The term “punctuation” refers to the marks used in writing to separate sentences and their elements, and to clarify the meaning of sentences. Punctuation marks give us cues that help us know how to say what we’re reading out loud, and they make written and printed text – like books and magazines – come alive by telling us when there’s a pause, when a tone shifts, or if the words are meant to be loud.

Punctuation Marks and Their Uses

Before we jump into how to teach punctuation, let’s brush up on the different punctuation marks and their uses.

Capital Letters

Capitalization is used to signify the beginning of a sentence or to identify a proper noun. In the example below, “without” is the first word in the sentence, so the first letter “W” is capitalised. Since “John” is a name, making it a proper noun, the letter “J” is also capitalised.

Without looking, John jumped into the pool.

Punctuation That Ends a Sentence

Period (.) – Marks the end of a sentence.
- John walked into the door.
Question Mark (?) – Signals the end of a question.
- John walked into the door?
Exclamation Point (!) – Ends a sentence with heightened emotion.
- John, watch out! You’re about to walk into a door.

Punctuation That Connects

Comma (,) – Indicates a pause separating parts of a sentence.
- Addressing someone directly: “John, don’t walk into that door.”
- Separating two complete ideas: John walked into the door, and then he fell down.
- Separating items in a list: John walked into the door, fell down, and hit his head.

Colon (:) – Used after a statement to present something (like a quote or example), to connect two related independent clauses, and to emphasize the subject in a sentence.
- John liked three kinds of fruit: apples, pineapples, and grapes.
- John was clumsy: he walked into the door.
- John only saw one thing: the yard outside the door.

Semicolon (;) – Links two closely-related independent clauses. (This differs from the function of a comma by replacing the comma and conjunction)
- So instead of: John walked into the door, and he hurt his head
- You might see: John walked into the door; he hurt his head.

Dash (–)
- En dash is used to show a range: 1970-1990
- Em dash is used to separate sentence elements (similar to the use of other punctuation): John walked –aimlessly – into the door.

Hyphen (-) – Often confused with the dash, a hyphen is used to create compound words that contain two or more words.
- Up-to-date
- Mother-in-law
- Long-term

Punctuation That’s “Up High”

Quotation Marks (“) – Used in sets of two to distinguish quoted text or to indicate when someone else is speaking.
- John told her that he’s “so clumsy.” (example of John quoting himself)
- John admitted, “I’m so clumsy, always walking into doors.” (example of John speaking)

Apostrophe (‘) – Most commonly used to indicate a possessive or contractions, but also used to pluralize letters.
- John’s head hurt after he walked into the door.
- John should’ve checked the door first.
- Mind your p’s and q’s

Less Common Punctuation

Brackets ([]) – Used to clarify a subject.
- John [the carpenter] walked into the door.
Parentheses ( ) – Can usually be replaced with commas, but work as an aside or to provide additional details.
- John (the lead carpenter working on the house) walked into the door.
Ellipses (…) – Traditionally used to represent omitted words.
- The line, “let there be light…” is from the book of Genesis.

How to Teach Punctuation to Children

Now that we know the different punctuation marks and their uses, how do we explain this information in a kid-friendly way?

Reading

As you’re introducing students to punctuations marks, focus on the marks themselves. You can start by re-reading a book with sentences your students are already familiar with. Have students identify the different punctuation marks and what their purpose is within the sentence (to end a statement or question, to add information, make the reader pause, etc.).

Once your students can identify the different punctuation marks, have them read the sentences out loud and emphasize the punctuation (pausing where there’s a comma, raising their voices for an exclamation, etc.). This will help students connect punctuation marks to their sounds.

Writing

Continue with familiar sentences. Have your students write the words of the sentence without any punctuation. Have them pay attention as you read the sentence out loud, adjusting your voice to match the punctuation, and let them guess what marks go where. Repeat the exercise until they get it right!

From there, you can create sentences from scratch. Have students practice writing and experiment with how the sentence sounds as you move around marks or change the end punctuation.

Bring it All Together

Once your students know how to read and identify punctuation marks, double back and discuss how different punctuation affects the meaning of a sentence. A question mark might prompt you to change your inflection, but what does a question mark actually indicate? (The answer in this case is that question marks signal that a sentence is not a statement of fact but an indication of uncertainty).

Without punctuation we’d have words without meaning; no cues to tell us when to change our inflection or volume, or when to pause versus when to speak fast. Language would be monotone and we’d misunderstand if someone was making a statement, asking a question, giving a compliment, or hurling an insult. Teaching punctuation provides your students with a foundation for creating expressive language and also gives them the tools to see the colourful brilliance of written words.

As with all my teaching I use a Structured Literacy approach to teaching punctuation. I progress my students once secure on one element of punctuation. I teach using a multi-sensory approach and keep the activities fun and relevant. Student I teach have to apply the learning, orally, when reading and in their writing. I reinforce this learning in different ways and I ensure that they are confident in all three before moving on to the next punctuation mark.

Do you have any fun ways you teach punctuation? I would love to hear them below!

K x