Second Grade English: Capitalization: Sentence Starts, Proper Names, Dates, Holidays, "I"

In written language, capital letters stand tall and proud like royal sentries guarding important words. Capitalization signals to the reader's eye that a new thought is beginning, that a specific one-of-a-kind person or place is being named, or that a significant holiday on the calendar has arrived. In this chapter, you will master the five premier capitalization rules of second grade: capitalizing the first word of every sentence, capitalizing proper names of people and places, capitalizing calendar days and months, capitalizing holidays, and capitalizing the personal pronoun "I."

The Five Golden Capitalization Rules

Here is your master checklist for capitalization in second grade.

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|                 THE 5 GOLDEN RULES OF CAPITALIZATION            |
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|  1. SENTENCE STARTS: The very first word of every sentence!     |
|  2. PROPER NAMES:    Names of people, pets, cities, and states  |
|  3. CALENDAR DATES:  Days of the week and months of the year    |
|  4. HOLIDAYS:        Special festive days of celebration        |
|  5. THE PRONOUN "I": Always capitalized whenever it stands alone|
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Rule 1: The First Word of Every Sentence

Every sentence must open with a capital letter. It does not matter whether the first word is a tiny word like a, the, or in, or a massive vocabulary word: the first letter must be uppercase. "The puppy played with a ball." "In the winter, snow blankets the lawn."

Rule 2: Proper Names of People, Pets, and Places

Whenever you write a name that belongs to one specific individual person, animal, or geographic location, capitalize every word in that name! People: Maya Rodriguez, Dr. Samuel Patel, Uncle Carlos. Pets: Barnaby, Whiskers, Shadow. Places: Denver, California, United States of America, Pacific Ocean, Lincoln Elementary School.

Rule 3: Calendar Days and Months

Every day of the week and every month of the year begins with a capital letter: Days of the Week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Months of the Year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

The Season Exception: Do NOT Capitalize Seasons!

Notice this curious rule: while days and months are always capitalized, the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) are common nouns and are written in LOWERCASE, unless they begin a sentence! "In the summer, we swim every Tuesday in July."

Rule 4: Holidays and Special Celebrations

Holidays are special proper days that honor people, history, or festive traditions. Capitalize all major words in holiday names: Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, New Year's Day, Labor Day.

Rule 5: The Pronoun "I" Stands Tall

Whenever you refer to yourself using the letter I, it must ALWAYS be capitalized. Even if it is tucked deep into the middle of a long sentence, the pronoun I never shrinks to lowercase! "My sister and I baked cookies." "When it rains, I like to read."

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Rewrite each sentence, fixing all capitalization errors: "on wednesday, leo and i visited aunt sarah in boston." "we celebrate thanksgiving on the fourth thursday of november." "in the winter, sophia likes to build snowmen."

Exercise 2: Write one original sentence that includes: a day of the week, a month of the year, a person's proper name, and the pronoun "I."

Exercise Solutions

Solution to Exercise 1: The corrected sentences are: "On Wednesday, Leo and I visited Aunt Sarah in Boston." (Capitalize On, Wednesday, Leo, I, Aunt Sarah, Boston). "We celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November." (Capitalize We, Thanksgiving, Thursday, November). "In the winter, Sophia likes to build snowmen." (Capitalize In, Sophia; leave winter lowercase).

Solution to Exercise 2: A student could write: On Friday, October 16, Maya and I walked to the library.