Are you looking for ways to teach students to use capital letters? If so, keep reading.
1. Teach the student how to form all the capital letters of the alphabet.
2. Make sure the student proofreads their work for correct capitalization. Praise the student for each correction made in capitalization.
3. Examine with the student common capitalization rules before starting a creative writing learning experience.
4. Make sure the student receives instruction in the rules of capitalization (e.g., the first word of a sentence, the pronoun I, proper names, cities, states, streets, months, days of the week, dates, holidays, titles of movies, books, newspapers, magazines, etc.).
5. Teach appropriate capitalization of sentences when assigning creative writing learning activities. This could be done on the smartboard, an overhead projector, or in chart form.
6. Praise the student for capitalizing correctly: ( a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., classroom privileges, line leading, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).
7. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., using capitalization correctly) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.
8. Give practice with capitalization using an app or a hand-held educational device that gives the student instant feedback.
9. Give the student the appropriate learning materials to finish the task (e.g., pencil with eraser, paper, dictionary, handwriting sample, etc.). Make sure that the student has only the appropriate learning materials on the desk.
10. Give the student a list of examples of capitalization (e.g., proper names, cities, streets, holidays, etc.) that the student keeps at their desk to refer to when writing.
11. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the student to hurry and make mistakes in capitalization.
12. Give the student apps that gives practice and reinforcement in capitalizing words.
13. Identify quality work (e.g., display student’s work, congratulate the student, etc.).
14. Give the student lists of words and have them indicate which ones should be capitalized (e.g., water, New York, Mississippi, etc.).
15. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:
The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources
Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills
10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners
11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners
10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners
