Free printable letter Y worksheets for preschool and kindergarten: trace uppercase Y and lowercase y, find the letter, follow the letter maze and color Y 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.
Y is a consonant at the start of words and a vowel at the end of many. These free letter Y worksheets include tracing Y and y, a find-the-letter grid with v and look-alikes, a Y maze and a coloring page for “Y is for yo-yo”.
Free letter Y worksheets to print (PDF)
Each of these letter Y 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 Y and yArrows first, then on their own.PDFCustomizeFind the letter YCircle and count, with key.PDFCustomizeLetter Y mazeColor the Y path, with key.PDFCustomizeY is for yo-yoColor, trace and draw.PDFCustomize
The letter Y sound
At the start of a word, y says /y/, as in yo-yo, yak, yarn and yellow. At the end of a word it acts as a vowel: it says long i in short words like my, fly and cry, and long e in longer words like happy, baby and puppy. For preschool, start with the /y/ sound at the beginning.
Y is for yo-yo: letter Y words for kids
Words that start with Y: yo-yo, yak, yarn, yellow, yogurt, yacht, yawn, yard, yolk, yell.
Y as a vowel: my, fly, cry, happy, baby, puppy.
The color page uses yo-yo, yak, yarn and yellow, so children trace each word and color the matching letter.
Letter Y at a glance
Place in the alphabet
25th of 26, after X and before Z
Type
Consonant and sometimes a vowel
Uppercase shape
Straight lines only
Often confused with
V, g and X
Scrabble tile value
4 points
Grouping letters by shape helps handwriting: letters made of straight lines, like Y, are usually easier to start with than curved ones.
How to write Y and y
Uppercase Y: Two short slants that meet in the middle, then a line straight down.
Lowercase y: A short slant down to the right, then a long slant from the top right that goes below the baseline.
Uppercase Y is two short slants meeting in the middle, then a line straight down to the baseline. Lowercase y has a short slant and a long slant that dips below the baseline. Show children that the long line of y goes below the line, like the tails on g, j, p and q.
Letter Y tracing and the rest of the pack
Trace: letter Y tracing with arrows to follow, then uppercase Y and lowercase y on their own.
Find the letter: circle every Y and y hidden among similar-looking letters, then count them.
Letter maze: color the Y squares to make a path from start to finish.
Color: color the big Yy, trace the Y words and draw something that starts with Y.
Letter Y activities for preschool
Short, hands-on games make the letter Y worksheets stick. Try one a day alongside the printed pages:
Yarn Y: glue yellow yarn along a big Y.
Yoga poses: stretch into a Y shape with arms up in a V.
Yummy yogurt: draw a Y in yogurt with a spoon before eating it.
Yes or no: say “yes” when a word starts with /y/ and “no” when it does not.
A letter Y week plan
Monday: say the /y/ sound together, trace Y and y on the first page, then try the Yarn Y idea above.
Tuesday: work through the find-the-letter page, count how many you circled, and move on to Yoga poses.
Wednesday: solve the letter Y maze, then play Yummy yogurt.
Thursday: color “Y is for yo-yo”, read yo-yo, yak, yarn and yellow aloud and finish with Yes or no.
Friday: write Y and y from memory, look for Y in a favorite picture book and reprint any page that felt tricky.
Letter Y worksheets kindergarten teachers can use
Kindergarten readers meet y in yes, yet, yam and yell, and the sight words you, my and by, where y is a vowel. The letter Y worksheets teachers use cover the consonant sound; the y-as-a-vowel patterns usually come in first grade.
Names: if someone in the family has a name that starts with Y, 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 Y worksheets: frequently asked questions
What age are letter Y 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 Y?
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.
Is y a vowel or a consonant?
Both. At the start of a word it is a consonant (yes, yarn); at the end it usually works as a vowel (my, happy).
Why does y say i in my but e in happy?
In one-syllable words it usually says long i; at the end of longer words it usually says long e.
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.
