English KS2 & KS3: Why is punctuation important in news?

Radzi and a group of children set out to discover why punctuation is important for clarity in the BBC newsroom.

The importance of getting your punctuation right in news and journalism is highlighted.

One of the children has to put the correct punctuation into a paragraph, including full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, capital letters, commas and apostrophes.

The function of each punctuation mark is clearly explained and further examples are given to consolidate learning.

Her correct answers are clearly highlighted and her incorrect responses are corrected and explained.

This short film is from the BBC series, Punctuation Rules.

Teacher Notes

Pupils could peer assess the contestant or take part at home or in the classroom.

You could repeat this activity with a different text after using this short film as a stimulus.

Curriculum Notes

This short film is relevant for teaching English language and literacy at KS2 and KS3 in England, Wales and Northern and 2nd Level in Scotland.

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Radzi and some children visit a shopping arcade, where they look at a series of boards with confusing messages.

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Radzi and a group of children visit Manchester Central Library to learn how to identify correct punctuation in a paragraph of a story.

Using punctuation in presentations - colons, semi-colons and bullet points
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Using punctuation in presentations - colons, semi-colons and bullet points

Radzi and a group of children visit a law firm to learn about using punctuation in presentations, finding out about colons, semi-colons and bullet points.