Free printable letter O worksheets for preschool and kindergarten: trace uppercase O and lowercase o, find the letter, follow the letter maze and color O 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.
O is a round vowel that children can see in the shape of their own mouth when they say it. These free letter O worksheets cover tracing O and o, a find-the-letter grid with Q, C and D as look-alikes, an O maze and a coloring page for “O is for octopus”.
Free letter O worksheets to print (PDF)
Each of these letter O 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 O and oArrows first, then on their own.PDFCustomizeFind the letter OCircle and count, with key.PDFCustomizeLetter O mazeColor the O path, with key.PDFCustomizeO is for octopusColor, trace and draw.PDFCustomize
The letter O sound
Short o is the sound in octopus, otter, hot and dog: the mouth opens wide, like a yawn. Long o says its name, as in open, oval and rope, and it is spelled with silent e, oa (boat) or ow (snow). O also makes other sounds in words like to and love, which children learn as sight words.
O is for octopus: letter O words for kids
Words that start with O: octopus, ostrich, otter, olive, orange, owl, oval, ox, oven, ocean.
Short o in the middle: dog, hot, box, mop, frog, sock.
The color page uses octopus, ostrich, otter and olive, so children trace each word and color the matching letter.
Letter O at a glance
Place in the alphabet
15th of 26, after N and before P
Type
Vowel
Uppercase shape
Curves only
Often confused with
Q, C, D and the number 0
Scrabble tile value
1 point
Grouping letters by shape helps handwriting: letters made of curves, like O, build the round strokes that a, d, g and q need later.
How to write O and o
Uppercase O: Start at the top and curve around to the left in one big circle, back to the start.
Lowercase o: The same circle, small, between the middle line and the baseline.
Both O and o are circles, started at about two o’clock and drawn counterclockwise, the same direction as c. Starting at the top and going the right way makes joined handwriting easier later. Children who draw circles clockwise can practice by tracing the c first, then closing it.
Letter O tracing and the rest of the pack
Trace: letter O tracing with arrows to follow, then uppercase O and lowercase o on their own.
Find the letter: circle every O and o hidden among similar-looking letters, then count them.
Letter maze: color the O squares to make a path from start to finish.
Color: color the big Oo, trace the O words and draw something that starts with O.
Letter O activities for preschool
Short, hands-on games make the letter O worksheets stick. Try one a day alongside the printed pages:
Orange O: trace around an orange slice to make O shapes, then color them.
Octopus arms: count eight octopus arms and put an O sticker on each.
O mouth mirror: say short o and long o in front of a mirror and compare the mouth shapes.
O hunt: find circles around the house: plates, clocks, wheels and buttons.
A letter O week plan
Monday: say the /o/ sound together, trace O and o on the first page, then try the Orange O idea above.
Tuesday: work through the find-the-letter page, count how many you circled, and move on to Octopus arms.
Wednesday: solve the letter O maze, then play O mouth mirror.
Thursday: color “O is for octopus”, read octopus, ostrich, otter and olive aloud and finish with O hunt.
Friday: write O and o from memory, look for O in a favorite picture book and reprint any page that felt tricky.
Letter O worksheets kindergarten teachers can use
Kindergarten readers use short o in dog, hop, hot, log, mom, pot and top. The letter O worksheets teachers use also cover the sight words go, no, so, to and do, where o does not make its short sound, so point those out as words to remember.
Names: if someone in the family has a name that starts with O, 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 O worksheets: frequently asked questions
What age are letter O 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 O?
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 does o sound different in to and do?
English has many common words where o does not follow the usual pattern. Children learn them as sight words.
Which direction should children draw o?
Counterclockwise, starting at the top right, the same as c. This makes a, d, g and q easier.
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.
