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Teach two rules first: every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period, and names start with a capital letter. Read short sentences together and point to the capital and the period. Then your child fixes sentences with the mistakes in them, and later checks their own writing with a short checklist.
Rule one: a sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period. Rule two: names of people and places start with a capital letter.
Those two rules cover most of what a young writer needs.
When you read together, point to a capital at the start of a sentence and the period at the end. Ask your child to find the next one.
Seeing the rules in real books helps more than learning them as a list.
Write a short sentence with the mistakes in it: the dog ran. Your child fixes it: The dog ran.
Finding mistakes in someone else’s sentence is easier than in their own, and it builds the habit.
When your child writes, check together: capital at the start? Period at the end? Spaces between words?
Keep the checklist short and the same every time.
Practice this in the free reading appReading games your child can play on a phone, tablet or computer. Every word can be sounded out. No sign-up.Open the app
Teach one rule at a time.
Point to capitals and periods in books.
Fix sentences with the mistakes already in them.
Use a short checklist after writing.
Praise the sentences that are right.
Listen and Say the WordYou say the sounds slowly, your child says the whole word. No letters to look at, so it trains the ear first.Play free
Build the WordYour child hears a word and taps the letter tiles in the right order to build it.Play free
Read the WordOne short word at a time, such as sat, pin or dog. Every word uses only the sounds of the level you choose.Play freeShort a words worksheets, CVC word family practice.
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CVC cut and paste worksheets for beginning, middle and ending sounds.
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See insideMany children learn them in kindergarten and first grade, as they begin to write sentences.
Practice small letters, and use capitals only at the start of sentences and names. Name writing with a capital first letter is a good place to start.
No. Pick one thing at a time, such as the period, so it is not too much.
Question marks, then commas in lists, as your child writes longer sentences.
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Or get the Complete Kindergarten Bundle: 26 packs in one download for $3Is reading hard for your child? Find where to start