Punctuation

Punctuation

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about using speech marks and commas.

The story below is missing speech marks and comms.

Read the story. Then put speech marks and commas where they are needed.

Child at a table

Ben just did not want to go to school. He stirred his porridge round and round his plate.

You are a slow coach today teased Koana.

Yes you are. Hurry up and eat your breakfast said Nan or you will be late for school.

But I hate porridge Ben replied.

Well get some corn flakes then said Nan. I don't mind what you eat she added but you need to eat fast!

As Ben shovelled corn flakes into his mouth he wondered if there was some way he could convince Nan he was sick.
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper.
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
English, Creating meaning, Writing
Key Competencies: 
Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
punctuation, direct speech, commas, speech marks
Description of task: 
The assessment focus is punctuation with students inserting commas and speech marks into text.
Curriculum Links: 
This resource can be used to help to identify students’ ability to create texts to meet the writing demands of the New Zealand Curriculum.
 

Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Writing:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • use basic punctuation that is mostly correct, including punctuation of dialogue
as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Writing at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Writing meaningful text: text features, set 4
within the Writing Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y6 (09/2001)
Speech marks
"You are a slow coach today,"
"Yes you are. Hurry up and eat your breakfast, "
"or you will be late for school. "
"But I hate porridge, "
"Well get some corn flakes then, "
"I don't mind what you eat, "
"but you need to eat fast! "
easy
moderate
moderate
easy
easy
moderate
easy

Commas
"You are a slow coach today,"
"Yes you are. Hurry up and eat your breakfast,"
... said Mum, "or you will be ...
"But I hate porridge,"
"Well get some corn flakes then,"
"I don't mind what you eat,"
... she added, "but you need ...


difficult
moderate
moderate
moderate
moderate
moderate
difficult

NOTE:
For speech marks: Award 1 mark for each pair of speech marks correctly used. Do not award the mark if additional unnecessary speech marks have been added between the two correct ones, e.g., Do not award a mark for: "Yes you are." "Hurry up and eat your breakfast," said Mum. The correct punctuation is shown in the box below.
For commas: Award 1 mark for each correctly placed comma. The correct punctuation is shown in the box below.

     Ben just didn't want to go to school. He stirred his porridge round
and round his plate.
     "You are a slow coach today," teased Kate.
     "Yes you are. Hurry up and eat your breakfast," said Mum, "or you
will be late for school."
     "But I hate porridge," Ben replied.
     "Well get some corn flakes then," said Mum. "I don't mind what you
eat," she added, "but you need to eat fast!"
As Ben shovelled corn flakes into his mouth he wondered if there
was some way he could convince his mother he was sick.
Diagnostic and formative information: 
Common error Likely reason
35% of students added extra unnecessary speech marks after the word "are" and before the word "Hurry", e.g., "Yes you are." "Hurry up and eat your breakfast," said Mum … These students do not understand that when two or more sentences are spoken by the same person, as in this example, only one set of speech marks is needed.