Capital letters

The 7+ writing task is marked on punctuation. Correct capitals are a quick, high-value win — and exactly the habit to fix for James.

In kid words

A capital letter is a big letter. We use a big letter in just two main jobs:
① at the start of a sentence, and ② at the start of a name (people, places, days, the word I).
We do not use a big letter just because we started a new line.

Worked example

Look at this — the lines are wrapping, but the sentence keeps going:

My dog ran
To the park and
He was happy.

spot the slip "To" and "He" got big letters only because they start a line — but they're in the middle of sentences. Fix:

My dog ran
to the park and
he was happy.

Two real capitals: My (sentence start) — and that's it here. A new sentence would get the next one.

Exercises

📄 Printable: Capital letters worksheet.

Warm-up · spot it

Read these aloud and ask "is that big letter doing one of the two jobs?" Tick the right ones:

my Cat is soft.
We saw Grandma.
i like Trains a lot.

Answers

1. ✗ "Cat" is wrong (mid-sentence); "my" should be "My". → My cat is soft.
2. ✓ both correct ("We" = sentence start, "Grandma" = name).
3. "i" → "I" (always a capital); "Trains" is wrong. → I like trains a lot.

Core · fix it

Write these out correctly (say the rule as you go):

we went to school on monday.
My friend Sam
and i played
Football.

Answers

1. We went to school on Monday. (sentence start + day name)
2. My friend Sam and I played football. ("i"→"I"; "Football" loses its capital — it only got one for starting a line.)

Stretch · write your own

Write 2 sentences about your day. Before you start each one, say: "New sentence — big letter!" Then check: did any big letters sneak in just for a new line?

Play it

Games that build this Capital Hunt: in any book, race to find 3 capitals and say why each one is big (sentence start? name?).
Card writing: his favourite — write a real card to someone; you're the "capital checker" at the end (find one to fix, praise the rest).
On a tablet: 🕵️ Capital Detective — spot, judge and fix capitals. See more in the games index.

Watch for (grown-up note)

James's specific habit: capitals at the start of new lines rather than new sentences. Don't correct every word — pick one slip per piece, name the rule, and praise everything else. The aim is the rule clicking, not a perfect page.

Words we used

Glossary: capital letter, full stop.

Note for the log

In log/, jot: did he self-correct a new-line capital without prompting yet? (That's the "secure" signal.)