After reading this title you might be thinking: “punctuation” and “engaging” in the same sentence?
Think about it: Punctuation, after all, is really just one way that readers and writers control the pace of a text. Periods, commas, semicolons, and especially those specialty punctuation marks ellipsis and em-dash all denote a specific amount of time in which the reader pauses. How these punctuation marks differ (and the pause-time that corresponds to each) is best understood through the rhythms and cadences of natural speech, i.e., dialogue. And what reading format is exclusively dialogue? Reader’s Theater!
Allow me to demonstrate how you can use Reader’s Theater to teach an engaging lesson on punctuation.
As a writer, especially as a writer of dialogue, I like to think of punctuation as my tools, or weapons. One analogy you can use with students is to explain that punctuation is not dissimilar to the various strokes in a tennis player’s arsenal: topspin, slice, lob, and drop shot; each has its own specific use and changes the pace of the point. Punctuation marks likewise have their own specific use and also change the pace of a sentence. (FYI, you can extend the tennis metaphor and explain that when speaking, or exchanging, dialogue characters take turns, as when tennis players hit the ball back and forth.)
Here is a simple way to show/explain the differences in these common punctuation marks:
Period (.) – Tells a reader to stop, that an idea is completed.
Question mark (?) – Tells a reader that a question is being asked and is characterized by the voice going up (reflecting an interrogative tone).
Exclamation point (!) – Tells a reader to use emphasis, to speak loudly and with forcefulness.
Comma (,) – Tells a reader to pause, briefly, before continuing.
Semicolon (;) – Tells a reader to pause a bit longer than for a comma but not as long as for a period.
Em-dash (—) – Tells a reader to make a brief pause (even briefer than a comma), as when adding a thought; also used in lines of dialogue at the end of a clause to show that one character is interrupting another.
Ellipsis (…) – Tells a reader to slow down the pace of dialogue; it may also be used to show that a character is…thinking.
To demonstrate the differences among these punctuation marks, use a Reader’s Theater script (preferably one that has some instances of the lesser-used em-dash and ellipsis) and show HOW these punctuation marks function. Read specific sentences aloud; have the students echo-read (repeat). Once again, because the text is written as dialogue, it will have a natural rhythm and sound; the punctuation marks will make sense for how they control the pacing. To underscore how each of the punctuation marks differ, substitute one punctuation mark for another, such as reading a sentence where an ellipsis is replaced with an em-dash or where a period replaces a semicolon. Or reading the following three sentences, in which the end punctuation changes the meaning of the same three words:
He did it.
He did it?
He did it!
Here is a live example:
Preview “The Ant and Grasshopper Show” on Google Books
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- Multiple Reading Opportunities with Reader’s Theater: Day 1 | Benchmark Education Company
- Reader’s Theater Reading Strategies: Day 2, Echo-Reading | Benchmark Education Company
As a reading specialist, I appreciate how this demonstrates using Readers Theater with an instructional focus.
Thank you for your comment, Kathy. We are very excited about this Reader’s Theater blog series. If there is something in particular that you would like Jeff to address, please let us know!
Kathy:
I’m so glad you took the time to respond to the blog — and that you found it! I am a big fan of RT, and love that teachers and students enjoy it. I always, always like to hear from teachers about their experiences with RT, how they use it, and in particular, what they might want to see in future RT scripts. – Jeff
Wow, great new site! I’m going to tweet this Reader’s Theater blog link to teachers far and wide!
Thanks, Sarah!!
Not easy being greenPrinted circuit boadrs, or PCBs are found in practically everything that you interact with daily that uses electricity. Everything from computers and cell phones to cars and trucks, your household appliances and remote controls, they all have PCBs in them somewhere. The vast majority of them are green though some are red, blue, yellow, black, white, or brown but why, for the most part, green?A bit of anatomyA PCB is made of many layers of different materials. Without going into excruciating detail, circuit boadrs are essentially comprised of four different bits:Conducting layers made of thin copper foilInsulating layers Teflon is a common oneEpoxy resin (impregnated with fiberglass or similar) to bind the conducting and insulating layers togetherSolder mask the bit that coats the board and covers the tracesIt’s the solder mask that gives the board its disctinctive (typically) green color. It is also the layer that the silkscreened notations are printed on, so you know where everything is supposed to go.It’s not envyAfter searching high and low for this one, there didn’t seem to be one conclusive answer as to why green is the preferred color. One story has it, according to this , that the original masks used a base resin that was a brownish yellow color and a brown hardener that created a sort of ugly honey brown looking board. Adding red made it a rusty adobe color and adding blue just made it a darker brown however adding more yellow to the mix ended up making a more aesthetically pleasing green color.Personally, having seen boadrs of every color including the not so pleasant brown mentioned above I think there’s probably something to that story. Most likely today it’s a matter of tradition and cost PCBs have been perceived as green for so long, it’s hard to move away from that, and as a result of it being the most popular color the green solder mask is most likely the least expensive color to apply.
Nice post. Your blog reminded me of Lynn Truss’ great book on punctuation, “Eats, Shoots & Leaves,” and the very funny panda punctuation joke from which the title derives.
I’m concerned about the possible insect abuse that may have taken place prior to the writing of this blog post.
Looking forward to reading many more of these and will be sure to pass your blog info along to all of the teachers I know.
Dana, we assure you that no insects were harmed during the filming of this series