1. Literacy shorts 168 quick literacy activities. For use across the Key Stages and the curriculum.

2. Click a button…get an activity

3. Let’s watch the tigers eat Dad. Add a comma to save their Dad!

4. Put your bags over th---. they’re/their/there – which one?

5. What do you now know, that you did not know at the start of the lesson? Is there a mistake in this sentence?

6. Every morning Grandma cooks Bills dinner. Spot the mistake – correct it.

7. Although I live in england, I speak italian. 2 mistakes – find them.

8. I dont like Mondays! 1 mistake – find it.

9. The sky was full of fluffy white clouds. Where does the comma go?

10. The cats tail is black. Correct it!

11. The cats tails are black. Correct it.

12. Youve taken the wrong road. Put in the apostrophe.(‘)

13. Whats wrong with this sentence?

14. Roy pushed his bicycle all the way home one of the tyres had a puncture. Where should the full stop go? What else do you need to add?

15. Do you need a full stop if you have used a question mark. no. 2 mistakes – find them.

16. John stopping for a moment considered the junk on his bedroom floor. Put in two commas. Can you explain why they’re needed?

17. He found a football boot a computer magazine his model helicopter a dirty tracksuit rollerblades and his missing homework under the bed. Add in the commas.

18. Could have, would have, should have. Shorten it! (Don’t say you can’t)

19. We was going to school. Correct it.

20. Were mite you make used of the learning we done today. 5 mistakes – find them.

21. The dog’s ate their dinner. What’s wrong?

22. Their is my house. What’s wrong?

23. I am going too do my nails. What’s wrong?

24. How might you explain when to use capital letters to an alien?

25. I were happy playing the guitar. 1 mistake – find it.

26. We get confused when words in are the wrong order in a sentence. Correct it.

27. “I dont like chocolate” said Brenda. 2 mistakes – find them.

28. Genetic engineering splits scientists. 2 meanings – what are they?

29. are you going to the youth club tonight asked della Punctuate it.

30. I knew that bill was touring africa, staying in tripoli and then travelling to egypt to see the pyramids near cairo. Correct the mistakes.

31. i hate homework i cant see why we have to do it i just don’t see the point in it Correct it.

32. How might you improve your punctuation next lesson?

33. What are the strengths’ and weaknesses of your punctuation skills? Answer the question. Correct it.

34. What punctuation skills’ have you used during this lesson? Correct it.

35. I always like chips with alot of ketchup. What’s wrong?

36. He is reluctant to take part in class. He reads widely about the subject but is quite. His critical judgement is developing. A good studnet overall. 2 mistakes – find them.

37. ‘You must learn that dog not to bark so much,’ Mum complained. What’s wrong?

38. How many words for ‘good’ can you write down in 1 minute?

39. How many words for ‘bad’ can you write down in 1 minute?

40. What do you need to do to make your writting better? Oops.

41. I buyed my brother another bar of chocolate. Find the mistake.

42. The man telled us to put are bikes over their. 3 mistakes – find them.

43. I think, therefore I am. How many more conjunctions (joining words) can you remember?

44. The dj is in the house. Correct it.

45. She sang beautifuly. What’s wrong?

46. What do you feel you have or have not learnt this lesson? Add in a pair of brackets to help this sentence.

47. The dog barked….. Add the most original adverb.

48. I speak french. Correct it.

49. The expedition may be on or off it all depends on the weather. Add the semi-colon (;).

50. How did you feel at the beginning middle and end of the lesson? Add commas.

51. How might you work differently next lesson in order to improve you’re punctuation? Answer it. Correct it.

52. Write down the plural of these words: bottle, watch, glass, leaf, knife, half

53. How many words can you make with the prefix ‘under’ in 1 minute? (e.g. understand)

54. Write a poem about punctuation.

55. How many punctuation marks can you fit into one sentence – it must still make sense!, “” :;(). - !? …

56. How many words can you make with the prefix ‘inter’ in one minute? (e.g. interview)

57. How many words can you make with the prefix ‘dis’? (e.g. disappoint)

58. To, too, two. Draw a picture/symbol to show the difference between these three words.

59. There, their, they’re. Explain the difference to the person on your left.

60. If you start a letter ‘Dear Mr Jones’, how should you end it Yours faithfully OR Yours sincerely?

61. Milk drinkers turn to powder. 2 meanings – what are they?

62. Write down 5 key writing skills to look for when checking your work.

63. What spelling mistakes do you make most often? Choose one now and write it in your planner to learn.

64. Create a set of instructions for using capital letters which anybody could follow

65. Netball is one of my favourite sports’ but I like going swiming in the summer. 2 mistakes – find them.

66. The zombie had eyes the colour of lead hair like wires and breath that smelled like boild cabbage. Correct it.

67. i before e except after c but only when it rhymes with bee Write down 3 examples of this rule.

68. the first thing he done was clean his teeth. 2 mistakes – find them.

69. Create a slogan to encourage people to use capital letters correctly.

70. Create a short radio advert ‘selling’ accurate punctuation.

71. Create a 2 question quiz, based on punctuation skills, which you could use to test other students

72. Make up a hand signal for any punctuation mark without using words or a pen.

73. Abigail seen the giraffe. Correct it.

74. Johnny threw the ball. It flew through the air. Gary caught it. Re-write the sentences as one longer sentence.

75. “Come in” whispered Grandma. Where does the comma go?

76. Write a sentence that doesn’t use the letter ‘e’.

77. Scientists’ who study volcanos and eruptions are called volcanologists. 2 mistakes – find them.

78. The tsunami caused by krakatoas 1883 eruption killed around 31400 people. 3 mistakes – find them.

79. a general election is held at least once every five years. 3 capital letters missing – put them in.

80. Many schools use elections’ to make decisions’ for example who will be on the school council. Correct it.

81. Around a quarter of single homeless’ people sleeping rough or living in hostels’ are under the age of 25. 2 mistakes – find them.

82. You, are aged 16 or 17 and, the local authority considers your welfare, would be seriously threatened if it does not, provide accommodation. How many commas are needed?

83. Spell briliantly!

84. “what does that have to do with anything” “monsters are not a joke bella” I started at the headline again, and then up to his hard expression. “a... a vampire is doing this” I whispered. How many mistakes?

85. I have to clean my room walk the dog and take out the rubbish. Add the commas.

86. If you are good you will get a green slip. Where does the comma go?

87. Because she is only twelve she is not old enough to drive. Where does the comma go?

88. My brother a 26 year old male is watching TV. How many commas are needed?

89. My favourite colour navy blue is very popular. Put in two commas.

90. “We need to buy more sugar” she said “before it runs out!” Put in two commas?

91. “Okay” shouted the referee loudly “Time’s up!” Put in two commas?

92. Wait is there another way? Add the comma.

93. Sorry we dont have enough room. Spot 2 mistakes and correct them.

94. That is Davids house. What’s missing?

95. The childrens school. What’s missing?

96. I cannot buy a new car I do not have much money. Add the semi-colon (;)

97. The president likes sweets he does not like toffees. Where does the semi-colon go? (;)

98. The man was hot he was standing in the mid day sun. Add in the semi-colon. (;)

99. I gave you the polish for one reason to clean the table. Add in the colon. (:)

100. I have invited the following people to my party Kevin, Amy and Keeley. Add in the colon (:)

101. There is only one way to make it to the top hard work. Add in the colon (:)

102. morris the martian was flying round the solar system one day when he saw a strange light in front of him How many mistakes?

103. leave the room immediately Punctuate it!

104. we have a lot of trees in our garden they provide plenty of shade Punctuate it!

105. if you dont stop that ill go now Punctuate it!

106. come here no stay where you are Punctuate it!

107. When do you use a semi-colon? If you don’t know, you need to find out!

108. The class didnt go on the schools trip to butlins because the school hadnt ordered the company buses. Add the apostrophes.

109. At thorpe parkes gates the teacher said that students shouldnt fool around. Correct it!

110. last week i went to london zoo i saw elephants and tigers i ate lunch in the café the best thing about the day was the gift shop i bought a keyring i cant wait to go again Punctuate it!

111. Have you asked him out yet she asked no way she replied I don’t fancy him. Punctuate with “”, ! ?. and capital letters.

112. ‘Apostrophe’ by Roger McGough twould be nice to be an apostrophe floating above an s hovering like a paper kite in between the its eavesdropping, tiptoeing high above the thats an inky comet spiralling the highest tossed of hats Add the apostrophes!

113. Bobs new car comes with three years free insurance and its a pleasure to drive. Add the apostrophes.

114. Dont forget to turn of the computer at the end of the day. How many mistakes?

115. doe’s your gutter’s need cleaning Punctuate it!

116. Winston sat in utter horror he knew what lay in Room 101. Add in the colon.

117. Work in pairs. Create a thirty-second advert for one punctuation mark which could be used on a television shopping channel.

118. O’Brien spoke: “By itself he said pain is not always enough there are occasions when a human being will stand out against pain even to the point of death. Add in the missing punctuation.

119. my favourite book is Skellig because it really like the main charcter michael i realy enjoyed the way that michael found the man in the garag and the description if the cobwebs and bluebottles Punctuate this.

120. Work in pairs. Each person, in secret, chooses a question, exclamation mark or pause (comma for short, dash for long) Next, conduct a discussion about what you had for breakfast, only using your chosen punctuation.

121. i am realy looking forward to reading the rest of the book so that i can find out who the man in the garage is and why he is their Correct it.

122. Pick an image. Write a 1 word sentence, then a 5 word sentence and finally a 10 word sentence about it. Don’t forget to punctuate.

142. It had been raining all day the miserable clouds emptied their tears onto the windows of the classroom. Add the semi-colon (;)

143. I like to each chips. My friend doesn’t like fast food. Join these sentences using a semi-colon (;)

144. Write a txt msg explaining how to use commas.

145. I sat in class and it was so boring. Change the ‘and’ for a semi-colon (;). Next, write your own example using a ;

146. Choose one sentence you wrote this or last lesson and redo it so that it is better

147. Another dismal day the rain, the clouds and the mood lingered heavily in the air. Add in the colon. (:)

148. Mr Jones my teacher droned on as always about rules and regulations. Add in a pair of brackets.

149. I shook my head it hurt. Add in the dash.

150. The moon was bright and the sky was clear a perfect evening. Add in the missing punctuation.

151. My dog was howling I had never seen him like that before. Put the comma in.

152. I love mice said the gruffalo. Punctuate it.

153. When using the bunsen burner dont forget to wear your safety goggles. Correct it.

154. oxygen carbon and nitrogen are three of he most commonly found gases Correct it.

155. tucnatupnoi eellahcgn nniiiftode Unscramble the words.

156. his becham is name david Unscramble the sentence and correct it.

157. In pairs, take it in turns to try and talk for a minute about today’s topic without pausing or repeating yourself.

158. In pairs, one person is ‘for’ and one person is ‘against’. The motion is: ‘Accurate writing is extremely important.’ The people ‘for’ will go first, for a minute. The people ‘against’ will get a minute after that. Finally, there will be a minute of free-for-all, where both sides can speak.

159. dodecahedron How many words can you make from this one?

160. martin luther king was born in atlanta georgia in 1929 Correct it.

161. Unless christine finishes her calculus homework she will have to suffer Mr Jones wrath in class tomorrow Correct it.

162. While bailey slept on the sofa in front of the television samson the family dog gnawed the wires on his xbox 360 Correct it.

163. Tanya did poorly in her geography exam because her best friend brenda insisted on chatting to her on facebook the night before Correct it.

164. Jhon who thought he was rubbish at sport decided to give up in lessons Correct it.

165. Think about the best sentence you could create. Write it down.

166. Which is correct? The yolk of an egg are white. or The yolk of an egg is white.

167. Source 1 a detailed drawing of a first world war soldier clearly shows the type of weapon used in battle. Correct it.

168. Write your name. How many people forgot the capital letter for first name and surname?

169. What are your 3 top tips for improving your writing.

170. Write a sentence with 3 deliberate mistakes in. Swap and check. Could you write one with which you think you could beat the teacher?