Grammar Study To capitalize or not to capitalize? You’ll need a sheet of paper for this!

Can you find the capitalization errors?  1. Isn’t february your favorite month?!  2. Don’t get pinched on St. Patrick’s day!  3. We’ll have our first big test on Tuesday.  4. Don’t forget to take out your Winter clothes in time for the holidays. Save your responses for the end of the PowerPoint.

always Do we always capitalize days of the week? Yes, always! I don’t understand why everyone’s least favorite day of the week is Monday, do you? What’s your favorite day of the week? Write it down on your paper and explain why it’s your favorite day.

Months of the year? Yes, always capitalize them!  I was born on June 9th. When is your birthday?  We have a holiday off from school in September, October, November, and - of course - many days in December!  Of all the grades in middle school, students always report (in retrospect) that the month of June arrived the quickest when they were in the 8th grade.

Do we capitalize the seasons of the year? No. Example: Although we’re sorry to see summer go, the arrival of this particular fall season means that the outcome of the presidential election will soon be known. Rare exception to the rule: When you are naming a specific school holiday like Spring Break or Winter Break, then you would capitalize the name of that period of time.

What about names of holidays? Each and every day in school has the potential to be like the Fourth of July! It’s important to remember all fallen soldiers of American wars on Memorial Day. The first holiday when our class can earn spirit points for participation is on Halloween. Yes, we always capitalize the names of holidays.

Capitalization rules review for the day: Always capitalize names of all days of the week. Always capitalize names of the months of the year. Always capitalize names of holidays. DO NOT capitalize the names of the seasons (except when naming a specific school holiday).

Check for Understanding: Using a different colored pen than you used earlier, make all necessary corrections to the editing practice you completed on these rules. Double check answers with your neighbor or raise your hand for clarification. Next step: Capitalization rules for regions on a map and for directions I get it!