Take Cover
Teacher sheet
16 Perfect your punctuation
Teacher input required / High/active teachingFramework substrand / 8.2 varying sentences and punctuation for clarity and effect
Lesson level / A
National Curriculum ref. / 2.3v signal sentence structure by the effective use of the full range of punctuation marks to clarify meaning
3.3a develop ideas, themes, imagery, settings and/or characters when writing to imagine, explore and entertain
Learning objective
To use punctuation accurately and to create effects.
Resources required
Student instructions and student resource sheets, dictionaries.
Lesson guidance
· Starter – students read the passage at the top of the student resource sheet. They should then write an answer to the question ‘Why do we need punctuation?’ Allow no more than 10 minutes. Briefly discuss responses if possible. (10 mins)
(Suggested answers: so that sentences make sense, to avoid confusion, to add effects to our writing, to make meanings clear, so that the reader can understand what you mean.)
· Development – using the passage as a starting point, students need to add punctuation to it so that it makes better sense, and then continue it using the following guidelines …
Ø all students must include a sentence ending in an exclamation mark (!) and a sentence that uses commas to separate a list
Ø students should also include a sentence that begins with an –ing verb separated with a comma and a sentence that has a clause (extra information) separated with dashes
Ø some students could also include a sentence with parenthesis (using brackets or commas to add in extra information) and an ellipsis (...) to add tension.
After 10 minutes of writing time has passed, students should stop and proofread their work before continuing.
· Plenary – peer assessment activity, as described on the student sheet: students need to check their partner’s use of punctuation and then comment on aspects of the work.
(10 mins)
Notes for SEN students
The guidelines are differentiated. However, some students may benefit from a discussion of what they are going to write. Encourage them to use capital letters and full stops accurately.
Extension activities / notes for gifted and talented students
After completing the must, should, could tasks, gifted and talented students can be challenged with including further sentences that use colons and semi-colons.
Student instructions
16 Perfect your punctuation
Learning objective
To use punctuation accurately and to create effects in your writing.
Success criteria
By the end of the lesson I will have:
· recognised why using punctuation is important in my writing
· used at least two different ways of using punctuation in sentences
· produced a short piece of writing that is accurately punctuated.
Warm up
Read the passage at the top of the student resource sheet.
After you have read the passage, write your answer to this question: ‘Why do we need punctuation?’.
Your main task!
You may have noticed that the passage was tricky to read without punctuation! First of all you need to write out the passage including punctuation.
Then it is up to you to carry on the passage using a range of different sentences and punctuation. Read the instructions below that explain the types of sentences and punctuation you need to include. If you are unsure about anything, look on the student resource sheet for an explanation.
· Everyone must include a sentence ending in an exclamation mark (!) and a sentence that uses commas to separate a list.
· Most of you should also include a sentence that begins with an –ing verb separated with a comma and a sentence that has a clause separated with dashes.
· Some of you could also include a sentence with parenthesis (using brackets or commas to add in extra information) and an ellipsis (...) to add tension.
After you have spent 10 minutes writing, you should stop and proofread your work. Use a dictionary to help you.
Round it off with this
You need to swap your book with a partner.
When you have someone else’s work in front of you, check they have done the following:
· used an exclamation mark
· used commas in a list.
Decide on two things that they have done well in their piece of writing.
Finally, finish the sentence for your partner: This would be even better if you had …
Extra challenge
Can you include some sentences that use colons and semi-colons in your story?
© 2009 Teachit (UK) Ltd 1
Take Cover 16 Perfect your punctuation
Student resource sheet
Read the following passage
a visit from the witch
christopher rose to his feet and wiped the breadcrumbs off his hand lydia looked at the mess still scattered on the floor and hesitated natalie piped up that must be mum surely not daniel pretended brisk disbelief it cant possibly be your mother its far too soon christopher moved close enough to the window to glance down at the street without being seen someone else with a volvo he asked why not helplessly christopher looked across at lydia who raised her eyes to heaven and sighed
Types of sentences and punctuation
· Exclamation mark (!) – use this for something shocking, surprising or amusing.
“You’re such a pain!”
· Commas are needed to separate words in a list.
He felt confused, annoyed, anxious and helpless.
· Beginning a sentence with an –ing verb adds more interest to your writing. Don’t forget to add a comma after the –ing verb.
Coughing and spluttering, Alex surfaced by the side of the boat.
· You can use dashes (–) to add in extra information, or a personal comment to a sentence.
Jenny was angry – she always seemed angry these days – so she said something she shouldn’t have.
· Another way to add in extra information is to use brackets or commas. This is called parenthesis.
It was too far to walk (five miles) so they decided to catch the bus.
Katie’s dog, which she’d had since it was a puppy, was having a litter of its own.
· You can add tension or suspense, or even suggest that something is ongoing by using ... (this is called ellipsis).
It was only then that Simon realised the truth ...
© 2009 Teachit (UK) Ltd 1