• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Apostrophes for possession; Speech marks (quotation marks) for dialogue; Commas in lists). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which shows possession correctly? the coats of the girls (the girls' coats / the girl's coats / the girls coats / the girls's coats) → the girls' coatsPrompt: Who is the owner? One owner or more than one?
2. Which sentence is punctuated correctly? • "Hurry up," said Dad, "or we'll miss the train." • "Hurry up" said Dad "or we'll miss the train." • "Hurry up, said Dad, or we'll miss the train." • "Hurry up," said Dad, "Or we'll miss the train." ("Hurry up," said Dad, "or we'll miss the train." / "Hurry up" said Dad "or we'll miss the train." / "Hurry up, said Dad, or we'll miss the train." / "Hurry up," said Dad, "Or we'll miss the train.") → "Hurry up," said Dad, "or we'll miss the train."Prompt: Speech marks (quotation marks) go around the exact words spoken, including their punctuation.
3. Which sentence uses commas correctly? • We saw lions tigers and bears. • We saw lions, tigers and bears. • We saw lions, tigers, and, bears. • We saw, lions, tigers and bears. (We saw lions tigers and bears. / We saw lions, tigers and bears. / We saw lions, tigers, and, bears. / We saw, lions, tigers and bears.) → We saw lions, tigers and bears.Prompt: Commas separate the items in a list.

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

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: On tuesday we went to the zoo, we saw lions. How many punctuation or capital-letter errors are there?
• Step 1: Proofread in stages so you notice every kind of error.
• Step 2: 'Tuesday' needs a capital, and the comma splice needs a full stop or semicolon.
• Step 3: So the answer is: 2
• Answer: 2
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

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

1. Sam bought milk eggs and bread at the shop How many punctuation errors are there? (1 / 2 / 3 / 4) → 2Prompt: Check capitals, then end marks, then commas, then apostrophes and speech marks.
2. On tuesday we went to the zoo, we saw lions. How many punctuation or capital-letter errors are there? (1 / 2 / 3 / 4) → 2Prompt: Check capitals, then end marks, then commas, then apostrophes and speech marks.

• 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 5 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

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

1. The childrens' coats were wet so they hung them up. How many punctuation errors are there? (0 / 1 / 2 / 3) → 2Prompt: Check capitals, then end marks, then commas, then apostrophes and speech marks.
2. Sam bought milk eggs and bread at the shop How many punctuation errors are there? (1 / 2 / 3 / 4) → 2Prompt: Check capitals, then end marks, then commas, then apostrophes and speech marks.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-6.