Three-line handwriting paper sized for D'Nealian script: slightly tighter rows than Zaner-Bloser, matched to the curved D'Nealian letter forms.

Free printable D'Nealian handwriting paper PDF. Three-line scaffold (topline / dashed midline / baseline) sized for D'Nealian-style letter forms in K–2.

D'Nealian Handwriting Paper | Free Printable PDF

D'Nealian Handwriting Paper

Lowercase letters without ascenders or descenders (a, c, e, m, n, o, s, u, v, w, x) sit between the dashed midline and the baseline. The midline is where the letter 'tops out'. Reinforcing this to children is the single most useful piece of handwriting instruction.

The dashed line is the x-height boundary

D'Nealian's defining feature is the curved exit stroke on most lowercase letters. The tail of an 'a' curls slightly rightward and upward, anticipating the connection to the next letter. Even in print, students practice this curve — it becomes the link stroke in cursive.

Tails curve into the next letter

Letters like g, p, q, y have tails that drop below the baseline into the gap between rows. Make sure the descender doesn't crash into the topline of the next row down — there should be visible white space between the bottom of the descender and the topline below.

Use the descender space deliberately

D'Nealian script has a subtle right-leaning slant (about 3–5 degrees). On the paper, the lines stay horizontal; the slant comes from the angle at which the child writes the letters. A common mistake is to over-slant or write straight up; both look wrong by D'Nealian's conventions.