1st Grade Handwriting Lesson 3: Capital & Lowercase Letters

Objective

I can match capital and lowercase letters, and use capitals in the right places (sentence starts, names, and I).

Materials

Sharpened pencil
Eraser
Ruled paper (primary lines preferred)

Mini-lesson — Capitals and lowercase are partners

Capital letters and lowercase letters are a team. They make the same sound — they just look different.

Capital letters

Capitals are the big letters.
Capitals start a sentence.
Capitals are used for names (people and places).

Lowercase letters

Lowercase letters are the small letters.
Most letters in words are lowercase.
Lowercase letters help words look calm and neat.

The special letter

The word I is always a capital — even in the middle of a sentence.

Ask yourself: "Did I start big? Did I keep most letters small? Did I make I a capital?"

Guided Practice — Match the pairs

Choose 3 sentences from the Trace menu and copy them neatly on paper. Then use the Tracing Pad to practice words, sentences, and marks.

Tracing Pad

Lines Trace

Pen

Drag & Drop — Match capital & lowercase

Match the letters. Some rounds drag lowercase. Some rounds drag CAPITALS.

Round 1: Drag the lowercase letters under the matching CAPITALS.

ohta jlrk

Round 2: Drag the CAPITAL letters under the matching lowercase.

WBPI FQNY

Round 3: Drag the lowercase letters under the matching CAPITALS.

muex gcsd

Round 4: Drag the CAPITAL letters under the matching lowercase.

ZHAK VRTL

Quick Check — Capital & lowercase letters

Answer each question about matching pairs and using capitals.

Capital and lowercase letters are…

partners for the same letter different sounds only used in math

What starts a sentence?

a lowercase letter a capital letter a number

Which word should start with a capital?

cat park Mia

Which one is correct?

I i 1

Most letters in words are…

capitals lowercase invisible

A and a are…

different letters different sounds the same letter pair

Capitals are usually…

bigger smaller upside down

Which word should be capitalized?

dog Texas sandwich

Where do you use a capital most often?

every letter only the last letter the first letter of a sentence

Matching pairs helps you…

recognize letters fast forget letters turn letters into numbers

Assessment (parent/teacher)

Matches capital letters with their lowercase partners Uses a capital at the start of a sentence Uses capitals for names (people and places) Writes the word I as a capital

Exit ticket (student)

😀 I can match pairs and use capitals in the right places. 🙂 I can do it sometimes, but I need more practice. 😅 Capitals and lowercase still feel tricky.

I will practice…

Matching pairs Capitals at sentence starts Names and I

Lesson 3: Understanding Capital & Lowercase Letters