English lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 60 minutes

Ending a sentence: . ? !

Punctuation

CCSS L.K.2.BEngland: Reception WritingEngland: Y1 GPS

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Ending a sentence: . ? !.

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: no earlier skill in the map; start from what students know.

Leads to: Capital letters and full stops (periods); Question marks and exclamation marks

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

Warm-up · 6 min

Quick retrieval: three short questions students should already manage. Answers on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Which mark goes at the end? What is your name (. / ? / !) → ?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?
Which mark goes at the end? Where is my hat (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?

Hook · 6 min

Read a short passage with no punctuation and let the class hear why it's confusing.
Share the objective: Ending a sentence: . ? !. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Which mark goes at the end? Help, I am stuck
Step 1: A telling sentence ends with a full stop (period), an asking sentence with a question mark, and a strong feeling with an exclamation mark.
Step 2: So the answer is: !
Answer: !
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 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 mark goes at the end? Where is my hat (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?
Which mark goes at the end? Do you have a pet (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?

You do: independent practice · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

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

Which mark goes at the end? Can we go now (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?
Which mark goes at the end? Do you have a pet (. / ? / !) → ?Prompt: Is it telling, asking or showing a big feeling?

Watch out for

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

Support and stretch

Support

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: Capital letters and full stops (periods); Question marks and exclamation marks.
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/kindergarten.

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