This elementary language arts lesson focuses on teaching about ending punctuation marks. After this lesson students will be able to distinguish between periods, question marks, and exclamation points. Worksheets and activities also included.
There are several rules the student must remember to comprehend a sentence.
A sentence:
- Is a set of words
- Tells a total or complete idea
- Starts off with a capital letter
- Ends with a punctuation such as a period, question mark, or exclamation point
Examples of a sentence:
- My car is bigger than yours.
- He is taller than Jan.
- They went to the farm.
Examples of non-sentences:
- Bigger than yours.
- Is blue.
- Did it.
The previous examples of sentences make sense. The non-sentences do not show a complete thought process. It seems to abruptly start or end.
Not only does the sentence have to make sense but the words have to be in order.
Examples:
In order:
- I have a bat.
- He is tall.
Not in order:
- Bat I have.
- Tall is he.
When should we use a period, when should we use a question mark, and when should we use an exclamation point? When we change the end punctuation this changes the meaning of the sentence.
When the sentence is stating something as it is telling about something or even someone, we would use a period.
Examples:
- The car is blue. ( We are stating that the car is blue)
- She has red hair. ( We are stating that she has red hair)
What About Questions?
A question is a sentence which asks something. We end a question with a question mark. (?)
Examples:
- What color is the car? (We are asking what color the car is)
- Who is her friend? (We are asking who her friend is)
Common words which will come at the start of the question:
-
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
- How?
Exclamation Points!
An exclamation is also sentence but this sentence shows a strong emotion or reaction. (!)
Examples:
· Turn down that radio!
· Stop that train!