Wild Rose Learning

Here are some tips for teaching these rules.

I’ve tutored many grade 3s and 4s in English writing and there are two things many of them frequently forget to do.

And they are to capitalize certain words and to add end punctuation.

Some students forget to do it and some don’t know that capitalization and end punctuation are a thing.

If you have a child who has these problems, here’s how you can teach them the rules:

Rules

First, teach them the capitalization and end punctuation rules, and explain to them why they’re important.

Capitalization

Tell them they need to capitalize the first letter of every sentence because it shows a new thought is being introduced.

It also serves as a visual cue for readers.

Also tell them that they need to capitalize proper nouns to show that these are special or specific names for people, places, things and animals.

For example:

• Billy (person)
• Canada (place)
• Microsoft Windows (thing)
• Lassie (animal)

End Punctuation and Types of Sentences

Then, show them how to use end punctuation.

Tell them that there are 4 types of sentences and each needs to be punctuated correctly.

The 4 types of sentences are: declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory.

Declarative sentences are statements and they end with a period (.).

For example:

• I went to school today.

Imperative sentences are commands and they either end with a period or an exclamation mark (!) depending on how much emotion is used.

For example:

• Clean your desk before you leave.
• Clean your desk before you leave!

Interrogative sentences are questions and they end with a question mark.

For example:

• Can you clean your desk before you leave?

Exclamatory sentences are sentences that show a lot of emotion (excitement, anger, etc.).

For example:

• Yay! You cleaned your desk!
• Clean your desk now!

Proofreading

If your child has an understanding of the rules but still makes these mistakes, remind them to proofread their writing assignments before handing them back to you.

Tell them what to look for (punctuation and capitalization) as they re-read and review their work.

This is a habit you should constantly enforce because it’s something they will use for the rest of their lives.

If you still find mistakes after they hand it back to you, give it back to them and hint at their mistakes.

Most kids will figure out what they did wrong and fix it. But if they can’t, show them where their mistake is and ask them why it’s wrong.

Repeat the rules and explain the specific problem to them.

Additionally, you should give them more exercises so they can practice the rules as practice makes perfect.

If you don’t know where to get more work, you can grab free grammar worksheets here.

Final Thoughts

Capitalizations and end punctuation are two important components of sentences.

Make sure your child knows how to use them and remembers to use them.