Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Theodora Zaimis
EDDN 680

Title of Lesson: Capitalization Course: 4th Grade Grammar/Writing

Core Components

Topic of Lesson and Rationale:

The students in this fourth grade ENL class have been writing personal narratives during ELA and
it has been observed that many students have trouble using correct capitalization. Students mostly
have difficulty with knowing how to capitalize proper nouns but some students also do not know
how to capitalize the personal pronoun I and at the start of sentences. Understanding capitalization
and correctly incorporating it into writing is necessary for students to create writing that is free of
errors. Including capitalization in their writing makes what they have written more comprehensible.
Proper capitalization will be necessary outside the classroom because it is expected in writing when
being professional. For example, writing proposals, emails, cover letters etc. All students would
benefit from a lesson on when to capitalize in writing.

Content Objective:
Students will be able to edit and create new writing that uses correct capitalization for start of
sentences and proper nouns.

Standard 4W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Standard 4L2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of academic English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling when writing.
4L2b: Use correct capitalization

Language Objective:
Students will be able to identify proper nouns in order to capitalize them in writing.

Students will be able to identify capitalization errors in writing to make corrections.

Standard 4L2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of academic English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling when writing.
4L2b: Use correct capitalization
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Student Population:
Grade level: 4th ENL
# of students: 25

- 5 Entering (Beginning)
- 1 Emerging (Low Intermediate)
- 3 Transitioning (Intermediate)
- 5 Expanding (Advanced)
- 11 Commanding/ Former ELL (Proficient)

The L1 spoken in the classroom are Arabic, Spanish, Bengali, and Mandarin

Students will be grouped heterogeneously based on English proficiency levels and L1s in order to
support one another.
Learning Community:

The school is P.S. 122 The Mamie Fay School in district 30, it is a public school in New York City.
The school goes from PreK to eighth grade, and educates 1261 students (2020-2021).
The following are the student demographics (2020-2022)
Asian: 28%
Hispanic or Latinx: 17%
Black: 3%
White: 46%
Native American: <1%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: <1%
Students with disabilities: 9%
English language learners: 8%

The classroom is a designated self-contained ENL classroom, so the majority of the students are
ELLs.
The 25 students are seated at six separate tables, (6, 6, 5, 4 and 4). There is a dually certified
teacher in the classroom. Students have the option to remain in their seats or move to the meeting
area during a lesson.
Materials/Resources:
Smartboard
Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cNpbr_YemC5x5Ia3q6c5DVLY7Y6-XiI-tYBj0oyDWkc/e
dit?usp=sharing
Capitalization anchor chart
Personal capitalization anchor charts
Worksheets
Writing journal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUjGtdTxVo
IPad
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

SIOP Components and Explanation

1. Preparation:
Grade level appropriate content and language objectives will be shared with students.
Objectives were created using fourth grade Next Generation Standards. The objectives will be
written and read from SmartBoard.
The supplemental materials include the teacher created slides, worksheets, anchor chart and
the capitalization song video by Jack Hartmann.

The new information and content will be presented to students both verbally and visually.
- Examples for each rule of capitalization will be presented on the SmartBoard and read
aloud. Students will then work on correcting capitalization errors with the teacher
before working with their partner.
- Prior to working in their groups, the teacher will model each rule.

Students with low English proficiency will be seated next to a peer who speaks their native
language in order to receive support throughout the lesson. The teacher will assist these
groups during partner work using an iPad to translate and explain. Spanish newcomers will
write their personal narratives in Spanish. Since Arabic does not include capitalization, this
Entering student will work with the teacher to write their personal narrative in English in order
to demonstrate understanding of capitalization rules.

The meaningful activities for…

Listening- Students will listen to the Jack Hartmann song and pull out the capitalization rules
from it. Students will listen to the teacher explain the rules. Students will listen to their peers
discuss during partner work.
Speaking- Students will be given the opportunity to participate in class discussions and will
talk with their partners to make corrections.
Reading- Students will read sentences with incorrect capitalization to make a plan for
correction.
Writing- Students will write a short personal narrative using correct capitalization. Spanish
newcomers can write their personal narratives in Spanish.

2. Build Background:

Student writing has shown that students have some awareness of capitalization in writing,
mostly at the start of a sentence. To prompt students to connect to prior knowledge about what
they know about capitalization, students will be asked the following questions:
-What are capital letters?
-Where do we see capital letters?
Students will also analyze a short sentence to locate capital letters and discuss why they might
be present there.
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

The vocabulary will be front loaded, with students being taught the terms capitalization and
proper nouns.

Before being given the definition students will be asked the following questions to gauge what
they understand.
-What is capitalization?
-What are proper nouns?

Students will be presented with the definition of capitalization. Then students will have to
identify which words in a sentence have capitalized letters, and which letters in that word are
capitalized (only the first).

Students will be presented with the definition of proper nouns. Students will be given
examples of proper nouns and then will be asked to come up with at least 5 more examples of
proper nouns with their partner.

Students will then watch and listen to the capitalization music video by Jack Hartmann to be
given examples of the rules. Students will be asked to identify the rules, if they remember
them from the video.

3. Comprehensible Input:

The teacher will take student English proficiency levels and alter their speech. The teacher
will do this by speaking at a slower rate and enunciating. Sentences used by the teacher will be
shorter in length and avoid contractions and idioms.

The concepts taught in this lesson will be repeated and reviewed multiple times to ensure
student understanding.

Prior to each task the teacher will model the expectation by doing an example on the board.
The students will work with a partner to complete the task. Once completed, the task will be
reviewed on the board and the concept reinforced.

4. Strategies:

Teacher support and working with a partner are strategies that students will have access to.
Students are also provided with an anchor chart to support their understanding.
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

The way that the lesson is organized provides students with ample time to learn the concepts
and practice them with appropriate scaffolding. There is a gradual release of responsibility.
Each rule for capitalization is first explicitly taught and students are provided with examples.
Then students practice making corrections based on what they have learned with a partner
before it is reviewed as a class. When students demonstrate an understanding of each rule, the
same process will be repeated for the following rules.

After each rule has been taught, students will once again work with a partner to identify errors
but this time they must be able to state the reasoning for the capitalization. Once again, the
task will be reviewed with the teacher.

Before moving on to more difficult tasks, students must demonstrate their understanding.
Students will move from having significant support when the content is first introduced to less
support where they must apply what they have learned in their own writing.

5. Interactions:

Students will be provided with frequent opportunities to interact with the teacher and their
peers. When the teacher is presenting they will take the time to answer students’ questions and
pose questions. Students will also have the opportunity to “help the teacher” in correcting
capitalization errors that they have identified. Students will have to explain why they have
chosen to make those corrections.

Students are also expected to work with a partner when practicing each of the capitalization
rules. They must work together to identify the errors and make corrections. They should
discuss why they have chosen to make those changes. Students can also ask their peers for
help when writing their personal narratives. Finally, students will review each other’s work to
help with any revisions.

Students have been grouped based on L1 and English proficiency, so that students with higher
English proficiency can support their peers by clarifying concepts in their L1.

When students are presented with a question or task, ample time will be given so they can
discuss with their partner. The teacher will circulate the room to see if students have
completed the task and if they are understanding the concepts.

6. Practice/Application:

For each capitalization rule that is learned, students will be given a short paragraph with those
errors present. They must work with their partner to make necessary corrections.
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

A final paragraph is given that includes all three types of errors. Students must work with their
partner to make necessary corrections. Students are to discuss why those corrections must be
made.
“The ___(letter) needed to be capitalized because _________.”
…it is at the start of a sentence
…it is the first letter of a proper noun
…it is the personal pronoun “I”

Independently, students must apply what they have learned and create a writing piece that is
free of capitalization errors that were taught. Students will then swap with a peer to make sure
no errors are present.

These activities include listening and speaking because they must have a discussion and
explain their thinking. Students will have to write a personal narrative. Students will also need
to read the tasks to make corrections and read their partner's personal narrative.

7. Lesson Delivery:

The layout of the lesson was created to explicitly teach students the rules of capitalization and
provide students with ample opportunity for practice. Throughout the lesson students will not
only understand the rules but will be able to recognize when errors have been made in order to
make corrections. After significant practice with the rules, students should be able to
confidently produce writing that is free of these errors and be able to identify when errors have
been made.

The following is the approximate pacing of the lesson:

Introduction/ State Objectives - 1 min

Build background questions - 2 min
Vocabulary - 3 min
Anchor chart and video - 5 min
Rule 1 introduction and example - 1 min
-student practice and share - 1 min
Rule 2 introduction and example - 1 min
-student practice and share - 1 min
Rule 3 introduction and example - 1 min
-student practice and share - 1 min
Student practice - 2 min
-share and discussion - 3 min
Review of rules and directions - 2 min
Student application and writing - 15 min
Peer review/share - 6 min
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

8. Review/Assessment:

The class will review the vocabulary on the slides.

After correcting the final paragraph, students can volunteer to come to the board and make a
correction. The student has to explain why the correction was made using the vocabulary.
“The ___(letter) needed to be capitalized because _________.”
- …it is at the start of a sentence
- …it is the first letter of a proper noun
- …it is the personal pronoun “I”

During this time, the teacher will have the opportunity to review and reinforce the vocabulary
and concepts and to provide students with feedback.

The class will review the capitalization rules that have been taught during the lesson using the
anchor chart. Students will then be prompted to complete a short personal narrative writing
piece, making sure to use capitalization correctly. The prompt will be on the board and their
worksheet. The prompt will also be read aloud to the students and possible ideas. Students are
encouraged to work independently but can consult their peers if they need help. Spanish
newcomers will be allowed to complete the writing in Spanish. Arabic newcomers will work
with the teacher to create their writing and must instruct the teacher on where capital letters
are needed.

During this time, the teacher will have the opportunity to observe the students while writing
and provide them with feedback on their output.

Once the students’ writing pieces are completed, the students will swap with a peer and review
the work to make sure that no capitalization errors were made.

9. Extension/Homework:
A possible extension to this lesson is to have students review previous writing assignments to
make corrections if they had made capitalization errors.
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Section II: Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection

From observations and reviewing students’ previous writing it was evident that many

students in the room struggled with capitalizing their work properly. It is necessary for students

to learn capitalization rules in written English because it makes their writing more

comprehensible and it is expected that students understand these rules in the future when

entering the professional world. Since so many students struggled with this concept it was

necessary to do a whole class lesson. After teaching this lesson, it became clear that it was

effective in some ways but could be improved in order to reach more students.

This lesson was effective in teaching students to recognize the errors in writing based on

the capitalization rules that were learned. All students were able to accurately make corrections

to the short paragraphs after learning each of the rules. Students were also able to make

corrections to the paragraph that included all three types of errors and could explain why they

made that correction by stating the rules. This shows that the lesson was effective in teaching the

rules and students could edit writing that lacked proper capitalization. This might imply a deep

understanding of the rules but that was not the case because many students struggled when

producing their own writing. Students capitalized all words that required it but also capitalized

words that should not have been capitalized. It was observed that a handful of students

capitalized the possessive determiner word “my.” This is possibly from confusion about the

capitalization rule for the personal pronoun “I.” A few students also still made errors capitalizing

words that are common nouns, which was previously not an issue. This was mostly when

speaking of their parents using the words “mom” and “dad.” Students might have believed that

these words are proper nouns because that is what they call their parents, so they might have

considered those common nouns to be names.

Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Assessments during a lesson are essential for teachers to make adjustments to their

instruction in order to reach more students (Hudesman et al., 2013). The lesson was effective in

providing students with many opportunities to practice and in turn provided many opportunities

to assess their understanding. “Although formative assessment can be designed in many different

ways to accommodate different aims, the main function is to generate feedback on students’

performance in order to improve learning. Feedback is therefore a key component in formative

assessment… (Weurlander et al., 2012, p. 2).” Formative assessment is essential to check for

understanding and to make adjustments in order to ensure the objectives are met. This is where

the lesson could have been improved on. The errors students were making in their own writing

were observed in real time but they were only addressed with the individual students. After

looking at their collected work, those errors were found in multiple students’ writing. It would

have been beneficial to address the misconceptions and confusion when they were first observed

with the whole class.

There were also some strengths in lesson planning that were personally observed and

stated by the cooperating teacher as well. The layout of the lesson gave students multiple

opportunities to learn and practice each rule with support from their teacher and peers before

applying what they have learned in a culminating assessment. Students were also engaged during

the lesson because of this, since the lesson was more student centered. The assessments given

assessed whether or not students met the lesson objectives. The cooperating teacher also agreed

with the plan to pair students based on their English proficiency and L1 and noted on how well

the students worked together. It was also noticed by the cooperating teacher that the students

made errors while writing and agreed that it would have been beneficial to address the confusion
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

when it was first observed. In future lessons it is advised to plan for possible misconceptions and

include time to address confusion if it is present.

Overall the lesson was successful in having students reach the language objectives

“Students will be able to identify proper nouns in order to capitalize them in writing,” and

“Students will be able to identify capitalization errors in writing to make corrections,” but failed

with some students to reach the content objective “Students will be able to edit and create new

writing that uses correct capitalization for start of sentences and proper nouns.” There were many

aspects of the lesson that were effective, such as practice and engagement but other areas that

need improvement such as adjusting lessons in real time based on observations and assessments.
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

References:

Hudesman, J., Crosby, S., Flugman, B., Issac, S., Everson, H., & Clay, D. B. (2013). Using

formative assessment and metacognition to improve student achievement. Journal of

Developmental Education, 37(1), 2.

Weurlander, M., Söderberg, M., Scheja, M., Hult, H., & Wernerson, A. (2012). Exploring

formative assessment as a tool for learning: students’ experiences of different methods of

formative assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(6), 747–760.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2011.572153
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Anchor Chart
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Personal Anchor Chart

Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department

Worksheet
Touro GSE, TESOL and Bilingual Department