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Common Core ELA2nd GradeLanguage

L.2.2: Capitals, Letter Commas, Apostrophes and Spelling

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.2 · Cluster: Conventions of Standard English.

Make a Spelling WorksheetAll 40 2nd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 2, Language · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What L.2.2 Means in Plain English

Second graders capitalize holidays like Memorial Day, product names and places like the Grand Canyon. They put commas after a letter’s greeting and closing, write I’m and Dad’s with apostrophes, spell new words from patterns they know (badge helps with ledge) and check a beginning dictionary.

First graders (L.1.2) capitalized dates and names and put commas in dates and lists. Second grade moves to real letters and notes, where greetings, contractions and possessives show up constantly. Third grade (L.3.2) adds commas in addresses, quotation marks in dialogue and capitals in titles.

L.2.2 I Can Statements

  • I can capitalize holidays, places and the names of products.
  • I can put a comma after Dear Abuelo and after Love.
  • I can use an apostrophe in words like can’t and Mom’s.

L.2.2 Worked Example

One postcard home from a family trip, written fast and then fixed, with almost every part of the standard in five lines.

Prompt

Ava wrote a postcard to her grandfather. Fix the capitals, the commas, the apostrophes and the misspelled word.

Not YetDear Abuelo we are at the grand canyon for memorial day. Im standing by a rocky lej, and Dads hat blew away! I had a sunny fizz lemonade. Love AvaThree names that need capitals, no comma after the greeting or the closing, two missing apostrophes and lej spelled the way it sounds. Read aloud, Im and Dads look like new words.
Meets the StandardDear Abuelo, We are at the Grand Canyon for Memorial Day. I’m standing by a rocky ledge, and Dad’s hat blew away! I had a Sunny Fizz lemonade. Love, AvaCapitals on a place (Grand Canyon), a holiday (Memorial Day) and a product (Sunny Fizz), commas after Dear Abuelo and Love, an apostrophe for the missing letter in I’m and for the owner in Dad’s, and ledge spelled like badge.
Moves to Use
Capitalize every word in a holiday, a place or a product name.Put a comma after the greeting (Dear Abuelo,) and after the closing (Love,).An apostrophe shows missing letters (I am to I’m) or an owner (Dad’s hat).Spell a new word like one you know: badge helps you spell ledge.Not sure of a word? Check it in a beginning dictionary.

Common Mistakes with L.2.2

A capital on the first word only

“Grand canyon,” “Memorial day” and “Sunny fizz,” each with one capital

Try this: Underline every word of a name in a draft, then check that each underlined word starts with a capital letter.

Apostrophes on every s

“My cousin’s are coming” and “three hat’s,” plurals with apostrophes

Try this: Ask “Does someone own something here, or are letters missing?” If neither is true, the word gets no apostrophe.

Greetings that run into the letter

“Dear Abuelo we are at the Grand Canyon,” with the greeting melted into the first sentence

Try this: Give a letter frame with the greeting and closing on their own lines, each with a comma already in place to copy.

Where L.2.2 Fits

Comes BeforeL.1.2Capitalize dates and names, use end marks, and put commas in dates and between words in a series.
AlongsideL.2.1Use standard grammar and usage, the other half of editing a 2nd grade draft.W.2.5Revise and edit writing with help from adults and peers, the step where these rules get checked.
Comes NextL.3.2Use commas in addresses, commas and quotation marks in dialogue, possessives and spelling rules for suffixes.

Practice L.2.2

Spelling Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolTurn the week’s pattern words, like badge, ledge and fudge, into practice sheets, then add the words students misspelled in their own letters.Grade 2 list-dge wordsWords from drafts
Make a Worksheet

Quick Check

  1. Why does Dad’s need an apostrophe?
  2. Which three names in the postcard need capitals, and what kind of name is each?
  3. Where do the commas go in a letter that starts Dear Mrs. Kim and ends Your friend, then the name Leo?

L.2.2: Other Names

L.2.2CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.2

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.