Queensland uses a progressive system of handwriting instruction: first, students are taught an unjoined style of letters called the “beginner’s alphabet”, followed by a partially joined cursive style called the Queensland Modern Cursive.
It is based on The Teaching of Handwriting: A Handbook. The document was published by the state’s Department of Education in 1984 with assistance and feedback from Tom Gourdie (1913–2005). The same department also provides a free handwriting teaching resource called QCursive, which includes QCursive fonts that are based on this model.
Students are introduced to the pattern-making and upper and lowercase letterforms on lined and blank paper in Year 1 (7–8 years old); next they are introduced to ligatures for joining for developing cursive writing in Year 2 (8–9 years old); in Year 3 (9–10 years old), students continue to write in cursive and use pen-lifts; and finally during Years 4–7 (10–13 years old), students can optionally incorporate flourished uppercase letters.
The foundational form of the lowercase letters is a slanted oval. The connecting strokes between letters are diagonal. Only the letter “f” features an ascender loop, and while speed loops are accepted as a consequence of fast writing, they are not taught to students. It should be noted that in this model, letter “d” is drawn with an exit stroke even in the “beginner’s alphabet” while the “a” is not.
