Tracing Worksheets
Print tracing worksheets for pre-writing practice: 9 line sheets (straight, standing, slanted, zigzag, wavy, hills, cups, loops and castle lines), a mixed line sheet, circles, spirals, shapes, stars and hearts, and 8 pictures we drew ourselves to trace (fish, house, apple, sun, balloon, boat, flower, leaf). Every path starts with a green dot and has an arrow on the line that shows which way to go, and the pictures number their strokes. Pick a level: easy has big rows and thick dots, hard has small rows and fine dots. Choose dots, dashes or a light grey line, US Letter or A4, and print one sheet or all of them in one PDF. Download a PDF, 300 DPI PNG or SVG. Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Print at 100% (Actual size). Slip a sheet into a plastic sleeve to trace with a dry-erase pen again and again.
Sheet
Page
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing is uploaded or saved. The lines, shapes and pictures are our own drawings. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make a tracing worksheet
- Choose a worksheet: lines, shapes or a picture, or all sheets in one PDF.
- Pick the level (easy, medium or hard) and the tracing look: dots, dashes or a light grey line.
- Keep the green start dots and arrows on, or turn them off for a harder sheet.
- Add a title and the name line, and set the number of copies.
- Download the PDF and print at 100% (Actual size).
What you can use it for
- Pencil control practice before letters and numbers
- Morning work and quiet-time pages for preschool and kindergarten
- Dry-erase practice in a plastic sleeve
- A sheet a day from the all-sheets PDF
- Practice with crayons, markers or a paintbrush on the easy level
- Homeschool fine motor pages
The 22 worksheets
| Worksheet | Kind | Paths to trace (easy level, Letter) |
|---|---|---|
| Straight lines | Lines | 5 |
| Standing lines | Lines | 65 |
| Slanted lines | Lines | 55 |
| Zigzag lines | Lines | 5 |
| Wavy lines | Lines | 5 |
| Hills | Lines | 5 |
| Cups | Lines | 5 |
| Loops | Lines | 5 |
| Castle lines | Lines | 5 |
| Line mix | Lines | 6 |
| Circles | Shapes | 3 |
| Spirals | Shapes | 3 |
| Shapes | Shapes | 3 |
| Stars and hearts | Shapes | 3 |
| Fish | Pictures | 4 |
| House | Pictures | 5 |
| Apple | Pictures | 3 |
| Sun | Pictures | 9 |
| Balloon | Pictures | 3 |
| Boat | Pictures | 4 |
| Flower | Pictures | 9 |
| Leaf | Pictures | 2 |
Every sheet has a solid example first (the first row, the first shape or a small copy of the picture in the corner), which you can turn off.
Levels
| Level | Rows on a line sheet (Letter) | Shapes per row | Pictures per page | Dot size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 mm |
| Medium | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1.1 mm |
| Hard | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0.8 mm |
The paths keep the same shape at every level; only the size, the dot size and the gap between dots change.
Start dots and arrows
| Guide | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| Green dot | On the first point of the path |
| Orange arrow | On the path, a little after the start, pointing the way the path goes |
| Green number | Next to the start dot, on pictures with more than one stroke |
Our tests check every start dot and arrow on every sheet and level against the path it belongs to.
Tracing tips
| Tip | Why |
|---|---|
| Start with a crayon or a thick marker | Easier to hold for small hands, and the easy level has room for it |
| Trace from the green dot | The same start and direction every time |
| Go slowly over curves | Waves, hills and loops are the harder moves |
| Use a plastic sleeve | Trace with a dry-erase pen, wipe and go again |
For more paper, try Lined Paper or Graph Paper, and for a pencil game, the Maze Generator.
What prints
| Download | What is in it |
|---|---|
| One page per sheet or copy, vector lines and dots, at real size | |
| PNG 300 DPI | One picture per page (a ZIP when there are several) |
| SVG | The page on screen at real size |
More free tools
More printables for little hands?
Printable pages and activity makers that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
What are tracing worksheets?
Pages with dotted or light lines that a child traces with a pencil or crayon. They start with straight lines and simple curves, then zigzags, waves, loops and shapes, which are the same moves used later in letters and numbers.
Which sheet should we start with?
Most children start with straight lines from left to right, standing lines from top to bottom and big circles, on the easy level. Then try zigzags, waves and hills, and leave loops, castle lines and spirals for later.
What do the green dots and arrows mean?
The green dot is where to start, and the arrow sits on the line, pointing the way to go. On the pictures, the numbers next to the dots give an order for the strokes. Both are drawn from the same path as the dots, so they always sit on the line.
What changes between the levels?
Easy has the biggest rows and thickest dots, so few paths fit on a page. Medium and hard make the rows smaller and the dots finer and closer together, and fit more shapes and pictures on a page. The table on this page gives the numbers.
Are there letter or number tracing sheets here?
No. These sheets are for lines, shapes and pictures only, the practice that comes before letters. There are no letters or numbers to trace; the small green numbers on the pictures only show the order of the strokes.
Who drew the pictures?
We did. The 8 pictures (fish, house, apple, sun, balloon, boat, flower, leaf) are our own simple line drawings, made from the same paths that the dots follow. There are no characters from films or shows.
Can I use the sheets in class or sell them?
Yes. The lines, shapes and pictures are ours, and you may use the sheets and anything made with them, including in things you sell, without giving credit. The note under the tool gives the full terms.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The sheets are drawn by JavaScript in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved when you close the page.