Full stops and capital letters

[dandelionsticks]

Hi there, my Y2 child does not use full stops and remembering to use capital letters is still a challenge.

The capital letters is more an issue of forgetting but there does seem to understanding of when they should be used. Though capital letters are still rarely used and I'm not sure if this is usual for early Y2.

However, the full stops are a challenge. We read a lot and we look at when full stops are used but it's not connecting. Does anyone have any tips on how to teach a child when to use a full stop? Or a better way to explain the theory?

Thanks

It’s great that you’re reading lots, seeing grammar and spelling used in books is the best way for kids to pick it up. He will get it eventually if you keep pointing it out in books.

Where I used to work, we used to play a silly game where we would have a conversation but add in all grammar. So we might say ‘what’s your name question mark’ and the child would say ‘my name is Blake full stop.’ That was with 4-5 year olds but they found it funny so they would remember it in their heads. Maybe something like this would help? Or you could joke around reading out every full stop etc in his book.

Most of all I wouldn’t worry too much, he will get there in the end, lots of children are still getting to grips with it at this age. If it’s a big worry you could mention it to his teacher if you get the chance.

Most of my Year 4 class are terrible for this too. Try not to worry.

Thanks. My older child picked it all up naturally and I've never had to help so I wasn't sure if this was something I needed to worry about. I know the teacher covered it in Y1 too. Thanks for responding. I'll try the game but will otherwise not worry and trust that he'll get there in the end! In the meantime, lots of very long sentences!

Don't worry. If your child is in Y2, they missed half their Y1 due to lockdown and that would have been prime time to learn and consolidate capital letters and full stops. Y2 consolidates that learning further, it's only the start of the year.

Read lots and recognise the punctuation while you do will help but I wouldn't worry.