Capitalization is pretty straightforward. There are a few rules that we must cover in order to ensure you know what must be capitalized.
Capitalize the first word in a sentence.
Capitalize names and other proper nouns. Remember proper nouns? If I just mentioned a "high school" in general, that's a noun. If I specifically wanted to talk about "Bastrop High School", then it is a proper noun. It is a specific person/place/thing that has a name! The first letter of each part of the proper noun is capitalized because it is all part of the name.
An interesting issue with this rule: What about "Mom" vs "mom"? If we are using the word "Mom" as if it were a name, then it is capitalized. For example: "I really want this jacket, Mom!" I am using the word "Mom" as if it were that person's name. However, let's use "mom". "That lady over there is Brett's mom."
We usually do not capitalize the first word after a colon (:)
Capitalize the first word of a quote (if you are using the entire quote). For example: Mario asked, "What is everyone doing this week?" that is correct because we are using an entire quote. However, if I said Mario asked what "everyone" is doing this week. I'm only using a small bit of a quote, so it is fine. Incidentally, the quotations I used there made it seem a little snippy!
Capitalize days, months, and holidays, but not seasons.
Capitalize most words in a title - usually this means all nouns, verbs, adjectives, and proper nouns. You will usually leave articles, conjunctions, and prepositions lowercase.
Capitalize cities, countries, nationalities, and languages.
Capitalize time periods and events.
You are always allowed to use a dictionary during the STAAR test. It may seem like "extra work" to look words up, but spelling answer choices should be freebies! Try to look up both versions of the word to decide if it is spelled correctly.
** Notes taken from: Bucks.edu **
Terms to know:
Suffix: groups of letters attached to the end of a word to change the word's meaning.
Prefix: groups of letters attached to the beginning of a word to change the word's meaning.
Long and short vowel sounds: When a vowel sounds like its name in a word, that is called a long vowel sound (example: the o in "go" makes an "oh" sound). When the vowel does not sound like its name, it is a short vowel sound.
Use i before e, except after c, or when sounding like "a" as in "neighbor" or "weigh".
Drop the final e in a word before adding a suffix begging with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) but not before a suffix beginning with a consonant.
Example: ride + -ing = riding guide + -ance = guidance like + ness = likeness
Change a final y to i before a suffix, unless the suffix begins with i.
Example: party + -es = parties try + -es = tries try + ing = trying
Double a final single consonant before adding a suffix when the word ends with a single vowel followed by a single consonant AND the consonant ends an accented syllable or a one-syllable word.
Example: stop + -ing = stopping occur + -ence = occurrence swim + ing = swimming
The letter q is usually followed by u.
Example: queen, quick, quality
The letter s is never followed by x.
The consonants v, j, k, w, and x are never doubled.
Adding a prefix to a word does not usually change the spelling.
Example: bi + cycle = bicycle, re + act = react
To make a word plural, if the word ends in with a consonant and y, change the y to an i and add es.
Example: "baby" plural is "babies"
To make a long vowel sound, you need to add a second vowel.
Example: boat, cheap, paid
When y is at the end of a 2 syllable word, it usually stands for the long e sound.
Example: Baby, candy, penny
If a one syllable word has 2 vowels, the first vowel is usually long and the second is usually silent.
Example: Wheel, leaf, team
Words ending in a y can add the suffix -ed or -ing without making any other change.
Example: buying, delaying, employed
When the letters ey are at the end of a 2 syllable word, they usually stand for the long e sound.
Example: donkey, valley, money