Surfing the Net with Kids

Surfing the Net with Kids

Surfnetkids » Resources » Language Arts, Reference » Grammar » Punctuation


    • Punctuation

    Punctuation

    by

    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    0 Shares

    Jeff Rubin (owner of Put It In Writing Newsletter Publishers) declared September 24, 2006 National Punctuation Day and managed to get it included in “Chases’ Calendar of Events,” making it practically official. In celebration of good punctuation and the back-to-school season, I’ve collected the following sites.

    		Punctuation Resource Handout for Classroom or Homeschool: Just $2.00

    The Blue Book: Punctuation Rules5 stars

    "Use an em dash sparingly in formal writing. Don't use it just because you are uncertain about correct punctuation. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought." Jane Straus' Blue Book is organized into rules with examples (navigate these with the drop-down menus), exercises and tests. The quizzes are not interactive (try printing them instead) and include answer keys on the same page.



    Eats, Shoots & Leaves Punctuation Game4 stars

    This interactive punctuation game from British author Lynne Truss is based on her best-selling "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" grammar book. The title of her book is based on the following grammar joke. Panda walks into a restaurant and eats lunch. When the check arrives, he takes a gun from his pocket, shoots into the air and runs out of the restaurant. The waiter chases after him, shouting about the bill. In response, the panda tosses him a badly punctuated wildlife manual and says "I'm a panda. Look it up." The waiter opens up the book and reads, "Pandas: eats, shoots and leaves."

    Fact Monster: Punctuation3 stars

    From "apostrophe" to "virgule," Fact Monster explains fourteen punctuation marks. Although brief, each rule includes a sample sentence, and many include links to other Fact Monster resources. For more grammar help, click on Word Wise in the left-hand menu. What's a virgule? You might know it as a slash or a slant: "/".

    The Guide to Grammar and Writing: Punctuation Marks5 stars

    This comprehensive grammar guide is my punctuation pick of the day because it includes many examples, good advice and dozens of interactive quizzes. For example, a comma is used to separate three or more items in a list. But the last comma ("often called the serial comma or the Oxford comma") is usually omitted in newspaper writing. Visit The Guide's comma page to learn when you must use the serial comma, and when you can get along without it.

    		Punctuation Resource Handout for Classroom or Homeschool: Just $2.00



    Honorable Mentions

    The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!

    Exploring English: Punctuation

    Infoplease: Puncutation

    OWL: Overview of Punctuation

    University of Ottawa: Punctuation


    Cite This Page

    Feldman, Barbara. "Punctuation." Surfnetkids. Feldman Publishing. 17 Aug. 2005. Web. 14 Nov. 2024. <https://www.surfnetkids.com/resources/punctuation/ >.


    About This Page

    By . Originally published August 17, 2005. Last modified December 1, 2015.

    Filed Under: Grammar, Language Arts, Reference, Writing

    0 Shares
    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    MENU