NZ handwriting name tracing

• Basic script
• Year 0 to Year 3
• Macrons
• A short daily routine
• Capitals and lowercase
• Sizes
• Setting up a class
• Common mistakes
• Questions

Basic script and the New Zealand handwriting font

New Zealand schools teach a simple, unjoined handwriting called basic script. The Ministry of Education’s Teaching Handwriting guidance, first published in 1985 and updated in 2025 for the English learning area, says it should be taught to all learners from Years 0 to 8.

In March 2026 the Ministry introduced Playwrite New Zealand, a font family built so that teachers model letters the same way from class to class. These NZ basic script worksheets use its basic version, Playwrite NZ Basic, the font the Ministry uses for basic script in its own Teaching Handwriting booklet.

You’ll notice a gentle forward slope, plain block capitals and lowercase letters that stand apart with no joining strokes. The t has no exit flick, and the f sits on the line instead of dropping below it.

One line in the guidance is worth keeping in mind with any tracing sheet: teachers should stress how the pencil moves rather than insist on an exact copy of the model shape. The worksheet shows the shape; you teach the movement. For more on the style itself, see our guide to New Zealand handwriting and basic script.

Year 0 name writing through to Year 3

In most New Zealand schools a child can start on their fifth birthday, though some schools take new entrants in groups at the start of each term. School is compulsory from six.

The Ministry’s guidance notes that some new entrants can already write their own name while others have rarely held a pencil. New entrant name tracing works for both: a word every child cares about, in the school’s letter shapes.

In the first six months the guidance focuses on grip, sitting well at a desk, starting letters in the right place and forming lowercase letters and numerals correctly. By the end of the first year children have met every letter and the numerals 0 to 9. The second and third years turn to size, placement on the line, spacing and a consistent slope, which is when the smaller sizes and extra blank rows come into their own.

Names with macrons print correctly

Type names exactly as whānau spell them, tohutō included: Tāne, Rāwiri, Ātaahua, Kōwhai. The macrons appear in the live preview and in the printed PDF, sitting over the right vowel in the same handwriting as the rest of the name.

Treat the macron as part of the spelling, not decoration: a name written without it is spelt differently. The Ministry takes the same view in its own materials, where the letter formation guide comes in a second version with tohutō on the vowels.

On most phones and tablets, press and hold a vowel to choose the macron version. On a computer, add the Māori keyboard in your language settings.

A short daily routine

The Ministry suggests ten to fifteen minutes of explicit handwriting teaching each day, and says short, focused sessions work better than long ones. An NZ handwriting name tracing page fits into about five minutes of that, ideally with a small group at a table where you can see every pencil.

1. Model the name. Write it on a whiteboard while the children watch, with a short prompt for each letter, such as “start at half height, curve down and around” for the a in Aroha. Keep the talk brief; the guidance warns that too much of it overloads beginners.
2. Finger first. Children trace the dark example row with a finger, saying where each letter starts.
3. Pencil on the grey rows. Move around while they trace. The guidance points out that letters can look right on the page yet be formed the wrong way, so fix a wrong start on the spot, not at marking time.
4. Finish on the blank rows. Writing the name without a guide shows you what the child can do on their own. For what tracing does and doesn’t teach, see do tracing worksheets help?

For a new entrant, start with the largest size, Once in each row, one or two tracing rows and a single blank row. Build towards the default of three tracing rows and two blank rows as control and stamina grow. A few careful rows beat a rushed full page. For practice away from the page, try our name writing activities and fine motor activities.

Capital first letter, lowercase for the rest

In the Ministry’s guidance, lowercase letters are the priority for the first six months of school, and capitals are learned afterwards as shapes of their own. Basic script uses block capitals, and every name starts with one.

That makes the default setting, Capital first letter, right for most children: Aroha, not AROHA. All capitals can look easier to a five-year-old, but it practises shapes they won’t use for the rest of the word. If you’d like a child to work on lowercase only for a few weeks, choose All lowercase and switch back once capitals are taught. Our guide on teaching capitals or lowercase first explains the thinking.

Sizes for each year

Year	Letter height	Good for
Year 0–1	20 mm	New entrants still learning pencil control
Year 2	15 mm	Letters sitting comfortably on the lines
Year 3	11 mm	Close to everyday writing size

The size is measured from the top line to the baseline. Every row has four lines: a top line, a dashed midline for the height of small letters, a baseline and a tail line for letters such as g, j, p and y. Long names shrink to fit the row. Print at actual size (100%), and move a child down a size when their letters sit comfortably within the lines, not simply because a new year has started. Our guide to handwriting lines explains what each line is for.

Setting up for a new entrant class

New entrants arrive across the year, so keep a running class list. Paste the names in, or import a CSV or text file, tick Sort names A to Z and you get one PDF with a page per child. Lists over 100 come as a second set. When a new child starts, make a single page for them on their first day.

• Turn on the Name and Date line and keep dated pages in each child’s folder, beside the Ministry’s editable Years 0–3 handwriting record.
• Add the Draw yourself box for a first-week page with a self-portrait above the name. The Ministry’s advice to families suggests children draw pictures and write their name, letters and numbers at home, so this page travels home well.
• Use pencil for the main practice. The guidance favours pencils for their friction and because mistakes rub out tidily; save laminated pages for extra turns.
• In the live preview, drag pages into any order, such as by group. It draws pages exactly as they’ll print.
• Print with grey lines to save ink, or choose colour lines for a blue top line and red baseline.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

• Round letters started in the wrong place. In basic script, c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s and f are taught together because each starts with an anticlockwise curve. Teach the start once and it carries across the group. See teaching letters in families.
• b and d swapped. b starts at the top with a straight line down; d starts at half height with a curve, like a. Rub out a reversal straight away so the child sees the correct letter more often. More in our guide to letter reversals.
• A capital in the middle of the name. Children often reach for B or D because they are easier to tell apart than b and d. The guidance recommends correcting this quickly.
• An awkward grip. Look for a tripod grip: the pencil held between thumb and forefinger, supported underneath by the middle finger. An assistive grip helps most in the first two years at school, before a habit sets. See pencil grip.
• A left-hander hooking their wrist. Turn the paper clockwise, at more of an angle than for a right-hander, have them hold the pencil a little further back, and seat them where their arm won’t be bumped. Our guide for left-handed writers has more.

Questions

Sources

• Ministry of Education, Tāhūrangi: Teaching Handwriting
• Ministry of Education, Tāhūrangi: New handwriting resources: Playwrite (9 March 2026)
• Ministry of Education: English in the first 6 months at school
• Ministry of Education: Primary and secondary education
• Google Fonts: Playwrite New Zealand Basic