Students will
Learning objectives
- Tell whether a noun names any person, place or thing, or a specific one.
- Capitalize the names of people, pets, places, days and months.
- Write a proper noun to match a common noun.
Common and Proper Nouns Worksheet
Students sort 12 nouns as common or proper, write proper nouns of their own, and fix missing capitals in three sentences.
Format
- Color PDFThe full-color resource, ready to print or projectAvailable
- PrintablePrinter-friendly, uses less inkAvailable
- Fillable PDFStudents type answers right into the fileAvailable
- Google ClassroomAssign and share digitallyComing soon
Only the color PDF is ready for this resource so far. The other formats are on the way.
At a glance
- Grades
- 1–2
- Pages
- 2
- Type
- Worksheet
- Includes
- Answer key
Materials: none (mini whiteboards for the optional class game)
Last updated
Page 1 of 2
Sorting and capitalizing common and proper nouns
Students start from a definition of each kind of noun and four common-to-proper pairs, beginning with girl and Nadia. They mark 12 nouns as common or proper, write their own proper nouns for a friend, a city or town and a street, and rewrite three sentences where every name, day, month and place has been left lowercase. The answer key gives sample answers and a three-step whiteboard game: you say a common noun, students write a proper one, and one student spells it aloud.
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From the creator
Teaching tips
1
Friday and July are the Sort It items students most often mark as common. Point out that each names one specific day or month, the same way Priya names one specific person.
2
In Fix It sentence 2, students often miss Biscuit because it names a dog, not a person. Ask whether the dog has its own name.
3
Place names with two words need two capitals. Students who capitalize only the first word of the place in sentence 3 are treating the second word as a common noun; the two-word lake in the sort is a good example to point back to.
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Skills covered
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Differentiation
Meet every learner.
Ways to adjust the noun page for different students.
Support
Talk it through first
- Sort the 12 nouns aloud first, asking "Is it a name?" for each.
- Underline the words that need capitals in Fix It, so students only rewrite.
- Offer names to choose from for Make It Proper, such as your own town and street.
On level
Teach as written
- All three sections, then the Name It Proper game as a warm-up next lesson.
- Students circle each capital they add in Fix It.
Extension
More proper nouns
- Write a proper noun for each common noun in the sort, such as a real park or bridge.
- Write two sentences of their own with three proper nouns each.
- Find the two-word proper nouns, like the lake in the sort, and explain why both words get a capital.
Standards alignment.
Each one is checked against the official documents. Where the resource covers only part of a standard, the note says so.
Common Core ELA · Grades 1–2
L.1.1.bUse common, proper and possessive nouns
Students sort 12 nouns as common or proper and write their own proper noun for a friend, a town and a street. Possessive nouns are not covered.
L.1.2.aCapitalize dates and names of people
In Fix It, students capitalize names of people and days and months, such as Maya, Owen, Friday and June.
L.2.2.aCapitalize holidays, product names and geographic names
In Fix It, students capitalize place names such as Texas, Florida and the Grand Canyon. Holidays appear only in the example box and product names are not covered.
TEKS English · Grade 2
2.11(D)(iii)Common and proper nouns
Students sort nouns as common or proper and write their own proper nouns for a friend, a town and a street; singular and plural nouns are not covered.
2.11(D)(ix)Capitalize days and months
Students rewrite sentences to capitalize names, including Friday and June; the same sentences also capitalize people and places, which goes beyond this Grade 2 item, and letter salutations are not covered.
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