Kindergarten writers learn two dependable capitalization habits: the word I is always uppercase, and a person’s name begins with an uppercase letter. These rules are small, but children must apply them while also thinking about sounds, spelling, spacing, and meaning. It is common to see i in the middle of a sentence or a name written exactly like an ordinary word. On this page every line is the same job: a short sentence written in small letters, and a line under it to write the sentence again with the capital letters put in.
The child looks for the word I and for the person's name, and writes each one tall. Say the finished sentence aloud and trace the tall capital with a finger after each line. Later, when your child writes independently, prompt with two questions: Did I write I tall? Did every person’s name start tall?
What your child will learn
Write the word I with a capital letter
Begin a person's name with a capital letter
Spot a lowercase name in a short sentence
Choose the correctly capitalized sentence
Common Core standard: L.K.2.A
Worked example
‘I play with Ava’ uses a capital I and begins Ava with a capital A.
Common mistake
Writing lowercase i inside a sentence or starting a name with a lowercase letter.
Helpful hint
The word I is tall, and every person's name starts tall.