Semicolon writing activity for kids

There is more than one way. Firstly, let us look at the rules.

The alarm will ring in a few minutes. He jumped out of bed despite feeling sick. He will be tired. The wind howled for hours. I would have sent that letter sooner if I had remembered in time. Use a semicolon to join two closely related complete sentences.

The second complete sentence often provides additional meaning or explanation to the first or explains a consequence. In fact, if each sentence is very short, a semicolon may be overkill.

Compare the following examples. Each one is punctuated correctly, but which ones sound best? Read out loud if necessary, and pause a little at the semicolons. His aunt stays in. She likes her TV shows. His aunt stays in; she likes her TV shows.

His aunt stays in because she likes her TV shows. His aunt never goes out of her house in the afternoon. Among the shorter sentences, 3 sounds best; each sentence alone is too choppy.

Of the longer sentences, 4 sounds like part of a list, and 5 just seems to drone on. But 6 sounds perfect with the semicolon. Context can change things, of course. He wandered all day. His heart was broken.

If the semicolon was just a little less top-heavy, then it would be a comma, and rightfully used and appreciated. Sadly, many writers have a confused relationship with the semicolon, not really sure how or when to use semicolons in their lovely sentences. From fun activities to daily reading and writing sessions, these tips on how to improve kids’ writing skills will help your child build his or her skills in no time. Improve your child’s communication skills with these simple and fun kids’ writing activities. Our punctuation worksheets give good practice with the different types of punctuation in the English language. Here is a graphic preview for all of the punctuation worksheets. Our punctuation worksheets are free to download and easy to access in PDF format.

He wandered all day; his heart was broken. He wandered all day because his heart was broken. He wandered along the beach and inlets all day.

The pitiless sun rose and fell on his mangled, bleeding heart. He wandered along the beach and inlets all day as the pitiless sun rose and fell on his mangled, bleeding heart.

He wandered along the beach and inlets all day; the pitiless sun rose and fell on his mangled, bleeding heart. Conjunctive adverbs include words like however, therefore, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, and consequently, among others.

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Words and phrases like indeed, still, in fact, even so, for example, on the other hand, and in the first place are transitional words and phrases which can be used with a semicolon and a comma.

No matter what you call them, the rules are the same when it comes to semicolons. A complete sentence followed by a conjunctive adverb and another complete sentence gets a semicolon and a comma.

Check out the following examples. Do you see how the ideas in each complete sentence are related? And do you see the meaning added with the use of the conjunctive adverb or transition? Using a conjunctive adverb or transition and a semicolon along with a comma to join related sentences is a great way to add variety to your writing.

You can also use semicolons to separate items in a series that contain commas or other internal punctuation. Normally, items in a series are separated only by commas.The general rule is that a sentence ends with only one terminal punctuation mark.

There are three options: the period, the question mark, and the exclamation point.. In less formal writing, an interrupted sentence may end with an em dash (—), or a sentence that trails off may end with an ellipsis ).

It's no accident that a semicolon is a period atop a comma. Like commas, semicolons indicate an audible pause—slightly longer than a comma's, but short of a period's full stop.

Like commas, semicolons indicate an audible pause—slightly longer than a comma's, but short of a period's full stop. Writing worksheets will supplement any child's education and help them build some of the fundamental skills to help them become good writers.

Our collection of free writing worksheets starts with helping build the fine motor skills necessary to become an early writing. From fun activities to daily reading and writing sessions, these tips on how to improve kids’ writing skills will help your child build his or her skills in no time.

Improve your child’s communication skills with these simple and fun kids’ writing activities. Scholastic's Story Starters kids' writing activity generates creative writing prompts, from general fiction to adventure, fantasy, and science fiction.

Writing Aids. Writing Process › Use a semicolon to join an item in a list that already includes one or more commas. He's traveling to Bangalore, India; The solution includes educating the children, promoting job opportunities and offering micro loans to entrepreneurs.