Grammar 5 Pupil Book: Page 94
Grammar: Using a Colon and Bullet Points in a List
Using a Colon and Bullet Points in a List
Aim
The names of the people
•Extend the children’s knowledge of punctuation. Instead of commas, we can use bullet
in my family are:
•Introduce them to colons and bullet points and points to separate the items in a list. Make
five lists in this way. Say what each one is
about at the top and put a colon after the
demonstrate how they can be used in lists. last word to indicate a pause. Then write
each item in the list on a separate line,
starting with a bullet point.
Introduction
•Remind the class that punctuation helps us make
sense of the words we use.
•Briefly revise the punctuation the children should
know and discuss when they might use it: full stops,
question marks, exclamation marks, speech marks,
commas, apostrophes and hyphens.
•Point out that speech marks and apostrophes appear
above the line and that hyphens also sit above the
line, but not so far up.
•Write some lists on the board (they could be lists of
colours, animals, food or perhaps words relating to
a topic they are studying). Remind the class that
commas are used to separate the items, although 94
between the last two items and or or is added instead
of a comma. The commas indicate a short pause to
help the reader separate one idea from another. •The list item can be a word, phrase or clause and
it can either have an open punctuation style (with
Main Point a lower-case initial letter, except when writing
•Explain that another way of making lists is to write proper nouns, and no full stop) or be more formally
them vertically down the page rather than horizontally punctuated; either way is acceptable as long as the
along a line. style is consistent (although it is more common for
•This can help emphasise the individual items and clauses to be punctuated as sentences).
make the whole list easier to read at a glance. •Also point out that, unlike a traditional list, and and
•For this reason vertical lists are often used in or do not usually appear.
presentations and reports, or for practical reasons,
like making a shopping list. Activity Page
•Write some vertical lists on the board and discuss •The children write five vertical lists, starting each one
them with the children: with an introduction.
•They should punctuate each list correctly, putting a
My favourite animals are: My favourite hobbies are: colon at the end of the introduction and starting each
- aardvarks - Playing the piano. new line with the bullet symbol.
- cats - Swimming. •Remind them to be consistent, choosing either to use
- wombats - Walking my dog. a starting capital letter and closing full stop, or to use
a lower-case letter without any punctuation.
•Point out that a list always needs an introduction. •Possible subjects include My favourite animals, The
In normal writing it should be able to stand alone as people in my family, Things I need to pack for... the
a simple sentence, but in vertical lists this is not so beach/school/a weekend away, My favourite sports
important. and Things I would like to do... on holiday/in my life/
•A vertical list’s introduction ends in a punctuation this evening.
mark called a colon, which is written as two small
dots, one above the other. Extension Activity
•Like full stops and commas, a colon marks the place •On a separate sheet of paper, the children write a
where we should pause in speaking: it is a longer vertical list of things they think are good or important
pause than a comma, but not as long as a full stop. about school.
Also point out that instead of using commas, each item •Alternatively, they could write an agenda for a class
starts on a new, slightly indented, line with a bullet meeting, using numbered items instead of bullet points.
symbol in front. Both the symbol itself and the items
in the list can be called bullet points, although not all Rounding Off
vertical lists use them; the items could be numbered •Go over the activity page with the children, asking
1, 2, 3, or A, B, C, for example. some to read out their sentences.
Pages taken from the Grammar 5 Pupil and Teacher's Books. 97
Gr5TB_BEprec_JL852_pp.75-108.indd 97 18/10/2016 16:38
Using a Colon and Bullet Points in a List
The names of the people
in my family are:
Instead of commas, we can use bullet
points to separate the items in a list. Make
five lists in this way. Say what each one is
about at the top and put a colon after the
last word to indicate a pause. Then write
each item in the list on a separate line,
starting with a bullet point.
Pages taken from the Grammar 5 Pupil and Teacher's Books.
94
Gr5PB_BEprec_JL828_pp.81-96.indd 94 26/09/2016 17:54
