Capitalization Games for Kids

Games are one of the best ways to teach children. Games provide a fun and entertaining environment making the learning process easier and more effective for the students. If you find that your classroom is having difficulty with learning the rules of capitalization, you can play a few games to help clear up some of the confusion and reinforce the correct rules. These games can be played during normal classroom time or in an after-school program.

Wall of Words

The night before playing this game, you'll have to either write out or type about 100 words. Roughly 80 percent of the words should use the proper capitalization while the remaining 20 percent should use capitalization incorrectly. Cut out each word and tape all the words to one wall. Explain to your class that they will have one minute to grab as many mis-capitalized words from the wall as they can. At the end of the minute, have all the students stop and review the words grabbed from the wall. The class can decide if the capitalization is correct or not. The student with the most mis-capitalized words is the winner. Have the class review the remaining words on the wall to identify any remaining mis-capitalized words.

Word Relay

The classroom can be split into four teams. Have a large sheet of paper or a chalkboard on the other side of the room. Each team should line up in a single-file line in the formation for a relay race. Explain to the students that as you announce a word, the first person in each line has to run to the paper or chalk board and spell out the word with the proper spelling and punctuation. The team whose player runs to the board, spells the word correctly and returns to the appropriate team, receives a point.

Flash Cards

Flash cards can be used to test the classroom as a whole on their knowledge of capitalization. Write different words on the flash cards, some that are correct and other that are not correctly capitalized. When you hold up a flash card, have the students yell out simultaneously "correct" or "incorrect." If you hear a mixed response, address the word and use it as an opportunity to teach.

References

• University of Amsterdam: Games in the Classroom
• Game Classroom: Capitalzation