Full Stops & Capitals

Curriculum Details

Curriculum Area: English
Key Stage: 1
Focus: Full stops and capital letters

Learning Objectives

• Understand the use of full stops and capital letters in sentences.
• Identify sentences in written text.
• Practise adding full stops and capital letters where necessary.

Resources

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed worksheets with simple sentences lacking full stops and capital letters
• Colourful stickers or stamps
• Flashcards with capital letters and small letters
• A large, soft ball

Lesson Overview

Introduction (10 minutes)

1. Welcome and Warm-Up Activity:
   • Greet the students and gather them in a circle.
   • Explain that today they are going to play with full stops and capital letters to make their sentences perfect.
   • Begin with a quick, fun game: hold up flashcards with different letters (both capital and lowercase) and ask students to identify and shout if it's a capital or a small letter.
   • Toss the large, soft ball to a student; the student must catch it, identify a letter flashcard and say if it is a capital letter or a small letter before tossing it to another student.

Direct Instruction (10 minutes)

2. Introduction to Full Stops and Capital Letters:
   • Write a simple sentence on the whiteboard without a full stop and a capital letter (e.g., "the cat sits on the mat").
   • Ask the students what's missing. Guide them to understand that the sentence needs a capital letter at the beginning and a full stop at the end.
   • With their input, correct the sentence on the whiteboard ("The cat sits on the mat.").

Hands-On Activity (20 minutes)

3. Worksheet Activity:

   • Hand out worksheets with simple sentences that are incorrect (e.g., "my dog is funny she likes to run").
   • Students work in pairs to read the sentences and then use colourful stickers or stamps to mark where a full stop goes and to write a capital letter where necessary.
   • Walk around the classroom to offer help and encouragement.

4. Sentence Building Game:

   • Provide each pair with a set of flashcards; these will include individual words that together make up sentences.
   • Each pair will have to arrange the flashcards to form a correct sentence, placing a full stop at the end and making sure the first word starts with a capital letter.
   • Once they arrange the sentence, they raise their hand to check the sentence with the teacher. This allows for immediate feedback and correction.

Group Wrap-Up (8 minutes)

5. Class Review:
   • Bring the class back together. Have a few pairs share their sentences on the whiteboard.
   • Discuss as a class why those sentences are correct and praise their hard work.

Reflection and Homework (2 minutes)

6. Homework Assignment:
   • Give a short writing task to be completed at home where students have to write 3 sentences about what they did over the weekend, making sure to use full stops and capital letters correctly.
   • Remind students to bring their homework back to share with the class in the next lesson.

Conclusion

• Summarise the main points of the lesson: the importance of full stops and capital letters.
• Congratulate students on their efforts and progress.

Teacher Notes:
Keep an eye on students who might struggle with handwriting. Offer additional support where necessary, perhaps with larger writing spaces or additional one-on-one assistance.

End of Lesson Plan