Why does Street get a capital in Oak Street?

Because the name of the street is both words together. Oak Street is the street's full name, the way Anna Smith is a person's full name; capitalizing half a name is the most common error at this stage, and these worksheets target it directly.

Do all holidays get capitals?

Yes, every important word: Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, Fourth of July. Short joiners like of stay lowercase. They're names of specific days on the calendar, so they join days and months in the capital club. Generic celebrations (my party, the long weekend) stay lowercase.

2nd grade capitalizing places and holidays

2nd grade capitalizing places and holidays worksheets

Geographic names (cities, states, countries, streets, rivers, mountains) and holidays are proper nouns, and every important word in them takes a capital: Pine Street, Lake Erie, Fourth of July. Small joining words like of stay lowercase. Second graders spot the full name and capitalize each important word in it.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.2.2.a.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Cross out each small letter that should be a capital, and write the capital above it.

lake michigan looks like a sea.
Fixed: Lake Michigan looks like a sea.
our bus crossed into florida at dawn.
we share tamales on christmas eve.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 2nd grade sheet

2nd grade sheets draw from 60 sentences, 7 to a page. 2nd and 3rd grade print from the same 60 sentences. The teaching notes below are written for this grade. 3rd grade sheets print 8 to a page.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

We marched down Main Street on Thanksgiving.
The Sahara Desert cools at night.
Yellowstone hides boiling springs.

Fix it. Cross out each small letter that should be a capital, and write the capital above it. 7 sentences to fix per page.
Choose the sentence. Circle the letter of the sentence with the correct capital letters. 6 questions per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

The two-word trap is the heart of this skill: kids reliably cap Main and forget Street. Teach that the whole name is the name; Street is part of it, exactly as Smith is part of Anna Smith. (Small joining words are the one exception: Fourth of July keeps of lowercase.) Local examples work best; your own street and town make the rule personal.

Watch for: Every important word of a place name gets a capital: Main Street, not Main street. Only small joiners like of stay small: Gulf of Mexico. General words stay small: the street near my house, but Oak Street.

Common questions about 2nd grade capitalizing places and holidays

Why does Street get a capital in Oak Street?: Because the name of the street is both words together. Oak Street is the street's full name, the way Anna Smith is a person's full name; capitalizing half a name is the most common error at this stage, and these worksheets target it directly.
Do all holidays get capitals?: Yes, every important word: Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, Fourth of July. Short joiners like of stay lowercase. They're names of specific days on the calendar, so they join days and months in the capital club. Generic celebrations (my party, the long weekend) stay lowercase.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Need a fresh set of sentences? Download another copy.

Aligned to Common Core L.2.2.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

Spot a mistake on this sheet? Tell us. · About these worksheets