Book and Movie Titles
- 5th grade
- CCSS L.5.2d
Long works like books and movies get italics when you type and an underline when you write by hand: Charlotte's Web. Short works like songs, poems and chapters get quotation marks: "Happy Birthday".
Italics, underline or quotation marks?
The rule is about size. A whole book, movie, TV show or magazine is a big container, so its title gets italics (or underlining by hand, since you can't write in italics). A song, poem, short story, article or chapter is a smaller piece, often found inside a big container, so its title gets quotation marks.
Think of an album and its songs: the album Frozen holds the song "Let It Go." The book Where the Sidewalk Ends holds poems. Big gets italics; small gets quotation marks.
Big (book, movie, TV show): italics or underline
Small (song, poem, chapter, article): "quotation marks"
The 5th grade Common Core standard (L.5.2d) covers underlining, quotation marks and italics for titles. Kids already know how to capitalize titles from 3rd grade.
Which style for which title?
When in doubt, ask: is it a whole thing, or a part of something bigger?
| Italics (typed) or underline (handwritten) | Quotation marks |
|---|---|
| books: Holes | chapters: "The Big Escape" |
| movies: Toy Story | songs: "Happy Birthday" |
| TV shows: Sesame Street | TV episodes: "The Lost Puppy" |
| magazines and newspapers: Highlights | articles: "How Bees Make Honey" |
| albums: Moana soundtrack | poems: "The Raven" |
| long poems published as a book | short stories: "The Gift" |
Your own school report title isn't italicized or put in quotes. Just capitalize it.
Titles in sentences
Ask your child: big work or small work?
- I just finished reading Charlotte's Web. (book)
- We sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at the stadium. (song)
- My favorite movie is The Lion King. (movie)
- Chapter 3, "The Storm," was the scariest part. (chapter)
- Grandpa reads The New York Times every morning. (newspaper)
- We memorized the poem "The Road Not Taken." (poem)
- Have you seen Bluey? (TV show)
- The article "Saving the Sea Turtles" was in National Geographic Kids. (article, magazine)
- Our class read Wonder together. (book)
- My sister sings "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" at bedtime. (song)
Sentence 8 has both: a small article inside a big magazine.
Writing by hand
- You can't handwrite italics, so underline the title instead: Holes.
- Underline the whole title, including small words: James and the Giant Peach.
- Quotation marks work the same by hand and typed.
- Periods and commas go inside the closing quotation mark: We sang "Happy Birthday."
How to teach titles of works
Five short steps, about 10 minutes each.
- Big or small? Name a title. Your child says big (italics) or small (quotation marks).
- Album and songs. Look at a playlist: the album is big, each song is small.
- Write a reading log. Your child underlines each book title by hand.
- Type a list. On a computer, your child types three favorite movies in italics.
- Mix them. Write a sentence with both: a chapter title inside a book title.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
| Mistake | Why it happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| "Holes" is my favorite book. | Quotation marks on a book. | Books get italics or underlining: Holes. |
| We sang Happy Birthday. | Italics on a song. | Songs get quotation marks: "Happy Birthday". |
| We sang "Happy Birthday". | Period outside the quotation mark. | It goes inside: "Happy Birthday." |
| Underlining only part of the title. | Skipping small words. | Underline the whole title, small words included. |
Practice: book and movie titles quiz
10 questions. Your child can tap the speaker to hear a question read aloud. The first try on each question counts toward the score.
-
1.How do you write a book title when typing?
Show answer
in italics.
-
2.How do you write a song title?
Show answer
in quotation marks.
-
3.How do you show a movie title when writing by hand?
Show answer
underline it.
-
4.Which needs quotation marks?
Show answer
a poem.
-
5.Which needs italics?
Show answer
a TV show.
-
6.Which is correct?
Show answer
We sang "Happy Birthday."
-
7.An article in a magazine. How is the article title written?
Show answer
in quotation marks.
-
8.Which is a long work?
Show answer
a newspaper.
-
9.What's the big idea behind the rule?
Show answer
Whole works get italics; parts get quotation marks.
-
10.How should you write a chapter title?
Show answer
in quotation marks.
Book and Movie Titles worksheet (free PDF)
Book and Movie Titles Worksheet, 5th grade
Sort big and small works, underline or add quotation marks to titles, fix mistakes and write about favorites. Prints on US Letter paper, with an answer key.
Download the PDFTry it at home
- Playlists: albums are big, songs are small.
- Reading log: underline every book title by hand.
- Typing: show how to make italics on a computer.
- Movie night: write the movie title on a ticket with an underline.
- School reports: check titles mentioned in book reports.
What comes next
This completes the 5th grade punctuation lessons. Review everything on the 5th grade page, or browse all punctuation lessons and grammar lessons.
Last reviewed: November 11, 2026
Questions parents ask
How do you write a book title?
In italics when typing, or underlined when writing by hand: Charlotte's Web.
Do song titles get italics or quotation marks?
Quotation marks: "Happy Birthday." The album the song is on gets italics.
What grade learns how to write titles of works?
5th grade. The Common Core standard L.5.2d covers underlining, quotation marks and italics for titles.
Why underline instead of italics?
You can't write italics by hand, so underlining does the same job.
What's the easy rule?
Whole works (books, movies, TV shows, magazines) get italics or underlining. Parts of works (songs, poems, chapters, articles, episodes) get quotation marks.