English lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 30 minutes

Question marks and exclamation marks

Punctuation

CCSS L.1.2.BEngland: Y1 GPSEngland: Y2 GPS

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Question marks and exclamation marks.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Ending a sentence: . ? !

Leads to: Speech marks (quotation marks) for dialogue

Materials: Punctuation cards, A short unpunctuated text, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Ending a sentence: . ? !). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Which mark goes at the end? My mum has a car (. / ? / !) → .Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?
Which mark goes at the end? Wow, that is huge (. / ? / !) → !Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?
Which mark goes at the end? The cat is black (. / ? / !) → .Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?

Hook · 3 min

Read a short passage with no punctuation and let the class hear why it's confusing.
Share the objective: Question marks and exclamation marks. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Which punctuation mark should end this sentence? Hooray, we won
Step 1: Questions end with ?; exclamations (strong feelings, warnings, What a…! How…!) end with !
Step 2: So the answer is: !
Answer: !
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Which punctuation mark should end this sentence? Please shut the window (. / ? / !) → .Prompt: Is it a question that needs an answer?
Which punctuation mark should end this sentence? What a beautiful rainbow (. / ? / !) → !Prompt: Is it a question that needs an answer?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Which punctuation mark should end this sentence? Would you like some juice (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it a question that needs an answer?
Which punctuation mark should end this sentence? Shall we go to the beach (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it a question that needs an answer?

Watch out for

Using commas where a full stop (period) is needed.
Putting apostrophes in plurals (apple's).

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Ending a sentence: . ? !.
Use concrete materials: punctuation cards.
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Speech marks (quotation marks) for dialogue.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-1.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder