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Horizontal Joins — What's included
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Stage 2 · Year 4Handwriting

Horizontal Joins

EN2-HANDW-01·Term 2

A full term of explicit NSW handwriting for Year 4 (Stage 2, EN2-HANDW-01). Horizontal Joins — modelled stroke by stroke with animated teaching slides, printable worksheets and teacher lesson plans plus exit slips. Sequenced on the NSW DoE handwriting instructional sequence and set in the Edu NSW ACT Foundation and Cursive fonts. No prep beyond pressing print.

One-off price

$12.00AUD

Instant PDF download
Single-classroom licence

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Preview the pack (watermarked PDF)

Three levels, one letterform

Every student practises the same joins — pitched to where they are.

Support

Trace the letterform with entry and exit stroke guides

Core

Copy the letters and joins independently

Extension

Write words and sentences in fluent, joined script

What's included

  • Animated teaching slides — every letterform and join modelled stroke by stroke
  • Printable handwriting worksheets with entry/exit stroke guides
  • Teacher lesson plans following the NSW DoE handwriting instructional sequence
  • Edu NSW ACT Foundation & Cursive fonts throughout
  • Differentiated practice — trace ★, copy ★★, write independently ★★★
  • Exit slips for quick, low-stakes assessment
  • Term focus: Horizontal Joins

Built on the evidence

This isn't a worksheet dump. Every choice in this pack is grounded in what the NSW Department of Education says actually helps students learn.

  • Explicit teaching, modelled stroke by stroke

    The teaching slides model each letterform and join in front of the class before students practise — I do → we do → you do — with correct entry and exit strokes, exactly as NSW handwriting instruction prescribes.

    NSW DoE · Handwriting instructional sequence (2023)

  • Transcription automaticity frees working memory

    Fluent, legible handwriting stops letter formation from competing for attention, so working memory is freed for spelling and composition — the reason handwriting fluency is taught explicitly, not left to chance.

    CESE · Cognitive load theory

  • Differentiation: trace → copy → write

    Every lesson moves from tracing (★) to copying (★★) to independent writing (★★★), scaffolding motor control so novices succeed while confident writers are extended.

    CESE What Works Best 2025 · Explicit teaching

  • Correct NSW letterforms & fonts

    Set in the official Edu NSW ACT Foundation and Cursive fonts and sequenced Foundation → precursive → cursive joins, so students learn the exact letterforms NSW expects. Aligned to EN2-HANDW-01.

    NESA · NSW English K–10 (2022)

More Year 4 handwriting

CC BY 4.0 · Syllabus outcomes © NESA 2022