Punctuation Paintball

Language Arts study encompasses reading, writing, speaking and listening.  The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA) have established the Standards for the English Language Arts.  This set of 12 standards describes what children should know and be able to do with respect to English Language Arts.  One standard indicates that children should be able to apply knowledge of language conventions, which includes spelling and punctuation.

The use of punctuation and capitalization in compositions is an integral part of children's writing experiences.  As their skills and vocabulary develop, children write with more variety and complexity.  Their need to use different punctuation and to apply punctuation in different contexts increases.

Punctuation Paintball is a creative way for children to learn many of the rules for basic punctuation and capitalization.  In this arcade-style game, five punctuation marks along with capitalization are highlighted.  The five punctuation marks include

•   the period,

•   the question mark,

•   the exclamation point,

•   the comma, and

•   quotation marks.

This activity offers three degrees of difficulty so that specific punctuation marks, as well as different applications of punctuation, are covered.  Hundreds of sentences are available in Punctuation Paintball, so that a wide variety of sentence types are represented.

Punctuation Paintball generates a score at the end of each round.  The list of sentences that were punctuated is also displayed.  This immediate feedback gives children an opportunity to review what they've done.

We're sure your children will find Punctuation Paintball to be a helpful supplemental activity.  They'll have fun and learn all about basic punctuation at the same time!

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