3rd Grade Lesson Plans for Capitalization + Worksheet

The first third grade lesson plan for capitalization is a review lesson. It covers names, titles, "I," the first word in a sentence, days and months, and places. Use this lesson to see how much your class already knows about capitalization rules.

Remind students that names of things are not capitalized, but names of specific things are. The first word in a sentence, as well as days of the week and months of the year, are also always capitalized.

Now that students remember the rules of proper nouns, you can begin the guided practice part of the lesson. Write these sentences on the board:

• I went to the park.

• I went to Yellowstone Park.

• He is our president.
• He is President Lincoln.

Ask the class why the capitalization rules are different in each sentence. See if they can identify why words like “park” aren’t capitalized, but “Yellowstone Park” is always capitalized.

Split the class into small groups or partners. You can print the worksheet below or project the sample exercise onto the board.

Count how many words in each sentence need a capital letter.

1. yesterday, i went to seaworld.
2. terry and karen will be here in july.
3. The statue of liberty is huge.
4. last friday, we saw the movie avatar.
5. I don't understand French.
6. my favorite author is R. L. Stine.
7. Do you like Charlotte's web?
8. robin williams is funny.
9. my Wii is broken.
10. The pacific ocean borders california.

How did the small groups do? Have them check their answers.

1. 3 errors; Yesterday, I went to Seaworld.
2. 3 errors; Terry and Karen will be here in July.
3. 2 errors; The Statue of Liberty is huge.
4. 3 errors; Last Friday, we saw the movie Avatar.
5. 0 errors; I don't understand French.
6. 1 error; My favorite author is R. L. Stine.
7. 1 error; Do you like Charlotte's Web?
8. 2 errors; Robin Williams is funny.
9. 1 error; My Wii is broken.
10. 3 errors; The Pacific Ocean borders California.

How much do your third graders know about capitalizing buildings, organizations and documents? The next lesson plan for capitalization covers buildings, directions, historic events and documents, family names, and organizations.

Clarify that buildings and organizations are nouns, and that specific buildings and organizations are proper nouns. Call on students to make a list of specific buildings, organizations and documents that should be capitalized, but don’t capitalize any of the letters.

Go over the uncapitalized list of buildings, organizations and documents. It might include:

• the white house
• girl scouts of america
• washington elementary school
• the declaration of independence
  

Correct the words as a class. Be sure to note which words shouldn’t be capitalized in each title, like “the” and “of.”

• the White House
• Girl Scouts of America
• Washington Elementary School
• the Declaration of Independence

Print and pass out the following worksheet to students for homework or classwork. You can also project this sample exercise on the board for a quick capitalization assignment.

How many capitalization errors can you find?

my name is sally and i just moved to denver, colorado. on saturday, i visited the denver public library. they had so many books, like where the wild things are and horton hears a who. to get a library card, I had to tell them i live at 258 park avenue. i checked out five books and the dvd madeline. after that, my mom took me to sonic. next week, mom and i are going to the denver art museum and the children's museum of denver.

There are 37 capitalization errors. Did you find them all?

My name is Sally and I just moved to Denver, Colorado. On Saturday, I visited the Denver Public Library. They had so many books, like Where the Wild Things Are and Horton Hears a Who. To get a library card, I had to tell them I live at 258 Park Avenue. I checked out five books and the DVD Madeline. After that, my mom took me to Sonic. Next week, Mom and I are going to the Denver Art Museum and the Children's Museum of Denver.

Once third graders know what to capitalize in a sentence, they can work on more complex grammar concepts. Reinforce capitalization rules with additional third grade capitalization worksheets. You can also expand your third grade grammar curriculum with these suggestions for teaching third grade grammar.