Punctuation Matters -- Issue 38 -- Sept. 19-25, 2009

This week's standards:
Students apply knowledge of language conventions, e.g., punctuation.

Activities:
1. Write a question mark at the top of a piece of paper. Turn five newspaper headlines into questions. Write them on the paper.

2. Race with a friend to find punctuation in news stories: period, comma, semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark.

3. Describe the action in a comic strip, but don't use punctuation. Ask a friend to put in punctuation.

4. Which punctuation mark (a) shows possession, (b) separates items in a series, and (c) links two thoughts?

5. Interview friends who text-message a lot. Discuss the punctuation they use in their messages. Have them compare their text punctuation with their school punctuation. Write a paragraph discussing what they say.

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)