You probably used UK-style joined-up writing. Americans tend to use something like D'Nealian cursive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Nealian https://en.wiki

You probably used UK-style joined-up writing. Americans tend to use something like D'Nealian cursive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Nealian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Nealian It takes time to correct a student's mistakes. If this isn't done, poor legibility becomes a habit. Tracing oversized letters isn't going to lead to quality cursive. Yes, of course you can use a ball-point, but typical cheap American ones have a wobbly tip (flexible body, flexible ink tube, and a loose fit between them) and require lots of pressure. Maybe you have nice ones in the UK. Students here would normally learn with a traditional wooden pencil. This works well if you constantly sharpen it.