First Grade · Writing · week 1

Every Sentence Needs a Cap and a Dot

Write a complete sentence that starts with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.

A sentence always starts with a CAPITAL letter. That big letter is like a little flag waving hello at the start of every sentence.

A sentence always ends with an end mark too -- a period (.), a question mark (?), or an exclamation point (!). The end mark is like a stop sign that tells your eyes the sentence is done.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Read sentences together and physically point to the capital letter at the start and the end mark at the finish, every single time, until it becomes automatic.
  • Say "cap and dot" as a two-word reminder your child can repeat before writing any sentence.
  • Have your child hunt for capital letters and end marks in a favorite book -- spotting them in real print makes the rule feel real.
  • Do not worry about spelling yet this week -- the whole goal is the shape of a sentence, start to finish.
Talk about it:
  • What does a sentence need at the very beginning?
  • What are the three end marks a sentence can use?
  • How do you decide whether to use a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point?

Mastery looks like: They write a simple sentence with a capital letter at the start and a matching end mark, without being reminded.

Common stumbles: Forgetting the capital letter, or leaving off the end mark entirely because the idea "feels" finished.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Sentence BuilderDrag word tiles into a real sentence, with a capital and end mark.try →Punctuation PowerThe same words as a statement, a question, or a shout — hear it change.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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