The Palmer Method of Business Writing · Lesson 19 · Part 4: First small letters
19. Drills 17 to 19: small i, u and t
Goal: Your child writes small i with a sharp point, small u with even spacing, and small t, crossing it with a short line.
You'll need
- Wide-ruled lined paper (several sheets)
- A sharp pencil or a smooth gel pen
- The book open at today's page
- A watch, clock or phone timer that shows seconds (only for the optional speed check)
What's in the book
Lesson 19 has three drills: small i (drill 17), small u (drill 18) and small t (drill 19), with notes on the sharp top of i, the "lateral space" in u, and how t is made from i.
The lesson, step by step
Warm up
Three to five minutes: compact ovals (drill 3), a line of small o (drill 11) and a line of small m (drill 14). This is the book's daily opening from now on.
Look at the model
Open the book page. Look at drills 17, 18 and 19. Small i is made all with an under-motion, so it has a sharp point at the top. In u, the distance between its two points is one "space" of width. Small t is a tall i, crossed.
Small i
Two lines of connected i's in groups of five, counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The book asks for down strokes as light as up strokes, and equal distances between letters. Dot the i's after each group.
Small u
Two lines of connected u's, counting 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 for each group of four. Keep the two points of each u the same distance apart as the gap to the next letter.
Small t
Extend small i about two and one-half times its height, cross with a short horizontal line, and the result will be small t.
Two lines of t in groups of five. Make t a little shorter than the tall loop letters will be.
Optional speed target: twenty groups of five t's, one hundred letters, a minute.
Gentle check
Use your eyes constantly, comparing your letters with the drills you are trying to imitate; do your best, and rapid improvement is sure to follow.
Pick one i, one u and one t that look most like the book's.
Finish
Write "tin", "nut" or "mitt".
Afterwards
Split this over two days if it is a lot: i and u one day, t the next.