English First Additional Language - Term 1 - Week 9

Punctuation marks are important in writing because they help us understand how to read a sentence. For example, a period (.) tells us that a sentence has ended, while a question mark (?) shows that someone is asking something. Today, we will learn how to use these marks correctly in our sentences.

Let's look at the sentence: 'the cat is playing' without any punctuation. What do you think is missing? Yes, we need a period at the end! So, it should be 'The cat is playing.' Notice how we also capitalized the first letter. Now, let's try another one: 'where is my book' - what punctuation do we need here? That's right, a question mark! It becomes 'Where is my book?'

Now, I will give you some words, and I want you to help me build a sentence. The words are: 'dog', 'bark', 'loud'. How can we arrange these words? Yes! 'The dog barks loudly.' Great job! Remember to start with a capital letter and end with a period. Let's do another one together: 'can', 'you', 'help', 'me'. What sentence can we make? That's right, 'Can you help me?'

Now it's your turn! I will give you a worksheet with sentences that have mistakes. Your job is to read each sentence and correct the punctuation. For example, if you see 'the sun is shining' you should change it to 'The sun is shining.' Remember to check for capital letters and periods or question marks. After you finish, we will share our corrected sentences with the class.

• ?
• .
• !

Answer: .

A period (.) is used to indicate the end of a statement.

• the dog runs
• The dog runs.
• the Dog runs.

Answer: The dog runs.

The correct sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period.

Answer: Question mark

A question mark (?) is used at the end of a sentence that asks something.

• apple
• I
• banana

Answer: I

The word 'I' is always capitalized when referring to oneself.

Answer: The cat is sleeping.

The sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period.

• .
• ?
• !

Answer: !

An exclamation mark (!) is used to show excitement or strong feelings.

• The sky is blue.
• Is the sky blue?
• The sky is not blue.

Answer: Is the sky blue?

This sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark.

Answer: Capitalize the first letter.

Every sentence must start with a capital letter.