Capitalization
Wednesday, January 30th by carla“I can’t get my kids to use capital letters,” the young teacher mourned. “It’s because of computers. The kids expect the word processor to fix it for them.”
Sometimes students really don’t see any value in pesky capital letters. I had a class that was cured very quickly, though, by a simple exercise.
- Which one are you more likely to see on the pace lap at the Daytona 500: a mustang or a Mustang?
- Which one do you sing into: a mike or a Mike?
- Which would you rather receive for Christmas: an apple or an Apple?
Boom! They got it.
Once students understand that the capital letter actually conveys meaning, our insistence on correct usage makes more sense to them.
This doesn’t mean they automatically remember to do it every time — just that, when we point out the lapse, they don’t roll their eyes quite as much.
Good enough.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I love this. I’ll have to use these ideas with my younger grandson. He’s 12, in 6th grade, and STILL doesn’t use capitals where he should. I hope this works!
Thanks!! =)
January 31st, 2008 at 6:22 am
Great article. I’m going to share it with my copy editor friends.