Capitalisation is one of the first writing conventions students encounter — and one of the last they fully master. The rules are more nuanced than they first appear. Some words that feel important do not get a capital letter (seasons, common nouns, school subjects in some contexts). Some words that students might overlook always require one (languages, nationalities, specific place names). This session clarifies the complete capitalisation system so teachers can address student errors systematically.
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
Read these sentences. Some words have capitals and some do not. Can you identify the pattern — which words get a capital letter and which do not?
English → capital: a language. mathematics → lowercase: a school subject used as a general common noun (not a proper title). St Peter's School → capital: specific named institution. Lagos → capital: specific place name. Monday → capital: a day of the week. science → lowercase: a subject used as a general common noun in context. Nigerian → capital: nationality adjective. government → lowercase: a common noun (not the specific name of a government). education → lowercase: a concept, not a specific institution. University of Nairobi → capital: a specific named institution (every word of the proper name is capitalised). summer → lowercase: seasons do NOT get capital letters in English. The key distinction running through all of these is between PROPER NOUNS (specific names of particular people, places, or things — always capitalised) and COMMON NOUNS (general words for types of things — lowercase). 'School' is a common noun. 'St Peter's School' is a proper noun. 'University' is a common noun. 'University of Nairobi' is a proper noun.'
Now look at some areas where students often get it wrong. Read these sentence pairs — one capitalises correctly, one incorrectly. Can you identify the correct version and explain the rule?
A is correct for the first pair. French is a language → capital always. History and science are school subjects used as common nouns in this context → lowercase. The exception: when a subject is part of a formal title or course name, it may be capitalised — 'she is studying History A-Level' — but in general use, lowercase is standard. B is correct for the second pair. Seasons (summer, autumn, winter, spring) are NOT capitalised in standard English — even though days and months are. B is correct for the third pair. 'Headteacher' used as a common noun ('my headteacher') does not get a capital. But when used as a title directly before a name ('Headteacher Osei'), it does. B is correct for the fourth pair — but so is A. 'The president gave a speech' (lowercase — general reference) is correct. 'President Ade gave a speech' (capital — used as a title before the name) is also correct. The rule: when a title is used directly before a specific name, capitalise it. When used as a common noun without a name, lowercase.'
Now look at these areas where capitalisation varies by context or by English variety. Read and discuss:
GOD: 'God' (capital) when referring to the deity in monotheistic religions. 'god' (lowercase) when referring to deities in general or plural senses: 'the gods of ancient Greece'. THE NORTH: lowercase when referring to a general direction ('I come from the north of the country'). Capital when referring to a specific, named region ('She was born in the North' — where the North is a recognised geographical or political region). AFRICAN ENGLISH: 'African' is always capitalised (nationality adjective). 'English' is always capitalised (language). INTERNET: historically capitalised ('the Internet') as a proper noun. Modern usage increasingly treats it as lowercase ('the internet'). Both are acceptable — consistency matters. AFTER A SALUTATION IN A LETTER: 'Dear Sir,' — the next line begins with a capital: 'I am writing to...'. In formal letters, the first word after the salutation is capitalised.'
THE PROPER NOUN vs. COMMON NOUN DISTINCTION — the foundation of all capitalisation:
A PROPER NOUN is the specific name of a particular person, place, organisation, or thing.
When you are unsure whether a word needs a capital, ask: is this the specific name of a particular thing, or is it a general word for a type of thing? Specific name → capital. General type → lowercase.
SEASONS — the most common false capitalisation:
Students often capitalise seasons because they feel important or because they follow the pattern of days and months. But in standard English:
Spring, summer, autumn, winter → lowercase always.
SCHOOL SUBJECTS — the context distinction:
'She teaches mathematics.' (general common noun → lowercase)
'She teaches English.' (a language → capital, always)
'She is enrolled in the Advanced Mathematics programme.' (formal course name → capital)
'I study history and geography.' (general → lowercase)
'I study History and Geography at A-level.' (formal qualification → often capitalised)
Is this the specific name of a person, place, organisation, or language? → capital. Is this a general common noun (school, headteacher, government, subject)? → lowercase. Is it a season? → lowercase always. Is it a day or month? → capital. Is it a title directly before a name (President Ade)? → capital. Is it a title used without a name (the president)? → lowercase. Is it the first word of a sentence or the pronoun I? → capital.
Choose the correct capitalisation for each sentence. Think about whether each word is a proper noun, a common noun, a language, a day, or something else.
Each sentence has a capitalisation error. Write the correct version and explain why — then reveal the answer.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — PROPER vs. COMMON NOUNS (5 minutes): Write these pairs on the board: school / St Peter's School. river / the Congo River. teacher / Teacher Amina. country / Nigeria. Ask: what is different between each pair? Elicit: the first in each pair is a general type (common noun — lowercase). The second is a specific name (proper noun — capital). Establish: specific name → capital. General type → lowercase.
STEP 2 — THE CORE LIST (8 minutes): Build the core capitalisation list together with students contributing examples:
• Languages: English, Swahili, French...
• Nationalities: Nigerian, Kenyan, British...
• Days: Monday, Tuesday...
• Months: January, February...
• Specific places: Lagos, Lake Victoria, Mount Kenya...
• Specific organisations: UNICEF, University of Lagos...
• Titles + name: President Ade, Dr Osei...
For each category, ask a student to add an example from their own context.
STEP 3 — THE LOWERCASE LIST (5 minutes): Now build the lowercase list:
• Seasons: summer, winter, spring, autumn
• General subjects: mathematics, science, history
• General job titles without names: the headteacher, the director
• Common nouns: the school, the government, the country
Address the most common false capitalisations directly.
STEP 4 — CAPITALISATION AUDIT (5 minutes): Give students a short paragraph with multiple capitalisation errors — both over-capitalisation (seasons, common nouns) and under-capitalisation (languages, days, proper names). Students find and correct all errors. Name each error type.
STEP 5 — STUDENT WRITING (5 minutes): Students write a short paragraph about their school or community — including at least one language name, one nationality, one specific place name, one day or month, and one general common noun. They check their own capitalisation using the rules from this lesson.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
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