English lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 45 minutes
Capitals for names, days, months and places
Punctuation
CCSS L.1.2.AEngland: Y1 GPS (capital letters for names, places, days)England: Y2 GPS
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Capitals for names, days, months and places.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Start a sentence with a capital letter; Days of the week and months of the year
Leads to: Capitals for festivals, holidays and place names
Materials: Punctuation cards, A short unpunctuated text, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Start a sentence with a capital letter; Days of the week and months of the year). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which sentence is written correctly? (we went to the park. / We went to the park / we Went to the park. / We went to the park.) → We went to the park.Prompt: Look at the very first letter of each sentence.
- Which day comes before Monday? Type it. → SundayPrompt: Say the days in order: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…
- Fix the first word of this sentence. Type it with a capital letter. sam sat on a log. → SamPrompt: Only the first letter changes.
Hook · 5 min
- Read a short passage with no punctuation and let the class hear why it's confusing.
- Share the objective: Capitals for names, days, months and places. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Which word should start with a capital letter? My party is on saturday.
- Step 1: Names of people, pets, places, days and months are proper nouns: they need capital letters.
- Step 2: So the answer is: saturday
- Answer: saturday
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Which word should start with a capital letter? My party is on saturday. (party / saturday / on / is) → saturdayPrompt: Capital letters are for the start of a sentence, I, and the names of people, places, days and months.
- Which sentence is written correctly? (on Friday, ella and I baked bread. / On Friday, ella and I baked bread. / On friday, Ella and i baked bread. / On Friday, Ella and I baked bread.) → On Friday, Ella and I baked bread.Prompt: Check the first word, the word I, and every name.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which word should start with a capital letter? I swim every tuesday after school. (swim / every / tuesday / school) → tuesdayPrompt: Capital letters are for the start of a sentence, I, and the names of people, places, days and months.
- Which sentence is written correctly? (In july we camped near lake como. / in July we camped near Lake Como. / In July we camped near Lake Como. / In July we camped near lake Como.) → In July we camped near Lake Como.Prompt: Check the first word, the word I, and every name.
Watch out for
- Using commas where a full stop (period) is needed.
- Putting apostrophes in plurals (apple's).
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Start a sentence with a capital letter.
- Use concrete materials: punctuation cards.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Capitals for festivals, holidays and place names.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-1.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder