Lesson Plan: Capitalization

 

Lesson Plan: Capitalization

Grade Level: 6th Grade

Subject: English Language Arts

Learning Objectives:

• Students will be able to identify and apply the most common capitalization rules correctly in their writing.
• Students will be able to edit their own and others' writing for capitalization errors.
• Students will be able to explain the importance of capitalization in effective writing.

Procedure:

1. Introduction:

Begin by asking students why capitalization is important. Explain that capitalization helps to make our writing clear and easy to read. It also helps to distinguish between different types of words, such as proper nouns and common nouns.

2. Review of Capitalization Rules:

Review the most common capitalization rules with students. You can use a whiteboard or projector to write down the rules, or you can provide students with handouts.

Here are some of the most common capitalization rules:

• The first word of a sentence.
• Proper nouns, such as the names of people, places, and things.
• Titles, such as Mr., Ms., Dr., and President.
• The first word of a direct quotation.
• The days of the week, months of the year, and holidays.
• Major geographical features, such as rivers, mountains, and oceans.

3. Activity:

To help students practice applying the capitalization rules, you can do a few different activities. Here are a few ideas:

• Give students a list of words and have them identify which words should be capitalized.
• Provide students with a paragraph that contains capitalization errors and have them correct the errors.
• Have students write their own sentences and paragraphs using proper capitalization.

4. Assessment:

To assess students' understanding of capitalization, you can give them a quiz or test. Here is a sample 20-question test:

Capitalization Test

Instructions: Circle the letter of the word or phrase that should be capitalized.

1. (a) the united states (b) the United States

2. (a) monday (b) Monday

3. (a) christmas (b) Christmas

4. (a) the pacific ocean (b) the Pacific Ocean

5. (a) dr. smith (b) Dr. Smith

6. (a) the statue of liberty (b) the Statue of Liberty

7. (a) fourth of july (b) Fourth of July

8. (a) the grand canyon (b) the Grand Canyon

9. (a) the white house (b) the White House

10. (a) the internet (b) the Internet

11-20: Write a sentence using each of the following words or phrases. Be sure to capitalize the correct words.

11. president of the united states
12. mississippi river
13. eiffel tower
14. world war ii
15. thanksgiving day
16. library of congress
17. united nations
18. the beatles
19. harry potter
20. star wars

Answers:

1. (b)

2. (b)

3. (b)

4. (b)

5. (b)

6. (b)

7. (b)

8. (b)

9. (b)

10. (b)

11. The President of the United States lives in the White House.

12. The Mississippi River flows through the United States.

13. The Eiffel Tower is a landmark in Paris, France.

14. World War II was a major global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945.

15. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada.

16. The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States.

17. The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation between countries.

18. The Beatles were a British rock band that was formed in Liverpool in 1960.

19. Harry Potter is a book series written by J.K. Rowling.

20. Star Wars is a science fiction film franchise created by George Lucas. 

    Continued
    

    Capitalization is the use of uppercase letters at the beginning of certain words and phrases. It is an important part of writing because it helps to make our writing clear and easy to read. It also helps to distinguish between different types of words, such as proper nouns and common nouns.

    Here are some of the most common capitalization rules:

    • The first word of a sentence.
    • Proper nouns, such as the names of people, places, and things.
    • Titles, such as Mr., Ms., Dr., and President.
    • The first word of a direct quotation.
    • The days of the week, months of the year, and holidays.
    • Major geographical features, such as rivers, mountains, and oceans.
    • Brand names and company names.
    • The first word of each line in a poem.

    Here are some examples of how to use capitalization correctly:

    • Proper nouns:
      • My name is John Smith.
      • I live in the United States of America.
      • I am going to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
    • Titles:
      • Mr. Jones is my teacher.
      • Dr. Smith is my doctor.
      • President Biden is the leader of the United States.
    • Direct quotations:
      • "I have a dream," said Martin Luther King, Jr.
      • "All that glitters is not gold," says the proverb.
    • Days of the week, months of the year, and holidays:
      • I was born on Monday, August 8th, 2003.
      • Christmas is my favorite holiday.
    • Major geographical features:
      • The Nile River is the longest river in the world.
      • Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.
      • The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.
    • Brand names and company names:
      • I love to drink Coca-Cola.
      • I bought a new iPhone at the Apple Store.
    • First word of each line in a poem:
      • The road not taken,
      • Two roads diverged in a wood,
      • And sorry I could not travel both
      • And be one traveler, long I stood

    It is important to note that there are some exceptions to the capitalization rules. For example, articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (of, to, in, etc.) are not typically capitalized, even if they come at the beginning of a sentence or phrase. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as when the article or preposition is the first word in a title. For example, the title of the book "The Great Gatsby" is capitalized, even though the article "the" is the first word.

    Capitalization is an important skill for all writers to learn. By following the capitalization rules, you can make your writing more clear, professional, and easy to read.