Capitalization, commas, and punctuation!

by Sabrina Peterson

• Content Area: English/Language Arts

• Grade Level: 1

• Summary: The purpose of this Instructional Power Point is to teach students how to properly use capitalization, commas, and punctuation in a sentence.

• Learning Objective: Given the information in the slides and having performed the related interactive games, students will be able to use capitalization, commas, and punctuation with 100% accuracy.

• Content Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.2a) Capitalize dates and names of people. b )Use end punctuation for sentences. c) Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series.

Last year we learned…

• To always capitalize the first word in the sentence.

• To capitalize pronouns.

• Punctuation comes at the end of the sentence in the form of a period ( ), a question mark ( ), or an exclamation mark ( ).

.?

!

• Capitalize dates such as days of the week and months:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, January, February, etc.

• Capitalize names:This is my sister Morgan. My dog’s name is Sam.

More about capitalization…

Look at this sentence:

my friend emily lives in nashville.

Which words should we capitalize?

Choose the correct sentence.

a) My friend emily lives in Nashville.

b) my friend Emily lives in Nashville.

c) My friend Emily lives in Nashville.

d) My friend Emily lives in nashville.

My friend Emily lives in Nashville.

Yes! C is correct.

GOOD

JOB!

Look at this sentence:

joe and sally will be going to florida in may.

Talk it over with your buddy partner. Which words should

we capitalize?

Did you and your buddy partner choose to capitalize Joe, Sally,

Florida, and May?

If so, your sentence would look like this:

Joe and Sally will be going to Florida in May.

YOU’RE DOING GREAT!

Click the link below to play the game:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/capitalization.htm

Let’s help the fairy use capitalization!

• Use commas when listing a series of three or more things. I like to sing, dance, and play.

• Use commas when joining two statements to make one sentence. Place the comma before the words “and”, “or”, “but”, etc.

Josh wants to go to the movie, but he has to work.

• Use commas to separate dates. My grandparents were married on Saturday, June 12, 1951.

Next, let’s talk about commas…

Look at the sentences on your handout. Work with your buddy partner to decide where the commas should go.

We are going to the grocery store to buy milk butter and eggs.

On Friday August 23 2013 we are leaving for vacation.

Susan is my first cousin and she is my best friend.

Did your sentences look like this?We are going to the grocery store to buy milk, butter, and eggs.

On Friday, August 23, 2013, we are leaving for vacation.

Susan is my first cousin, and she is my best friend.

• When a sentence makes a statement, place a period at the end.

My favorite color is blue. • Place a question mark at the end of a sentence

that asks a question. May I borrow your glue?

• Place an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence to show urgency or excitement.

We are going to Disney World!

More about punctuation…

Comma Chameleonhttp://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/punctuation.htm

Fun, fun, fun!Here are some more games to help us

with commas and punctuation.

HMS Sweet Toothhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/hms_game.shtml

Punctuation Game http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks2_activities/english/punctuation.shtml

In this lesson, students will have learned to capitalize names of people and places, and to capitalize dates after having read the information in the PowerPoint. They will have worked in pairs to discuss the proper use of capitalization in sentences. Students will have also played the interactive game, Magical Capitals, to correctly identify the words that need to be capitalized.

Students will also learn to place commas when listing a series of three or more things, to separate dates in a sentence, and to place a comma before conjunction words such as “but”, “and”, “or”, etc. when joining two statements to make one sentence.

Finally, students will learn to place a period at the end of a sentence that makes a statement, a question mark at the end of a sentence that asks a question, and an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence that expresses urgency or excitement.

Summary

Works Cited

• Slide 4: calendar http://www.clker.com/clipart-calendar-with-binder-rings.html

• Slide 9: thumbs-up http://www.clker.com/clipart-4349.html

• Slide 10: fairy http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=fairy&ex=2#pg:2|

• Slide 14: blue crayon http://www.clker.com/clipart-crayon-3.html

• Slide 14: mouse with bow http://www.clker.com/clipart-pink-mouse-bow-25.html