Sept. 23, 2009: Punctuation Matters

The Mini Page is a syndicated, four-page tabloid written for young children found each Wednesday in The Denver Post. This issue of The Mini Page is available through the eEdition Archive to registered eEdition subscribers. Click here to learn about subscribing to the eEdition at no cost to you (for Colorado teachers).

Activities:

1. Write a question mark at the top of a piece of paper. Turn five newspaper headlines into questions. Write them on the paper.

2. Race with a friend to find punctuation in news stories: period, comma, semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark.

3. Describe the action in a comic strip, but don't use punctuation. Ask a friend to put in punctuation.

4. Which punctuation mark (a) shows possession, (b) separates items in a series, and (c) links two thoughts?

5. Interview friends who text-message a lot. Discuss the punctuation they use in their messages. Have them compare their text punctuation with their school punctuation. Write a paragraph discussing what they say.

Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page content and offer activities that will help your students reach them. This week's standard:

• Students apply knowledge of language conventions, e.g., punctuation. (Language Arts)
  
  (standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)