Punctuation Practice {With a FREEBIE}

My writing block was always, never fail, my favorite time of the day. I am all for teaching grammar and punctuation during that authentic writing time, where I'm modeling writing and students are helping/participating. We always started our block with a writing warm up, then I would model a small chunk of whatever we were working on, then students would WRITE, and I would pull my small guided writing groups or skill groups. During my model lesson, I was always able to include a punctuation "lesson" in there quickly and discreetly so students could see when and how to use punctuation in an authentic writing setting. Everyday, I would think aloud while writing, deciding which type of punctuation was appropriate and why so students could get a glimpse into what happens in a writers brain while writing.

However... Most students need even more practice with these skills, because let's face it, even some of my second graders didn't truly know the difference between an exclamation mark and a question mark.

These four activities are meant to be just that- a little extra *fun* practice for students who need a bit more time and exposure to identifying and using punctuation (periods, exclamation marks, and question marks) correctly. They're great for writing centers, as early finisher activities, to use with classroom volunteers, morning warm ups, small groups, or even for whole group review. Check them out:

Posters to place up in your classroom or at a station for students to reference! 

Students match the correct type of punctuation to various sentences. 

Students decide whether the punctuation at the end of the sentence is correct or incorrect. 

This is a fun game for two or more students- Students take turns picking cards out of a hat and determining the correct type of punctuation that goes at the end of each sentence. If they're correct- they keep the card. Incorrect, place it back in the pile. If they pick a 'Punctuation Pow' card they have to place all of the cards they've earned back into the pile. My students begged to play this game all the time! 

Students spin using a paper clip and pencil, and write a sentence using that type of punctuation. This is great to send home with students for extra practice at home! 

Feel free to download the Spin a Sentence activity by clicking the picture above. You can find the rest of the activities in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

What are you favorite ways to teach and review punctuation???