✏️ WritingLevel 1Lesson 3
← Back🔒 PDF with full access

Capital and Lowercase Letters

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

What you will learn

  • 1Match capital and lowercase letter pairs (A and a, B and b, and so on)
  • 2Explain when to use a capital letter: start of a sentence, names, and the word I
📘

Mini Lesson

Every letter in the alphabet has two forms — a capital (big) form and a lowercase (small) form. They look different, but they stand for the exact same sound!

Use a capital to start a sentence

  • The first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter.
  • Example: My cat is fluffy.
  • After a period, the next sentence starts with a capital again.

Use a capital for names

  • People's names always start with a capital letter.
  • Example: Sam, Maria, Ben.
  • Pet names and place names get capitals too.

The word I is always a capital

  • When the word I stands alone, it is always written as a capital.
  • Example: I like apples.
  • This is true even in the middle of a sentence.

Use lowercase everywhere else

  • All other words in a sentence use lowercase letters.
  • Example: The dog ran fast.
  • Using ALL CAPITALS for normal words is incorrect.

Words to know

Capital letter

The big form of a letter — reaches the top writing line

e.g. A, B, C, M, S

Lowercase letter

The small form of a letter — many sit between the midline and baseline

e.g. a, b, c, m, s

Capital and lowercase letter pairsThree letter pairs — A/a, B/b, C/c — with the capital drawn bigger beside its matching lowercase form, labeled Capital and lowercase.Two forms of every letterAaBbCcCapitallowercaseSame sound — different sizeCapitals reach the top line.
Capitals A, B, C reach the top line. Lowercase a and c are small; b is tall.
When to use a capital letterThree rules shown as labeled boxes with example sentences — start of sentence, names of people and pets, and the word I — each with the capitalized word highlighted.When to use a CapitalStart of a sentenceMy cat is fluffy.Names of people / petsMy dog is Rex.The word I (always!)I like to read books.Three reasons to use a capital!
Start of a sentence, a name, or the word I — each word gets a capital.
💡

Ask yourself: "Does this word start a sentence, is it a name, or is it the word I? If yes — use a capital!"

Free · 7 days · No credit card

Unlock the full HSEA system for 7 days.

Add your first kid profile and your 7 days start: every lesson in every grade, saved progress for each child. Nothing to set up, no card required, nothing to cancel.

  • ✓ All 1,880 lessons, Grades 1–6, every subject
  • ✓ Profiles + saved progress for every kid
  • ✓ Printable lessons with answer key
Start your 7-day free trial →
Already convinced? See full membership plans →
← Lesson 2: Writing Letters NeatlyLesson 4: Forming Short Words →