Our literacy focus for December is... PUNCTUATION TO END A SENTENCE

Learning Intention To learn when full stops, question marks and exclamation marks are required. Success Criteria I can use full stops , question marks and exclamation marks correctly.

What is a sentence? Recap A complete sentence contains at least one subject and at least one verb. Subject = the person or thing the sentence is about e.g. Sam, he, iron, door, dog, fly Verb = a doing word e.g. run, shock, love It must also be a complete thought. Once there has been at least one subject, one verb and the thought is complete, a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark is needed.

Full Stop Recap ANY sentence that is not a question or an exclamation needs a full stop. If a sentence is a question it will ask something. If a sentence is an exclamation it will be an outcry of a strong emotion such as anger, shock or excitement. Unless a sentence does one of these two things you MUST use a full stop.

Question Marks Use a question mark after a direct question instead of a full stop. You will know if a sentence is a direct question if it asks something. E.g. Will he go to the prom with me? Avoid the common trap of using question marks with indirect questions. These are statements that contain questions and need a full stop instead E.g. I wondered if he would go to prom with me. Remember: Capitalise the word that follows a question mark. Avoid using question marks with indirect questions.

Which of these need a question mark? Do you think she would like flowers I thought about whether or not I should get her flowers I got her flowers I only went and bought her flowers, didn’t I Do you like chocolate I like chocolate I considered whether or not everyone liked chocolate or if there were some people who didn’t You would think that everyone likes chocolate, wouldn’t you

Exclamation Marks These are used to show a strong emotion such as: Shock Anger Surprise Excitement Fear If you want your sentence to show one of these emotions use an exclamation mark.

But be Careful There are times when you should avoid using an exclamation mark: In a professional/formal piece of writing. If you have already used a few. If the sentence does not show an extreme emotion. If your sentence is long. Also: Do not use more than one exclamation mark to end a sentence. Only use the exclamation mark (you don’t also need a question mark or full stop).

Which of these sentences uses the exclamation mark correctly? Get back here thief! He was disappointed with his performance in the Maths test! Hello! What time do you call this?! His mum made him tuna sandwiches for lunch! He walked to school quickly because he was a little late! I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Hovering over my bed was a ghost! I had done it. I had won the lottery!!!

What punctuation should go at the end of these sentences? When should you use a full stop He couldn’t figure out what punctuation to use Use a question mark to show you are asking something He found punctuation tricky. His anger rose and rose. Then, with all his might, he punched the wall A full stop ends a sentence unless it’s a question or exclamation You should use an exclamation mark to indicate a strong emotion, shouldn’t you Why do people overuse exclamation marks The teacher was thrilled at the class’ use of punctuation

The policeman ran down the alleyway after the thief. Finally Use the sentence below as the start of a paragraph. You should include at least one sentence that: Ends with a full stop Ends with a question mark Ends with an exclamation mark The policeman ran down the alleyway after the thief.

Learning Intention To remember when full stops, question marks and exclamation marks are required. Success Criteria I can use full stops , question marks and exclamation marks correctly.

Next Steps In all of your classes remember to use full stops, question marks and exclamation marks accurately. If you do not then your teacher will put a P in the margin of your jotter to indicate you have made a mistake.