Free · print at home · ages 3 to 5
Letter X worksheets and tracing
Two crossed lines, and a letter that likes to hide at the end of a word.
“x is hiding right at the end. That's where x likes to hide.”
Watch it write itself
See x write itself
It starts at the green dot and goes the way the arrows go, in the same order your child traces it. Press Slowly and follow it with a finger.
Tap X to see the capital write itself too.
On a phone or tablet, Bring it into your room puts the letter on your floor or table, through the camera. No app to install.
How to write it
How to write x and X, in words
One line for each stroke, to read aloud while your child traces. On the sheets: the top line, the dashed middle line, and the base line, where the letters sit. If your child's school uses a different style, follow the school.
Small x
- Start at the green dot on the middle line, on the left. Slant down to the right, to the base line.
- Dot 2, on the middle line, on the right: slant down to the left, across the first line, to the base line.
Capital X
- Start at the green dot on the top line, on the left. Slant down to the right, to the base line.
- Dot 2, on the top line, on the right: slant down to the left, across the first line, to the base line.
Print · free, no sign-up
Letter X tracing worksheets and coloring page
Five sheets for X and x: tracing the capital and the small letter, the small x only, the capital X only, a coloring page and a find every x page. US Letter and A4, black and white first, then color.
Letter X x tracing worksheet
X and x on the road with arrows, then fainter, then from the dots alone. Then the word box.
1 page · PDF
Small x only
Four rows of x, from the road to the dots alone. Then the word box.
1 page · PDF
Capital X only
Four rows of X, from the road to the dots alone, and a line to write on.
1 page · PDF
Letter X coloring page
A big X and x with eyes to color, and a box to draw the box it hides in.
1 page · PDF · black and white
Find every x
A page of letters, many of them look-alikes. Color every x, then count them. The answer is upside down.
1 page · PDF · black and white
Free for home and classroom use. To pass them on, please share the link to this page and not the file. The whole alphabet at once (the ABC chart, the A to Z tracing booklet and the desk strip) is on the alphabet page.
For show and tell
Things that start with X
Very few things start with x, so here are the two that do, then things with x inside them. The first one is where x hides in our book: at the very end of box.
- xylophonea toy one
- x-raya picture of one, in a book
- foxa toy one
- T. rexa toy one
- taxia toy one
- excavatora toy one
- sixa card with the number on it
- wax crayon
The book's game, with no screen
- Print the letter. The coloring page works well: your child colors it first, then it goes into hiding.
- While nobody is looking, hide it in a box, as the book does: the toy box, a shoebox or a lunch box. x likes the end of a word, so listen for it there: box!
- Say it together, as the book does: “Listen carefully. box. Did you hear it?” When your child finds it, they trace it with a finger and shout “Got you, little x!”
Animals
Animals that start with X
Only a handful of animals start with x, and every one of these is real. Animals with x inside are easier: fox, ox and lynx.
- x-ray tetraa little fish you can almost see through
- xerusa ground squirrel from Africa
- xenopsa small bird from Central and South America
- Xantus's hummingbirda hummingbird from Baja California, in Mexico
- Xoloitzcuintlia dog from Mexico, often with no hair
Good to know
x likes to hide at the end
Very few words start with x, and even those cheat a little. xylophone starts with a z sound. x-ray starts by saying the letter's own name.
Most of the time x is at the end of a word, or in the middle, where it says ks: box, fox, six, wax, taxi.
That's exactly where our book hides it: at the very end of box. Say the word slowly with your child and listen for it.
Questions
Grown-ups ask
- How do you write a lowercase x?
- Start on the middle line, on the left, and slant down to the right, to the base line. Then lift the pencil, start on the middle line on the right, and slant down to the left, across the first line.
- What starts with X for show and tell?
- Only a few things: a toy xylophone, or a picture of an x-ray. If your child's teacher is happy with things that have x in them, there are lots more: a box (where x hides in our book), a toy fox, a toy T. rex, a toy taxi or the number six.
- What animals start with X?
- Very few, but they're real: the x-ray tetra, a little fish you can almost see through, the xerus, a ground squirrel from Africa, and the xenops, a small bird. Animals with x inside are easier: fox, ox and lynx.
More letters
Our own book
Catch the Letters! A Bedtime Alphabet Book
By Katia Sunn · for grown-ups · coming soon
In the book, x hides in the box. Your child finds it, traces it with a finger, and catches it. Every letter hides somewhere in the house, inside a thing that starts with its sound.
Every letter page has a code: scan it with a phone or tablet and the letter comes into your room.