Free capitalization game to teach capitalization rules

Try this fun game to teach and review capitalization rules in first, second, and third grade.

I’ve noticed that my first grader brings home a lot of work with incorrect capitalization.

I had a suspicion that this was just laziness on his part (after all, this is my child who thinks that running down to the basement to get something for me is “too hard”), but I also thought it would be good to review the capitalization rules.

I created this game board and a set of cards.

At the bottom of the board are six capitalization rules appropriate for kids in first, second, and third grade.

We took turns drawing a card, reading the sentence aloud, and finding the missing capital letter(s).

After identifying the missing capital letter(s), we found the corresponding capitalization rule at the bottom of the game.

We moved forward X number of spaces, depending on the rule.

For example, the sentence on this card is missing the capital letter at the start of the sentence. This refers to rule #1, so my son moved ahead one space.

On this card, the capital letters of a book’s title are missing (rule #6), so I moved ahead six spaces.

Teaching tips

• We played the game without writing anything down, but you might want your students to record their answers for accountability. A recording sheet is included in the download.

• An answer key is included, but we played without it. I suggest having it face down as a reference. If students disagree about an answer, an opponent can check the answer to determine if the player’s answer is correct.

• Remember to give your students lots of time to write so that they can practice capitalization rules in context. Authentic writing experiences are much better than capitalization worksheets. I recommend my writing workshop guide when you’re ready to get started.

© 2019, Anna G. All rights reserved.