Punctuation Power
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . .
I just read this example of the power of punctuation:
An English professor wrote these words on the board and tasked his students with applying the correct punctuation. a woman without her man is nothing
The males in class wrote, “A woman, without her man, is nothing.”
The females in class wrote, “A woman: without her, man is nothing.”
Punctuation is indeed a powerful thing! Our growing writers need to be aware of the potential of their pencils. One way we can help instill the importance of punctuation is through teacher modeling during a quick daily edit. Kindergartners through high schoolers can benefit from the study and practice of proper punctuation usage.
Let’s face it, our language conventions can be a bit tricky, but one sentence a day can boost editing skills. In just a couple of minutes you can hit capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Write an age appropriate sentence on the board with no capital letters or punctuation:
did you see mary run
Then have your students put on their editors’ hats and make the needed corrections while discussing the process.
Did you see Mary run?
Here are a few resources for grammar, punctuation, and capitalization:
Grammar Book: https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/capital.asp
Education World offers Daily Edits for 4th graders and above. Check it out here: Daily Edit
You might kick off your study with one of these picture books:
You also might like Jan Richardson’s Punctuation Rap
The Punctuation Rap is a game we play,
It’s fun to do, and we can learn that way.
Take the period, the period, he’s not hard to understand.
You’ll find him at the end of a statement or command.
He marks abbreviations, shortens words that are long.
Don’t forget the period; he’s small but strong.
Question mark, question mark, what did you say?
He follows a question, that’s the only way.
”Wow, Awesome, Rad, Hurray!”
The exclamation mark is next; he’s excited to play.
Don’t use him too much, he won’t be special that way.
The comma is next; he is used a lot.
He can separate a list of some groceries you’ve bought.
You’ll find him in the middle of the year and the date,
Between two adjectives, or a city and state.
You can join two sentences with a “but” or an “and,”
Just remember the comma, he will give you a hand.
So remember this rap; it will make you smart.
Punctuation is easy; you can learn it by heart!
Go to Jan Richardson’s Resources
Scroll down to the Guided Writing section and check out her Punctuation Rap to hear it all.
All I can say is “Thank you! I”m not sure of the punctuation there, either. So, I have placed your punctuation guide in my bookmarks for reference. The problem with the Internet and most of my writing, I don”t have time or don”t want to take the time to settle what I consider unimportant questions. So I guess. Like you, I had some good teachers in my day and my mother was a writer, and my wife is an excellent editor (she did the proof reading of my book of poems) and those folks made sure I at least made an attempt to get it right. My mom is gone and my wife is busy doing other things and I don”t see another book in the offing. People keep telling me that nobody reads or likes poetry anymore so I should stop wasting my time. Meanwhile the pile in my desk drawer gets bigger and bigger. (Thank God, she says!) Hey, I heard that! 🤭