tail ALL the way up to the sky, then lets it drop down with a flick."* ### Teaching Notes - Same as 'a' but ascender reaches sky zone - Emphasise tall stretch - Often confused with 'b' ### Visual Cue **Cat with LONG tail** reaching high ### Common Errors - Confusing with 'b' (different start) - Not reaching full height - Starting with the stick ### Illustration Brief Curled cat with an extra-long tail stretching upward, then dropping. --- ## Letter: g ### Formation Patter **"Curl around, up, down below, curl back"** ### Formation Story *"Curly curls up, stretches her tail down underground, and curls it back like a hook to catch mice!"* ### Teaching Notes - Descender goes into earth zone - Ends with a curl (not flick) - The hook is important for joining ### Visual Cue **Cat with hooked tail** going underground ### Common Errors - Descender not deep enough - Forgetting the hook curl - Confusing with 'q' ### Illustration Brief Cat curled up, tail descending below the ground and curling like a fishing hook. --- ## Letter: q ### Formation Patter **"Curl around, up, down below, flick away"** ### Formation Story *"Curly curls up, stretches her tail underground, and flicks it away — 'q' always has 'u' following, so she flicks toward the next letter!"* ### Teaching Notes - Like 'g' but flick instead of curl - Always followed by 'u' - Flick prepares for the join ### Visual Cue **Cat flicking tail toward 'u'** ### Common Errors - Curling like 'g' instead of flicking - Confusing with 'g' - Forgetting q-u rule ### Illustration Brief Cat with tail underground, flicking outward (toward an approaching 'u'). --- ## Letter: o ### Formation Patter **"Curl all the way around, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Curly curls ALL the way around in a perfect circle, then flicks her tail ready to go."* ### Teaching Notes - Complete circle - Close the shape - Add exit flick ### Visual Cue **Cat fully curled** into a ball ### Common Errors - Not closing the circle - Spiral instead of circle - Forgetting exit flick ### Illustration Brief Cat curled into a perfect ball (donut shape), with small flick for tail. --- ## Letter: e ### Formation Patter **"Across, curl around"** ### Formation Story *"The cat sees something! She looks straight ahead, then curls around to pounce."* ### Teaching Notes - Starts with horizontal line - Then anticlockwise curl - Different start from other Curly-C letters ### Visual Cue **Cat looking then curling** ### Common Errors - Starting with the curl - Not keeping horizontal line level - Going clockwise ### Illustration Brief Cat with head pointing forward (the line), body curling around. --- ## Letter: s ### Formation Patter **"Curl in, curl out"** ### Formation Story *"The cat slithers like a snake! Curl in at the top, curl out at the bottom — ssssss!"* ### Teaching Notes - Two curves, opposite directions - Often tricky for children - Connect to the 's' sound ### Visual Cue **Slithering snake-cat** ### Common Errors - Reversing (backward s) - Making it too angular - Curves not balanced ### Illustration Brief Cat in a snake-like S pose, slithering. --- ## Letter: f ### Formation Patter **"Curl back, down tall, cross"** ### Formation Story *"The cat does a backflip! She curls backward, lands with a tall straight body, and crosses her paws."* ### Teaching Notes - Starts like a backward 'c' - Tall descender (but doesn't go below) - Cross added after ### Visual Cue **Cat doing backflip with crossed paws** ### Common Errors - Curling forward instead of back - Forgetting the cross - Cross too high or low ### Illustration Brief Cat mid-backflip, body tall and straight, front paws crossed. --- # 📏 Family 2: Long-Line Letters --- ## Letter: l ### Formation Patter **"Down tall, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Lenny the giraffe stretches his long neck all the way down to drink from the river, then flicks his head up."* ### Teaching Notes - Simplest tall letter - Start at sky zone - Straight down to baseline - Exit flick ### Visual Cue **Giraffe's long neck** ### Common Errors - Not reaching full height - Wobbly line - Forgetting flick ### Illustration Brief Giraffe with extremely long neck reaching down, head flicking up at bottom. --- ## Letter: i ### Formation Patter **"Down, flick, dot"** ### Formation Story *"Little giraffe does a short stretch down, flicks, then a fly lands on his head — dot!"* ### Teaching Notes - Short version of 'l' - Dot added last - Dot directly above ### Visual Cue **Short giraffe with fly on head** ### Common Errors - Line too tall - Dot too far away - Forgetting dot ### Illustration Brief Small/young giraffe, short neck, with a fly (dot) above head. --- ## Letter: t ### Formation Patter **"Down, flick, cross"** ### Formation Story *"The giraffe stretches down, flicks, then a branch crosses in front of him — t!"* ### Teaching Notes - Shorter than 'l' (below sky zone) - Cross added after - Cross at midline height ### Visual Cue **Giraffe with branch across** ### Common Errors - Making 't' too tall - Cross too high or low - Forgetting cross ### Illustration Brief Giraffe with medium neck, horizontal branch crossing in front. --- ## Letter: u ### Formation Patter **"Down, curve, up, down, flick"** ### Formation Story *"The giraffe goes down to drink, curves through the water, comes back up, goes down again, and flicks!"* ### Teaching Notes - Continuous stroke - Smooth curve at bottom - Two down strokes ### Visual Cue **Giraffe drinking and lifting** ### Common Errors - Angular instead of curved - Lifting pen - Uneven sides ### Illustration Brief Giraffe neck going down, curving through water (U shape), coming back up. --- ## Letter: y ### Formation Patter **"Down, curve, up, down below"** ### Formation Story *"The giraffe does 'u', but this time stretches his neck underground to find buried treasure!"* ### Teaching Notes - Like 'u' but descender - Second line goes to earth zone - No flick (ends below) ### Visual Cue **Giraffe digging underground** ### Common Errors - Not going deep enough - Treating like 'u' - Adding unwanted curl ### Illustration Brief Giraffe neck doing U shape, then second line going underground. --- ## Letter: j ### Formation Patter **"Down below, curl, dot"** ### Formation Story *"The giraffe stretches underground, curls to find a treat, and a fly lands on his head — dot!"* ### Teaching Notes - Descender with curl - Like 'i' but going underground - Dot added last ### Visual Cue **Giraffe underground with fly** ### Common Errors - Not deep enough - Forgetting curl - Forgetting dot ### Illustration Brief Giraffe neck going underground, curling at bottom, fly (dot) above. --- # 🏀 Family 3: Bounce Letters --- ## Letter: r ### Formation Patter **"Down, up, over"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy goes down into his burrow, bounces up, and hops over a little hill."* ### Teaching Notes - Foundation for this family - Short arch - Doesn't complete the arch ### Visual Cue **Rabbit starting to hop** ### Common Errors - Making arch too big - Starting with arch - No retrace up ### Illustration Brief Rabbit going down, then beginning to hop over small mound. --- ## Letter: n ### Formation Patter **"Down, up, over, down, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy goes down, bounces up and over the hill, lands down the other side, and flicks his tail!"* ### Teaching Notes - Complete single arch - 'r' with finished arch - Two down strokes ### Visual Cue **Rabbit completing one hop** ### Common Errors - Pointed arch (should be curved) - Arch too wide - Forgetting flick ### Illustration Brief Rabbit completing one full hop over a hill. --- ## Letter: m ### Formation Patter **"Down, up, over, up, over, down, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy does TWO hops! Down, bounce over one hill, bounce over another hill, land and flick!"* ### Teaching Notes - Two arches - Keep arches same size - Continuous stroke ### Visual Cue **Rabbit doing double hop** ### Common Errors - Uneven arches - Three humps instead of two - Lifting pen ### Illustration Brief Rabbit hopping over two hills in sequence. --- ## Letter: h ### Formation Patter **"Down tall, up, over, down, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy climbs a TALL tree, comes partway down, bounces over a branch, lands, and flicks!"* ### Teaching Notes - Tall start (ascender) - Arch starts partway down - Similar to 'n' with tall start ### Visual Cue **Rabbit in tall tree bouncing** ### Common Errors - Arch too high or low - Not starting tall enough - Detaching arch from stem ### Illustration Brief Rabbit on tall tree, bouncing over a branch partway down. --- ## Letter: b ### Formation Patter **"Down tall, up, around"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy climbs a tall tree, comes back up, and curls around a big round berry at the bottom!"* ### Teaching Notes - Tall start - Retrace up - Clockwise belly ### Visual Cue **Rabbit with round belly/berry** ### Common Errors - Confusing with 'd' - Belly facing wrong way - Not retracing up ### Illustration Brief Rabbit climbing down tree, coming up, curling around large berry. --- ## Letter: p ### Formation Patter **"Down below, up, around"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy digs deep underground, comes back up, and curls around a carrot!"* ### Teaching Notes - Descender first - Retrace up - Clockwise belly at top ### Visual Cue **Rabbit underground with carrot** ### Common Errors - Not going deep enough - Belly at wrong height - Confusing with 'b' or 'd' ### Illustration Brief Rabbit digging deep, coming up, curling around an orange carrot. --- ## Letter: k ### Formation Patter **"Down tall, up, in, out, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Bouncy climbs tall, comes partway down, kicks IN toward the tree, then kicks OUT and flicks!"* ### Teaching Notes - Tall start - Diagonal in, diagonal out - The "kick" ### Visual Cue **Rabbit doing karate kick** ### Common Errors - Kick not touching stem - Kick going wrong direction - Making it look like 'h' ### Illustration Brief Rabbit on tree doing a karate kick — in toward the tree, out away from it. --- # ⚡ Family 4: Zig-Zag Letters --- ## Letter: v ### Formation Patter **"Diagonal down, diagonal up, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Ziggy darts down into the valley, then darts back up the other side and flicks his tail!"* ### Teaching Notes - Foundation for this family - Two diagonal strokes - Meet at a point ### Visual Cue **Fox running into valley** ### Common Errors - Not meeting at a point - Uneven sides - Rounded instead of pointed ### Illustration Brief Fox darting down into V-shaped valley and up the other side. --- ## Letter: w ### Formation Patter **"Down, up, down, up, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Ziggy runs through TWO valleys — down, up, down, up — and flicks!"* ### Teaching Notes - Double 'v' - Four diagonal strokes - Keep valleys even ### Visual Cue **Fox running through double valley** ### Common Errors - Uneven valleys - Rounded bottoms - Looking like 'uu' ### Illustration Brief Fox running through two connected V-shaped valleys. --- ## Letter: x ### Formation Patter **"Diagonal down, lift, diagonal cross"** ### Formation Story *"Ziggy darts one way, lifts his paws, then darts the other way — crossing his own path! X marks the spot!"* ### Teaching Notes - TWO strokes (pen lift) - Strokes cross in middle - Only letter with pen lift in this family ### Visual Cue **Fox crossing his path** ### Common Errors - Not crossing in middle - Trying to do in one stroke - Lines not straight ### Illustration Brief Fox path crossing itself — X marks where he found treasure. --- ## Letter: z ### Formation Patter **"Across, diagonal down, across, flick"** ### Formation Story *"Ziggy zooms across the top, zips diagonally down, zooms across the bottom, and flicks — ZZZZZ!"* ### Teaching Notes - Horizontal, diagonal, horizontal - The zigzag letter - Connect to 'z' sound ### Visual Cue **Fox zigzagging with lightning** ### Common Errors - Diagonal going wrong way - Lines not straight - Forgetting flick ### Illustration Brief Fox zigzagging like a lightning bolt — zoom, zip, zoom! --- # Quick Reference Tables ## All Letters by Family | **Family** | **Character** | **Letters** | **Core Movement** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 🌀 Curly-C | Curly the Cat | c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s, f | Anticlockwise curl | | 📏 Long-Line | Lenny the Giraffe | l, i, t, u, y, j | Top-down stroke | | 🏀 Bounce | Bouncy the Rabbit | r, n, m, h, b, p, k | Down-up-over arch | | ⚡ Zig-Zag | Ziggy the Fox | v, w, x, z | Diagonal lines | --- ## Teaching Sequence Recommendation | **Week** | **Focus** | **Letters** | **Story Introduction** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Curly-C intro | c | Meet Curly the Cat | | 2 | Curly-C | a, o | Curly's tail, Curly in a ball | | 3 | Curly-C | d, g, q | Long tail, underground adventures | | 4 | Curly-C | e, s, f | Looking, slithering, backflipping | | 5 | Long-Line intro | l, i, t | Meet Lenny the Giraffe | | 6 | Long-Line | u, y, j | Drinking, digging, exploring | | 7 | Bounce intro | r, n | Meet Bouncy the Rabbit | | 8 | Bounce | m, h | Double hops, tree climbing | | 9 | Bounce | b, p, k | Berries, carrots, karate kicks | | 10 | Zig-Zag intro | v, w | Meet Ziggy the Fox | | 11 | Zig-Zag | x, z | Crossing paths, zooming | | 12 | Review | All | All characters together | --- ## Resource Development Checklist ### For Each Letter Family: - [ ] Character illustration (main) - [ ] Character in letter-formation poses - [ ] Story text (child-friendly) - [ ] Teacher script - [ ] Poster design - [ ] Flashcard design - [ ] Animation storyboard ### Per Letter: - [ ] Formation patter card - [ ] Story illustration - [ ] Practice worksheet - [ ] Assessment criteria ---

Patterns

Worksheets