How to make your child love punctuation

How do you make your child want to learn about punctuation? How can you make it fun?

That’s right I said FUN!

Let’s focus on the comma (,) that little pause that goes into sentences when we want the reader to take a tiny break. Full stops or periods (.) are longer breaks where we tend to take a breath, but commas are even tinier breaks where we momentarily pause for impact.

When I teach punctuation in the Speech to Spelling Code™ I use a clap for a full stop and a click of the fingers for a comma. Claps and clicks are a fantastic way for kids to remember to take a quick break when there’s a comma or a longer break when they see a full stop.

“Using actions for punctuation is a great way for kids to get active and participate, even if
they aren’t reading themselves, but are
reading along with you.”

You can come up with your own actions or use musical instruments for commas, full stops and other punctuation marks.

Here’s a story I use when I’m teaching the Speech to Spelling Code™. It has lots of drama and commas in it. You can see I also show the syllable breaks that make larger words into smaller word parts and easier to decode for readers. Why not give it a go with your kids?

As you can see this story is full of action and provides a fantastic way to use hand movements to remind kids to take those little breaks.

Remember kids love to move and get actively involved in their learning. You can reread this story to add in the claps for the full stops or periods. I have lots of other actions for exclamation marks, questions marks, talking marks or quotation marks.

“Learning punctuation can be fun if you get your child active while they learn.”

If you think this might be something your children might enjoy, you can try this activity at home with your children. Let them come up with their own movements and sounds for commas and full stops… or you can simply use; a clap for a full stop and a click for a comma.

And if you think this style of learning would suit your child, why not learn more about how the Speech to Spelling Code™ could work for your child by registering to watch a webinar here later in the week.