Free printable letter J worksheets for preschool and kindergarten: trace uppercase J and lowercase j, find the letter, follow the letter maze and color J words.
Preschool and kindergartenCommon Core RF.K.1.D, RF.K.3.A2 free PDFs with answer keys
Change the numbers, layout and number of problems, then download a new PDF with its answer key.
J is a less common consonant, but children love its jumpy sound. These free letter J worksheets include tracing J and j with a hook at the bottom, a find-the-letter grid where i and l try to fool them, a J maze and a coloring page for “J is for jam”.
Free letter J worksheets to print (PDF)
Each of these letter J worksheets is a one-page PDF; the find and maze pages add an answer key. Press Customize to change the colors or paper size in the maker on this page.
Trace J and jArrows first, then on their own.PDFCustomizeFind the letter JCircle and count, with key.PDFCustomizeLetter J mazeColor the J path, with key.PDFCustomizeJ is for jamColor, trace and draw.PDFCustomize
The letter J sound
J says /j/, as in jam, jet, juice and jellyfish. The lips push forward a little and the voice is on. J nearly always comes at the start of a word or syllable; English words rarely end in j, and the /j/ sound at the end of a word is usually spelled -dge or -ge, as in bridge and cage. That makes j an easy letter to listen for at the beginning.
J is for jam: letter J words for kids
Words that start with J: jam, jet, juice, jellyfish, jar, jeep, jacket, juggle, jungle, jigsaw.
J inside or at the end: pajamas, banjo, enjoy, ninja, object, major.
The color page uses jam, jet, jellyfish and juice, so children trace each word and color the matching letter.
Letter J at a glance
Place in the alphabet
10th of 26, after I and before K
Type
Consonant
Uppercase shape
Straight lines and curves
Often confused with
i, g and U
Scrabble tile value
8 points
Grouping letters by shape helps handwriting: letters made of straight lines and curves, like J, combine both skills, so practice the separate strokes first.
How to write J and j
Uppercase J: A line across the top, then down the middle and hook to the left at the bottom.
Lowercase j: Start at the middle line, go down below the line, hook to the left, then add a dot.
Uppercase J is a line down with a curve to the left at the bottom, sometimes with a short line across the top. Lowercase j drops below the baseline with the same hook and gets a dot on top. Children often curve the hook the wrong way, so draw an arrow showing the curve going left.
Letter J tracing and the rest of the pack
Trace: letter J tracing with arrows to follow, then uppercase J and lowercase j on their own.
Find the letter: circle every J and j hidden among similar-looking letters, then count them.
Letter maze: color the J squares to make a path from start to finish.
Color: color the big Jj, trace the J words and draw something that starts with J.
Letter J activities for preschool
Short, hands-on games make the letter J worksheets stick. Try one a day alongside the printed pages:
Jelly bean J: lay jelly beans along a big J, then count how many you used.
Jumping jacks: do a jumping jack every time you hear a j word.
Juice jar sort: drop letter cards into a clean jar, keeping only the Js.
Jigsaw letters: cut a large J into four pieces and put it back together.
A letter J week plan
Monday: say the /j/ sound together, trace J and j on the first page, then try the Jelly bean J idea above.
Tuesday: work through the find-the-letter page, count how many you circled, and move on to Jumping jacks.
Wednesday: solve the letter J maze, then play Juice jar sort.
Thursday: color “J is for jam”, read jam, jet, jellyfish and juice aloud and finish with Jigsaw letters.
Friday: write J and j from memory, look for J in a favorite picture book and reprint any page that felt tricky.
Letter J worksheets kindergarten teachers can use
Kindergarten children read j in jam, jet, jig, job and jug. The letter J worksheets teachers use also give practice with tails below the line, like g, p and y. Because few words start with j, the color page words are a handy list to reread for fluency.
Names: if someone in the family has a name that starts with J, the name tracing worksheets turn it into a tracing page.
Whole alphabet: the alphabet worksheets hub has all 26 letter packs plus ABC order and matching pages.
Letter J worksheets: frequently asked questions
What age are letter J worksheets for?
Preschool and kindergarten, usually ages 3 to 6. Kindergarten expects children to recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters (Common Core RF.K.1.D).
How many days should we spend on the letter J?
A letter-of-the-week plan uses one page a day: trace on Monday, find on Tuesday, the maze on Wednesday and coloring on Thursday, with Friday for review or a craft.
Why do so few English words end in j?
English spells the /j/ sound at the end of words as -ge or -dge, as in cage and bridge. Words ending in the letter j are very rare.
Which way does the j hook go?
To the left. A quick check: the hook on j points the same way as the hook on lowercase g.
Can I print a different letter or several at once?
Yes. The maker on this page can build packs for any letters, like S, A, T, P, I, N, or the whole alphabet.
