Teaching Punctuation the Brave Writer Way: Commas
Want a look at how Brave Writer teaches punctuation? Below is one example.
We start by making a passage make no sense so that when a child goes to make corrections, it is to improve the meaning and intelligibility of that passage.
Teaching Tip
Want to teach about commas?
- Pick a short passage from a favorite book.
- Do a little violence to it by putting a bunch of commas in lots of WRONG places.
- Read aloud the passage, pausing for each comma.
- Notice how that harms the writing (interrupts the natural flow, makes the meaning difficult, etc.)
- Now, remove all of the commas.
- Read aloud the passage again, not pausing at all.
- Notice what that does to the writing (makes it hard to understand, sounds monotonous, etc.)
- Finally, hand a copy of the passage with no commas to your child and ask them to add commas in the places where “it feels right.”
- Talk how that helps the writing (sounds more natural, makes the meaning clearer, etc.)
Remember, teaching the “right” way by showing the “wrong” way first can help! It’s one of the strategies that makes grammar, punctuation, and spelling instruction stick.
