Punctuation Rocked at Browne Academy

Wow, I had a wonderful day at Browne Academy in Alexandria! With grades K-2, we read ALFIE THE APOSTROPHE and did some awesome magic tricks. Grades 3-4 had a fabulous punctuation bee - congratulations to Sarah who was the winner!

I had a great time talking to 6 phenomenal eighth graders, who asked fantastic, probing questions. I think a few may become writers themselves someday. And signing books at the bookfair, which was beautifully run by Bookworm Central, was the perfect ending to the day. Thanks to everyone who made it happen and to everyone who bought books!

Young Writers Bloom!

I participated in Swanson Middle School's annual Career Day this morning, and although I was somewhat upstaged by a German shepherd puppy (last time I did a career day, it was a bomb-sniffing dog), I had a great time! I met some very enthusiastic young writers and we talked about what it means to be a writer (including "butt-in-chair" per Jane Yolen); how to become a writer; and even a little bit about punctuation! I was truly amazed at what eager readers they were and how much they write on their own. I'm so glad they invited me.

The Punctuation Bee

For my book PENNY AND THE PUNCTUATION BEE, I invented the term and the event. But I was inspired by the idea of the spelling bee, which is how I came up with the name. Ever wonder where the term "spelling bee" came from? Well, here's a link to an article about its origin:

http://www.spellingbee.com/origin-term-spelling-bee.

And if you feel inclined to hold a punctuation bee, please see my side bar for instructions.

Third Grade Punctuation on Parade!

Wow, a third grade class in Georgia is having a parade with characters from ALFIE THE APOSTROPHE.
What a brilliant idea to have a parade of book characters! And add this to your list of fun ways to make punctuation marks come alive!!!

A Pet Grammar Peeve

OK, now that National Punctuation Day is behind us, I would like to address a grammar issue of concern to me. Now I admit that I am a feminist, always mighty proud to say it. Having lived through the rise of women in the workplace, I appreciate efforts to raise the male consciousness. However, the drive to say "his or hers" or "he or she" has created a grammatical conundrum (don't you just love that word?). Most people find using the dual pronoun cumbersome, so they shorten it to "theirs" or "them." But this results in a monstrous grammatical error.

Let me explain. "Does everyone have his or her lunch?" is correct. But "Does everyone have THEIR lunch?" is WRONG. "Everyone" is a singular pronoun that takes a singular verb and a singular possessive pronoun. So the correct form, if you want to avoid "his or her," is "its."

If "its" sounds too weird, then I suggest that we simply revert to "his" and assume that females are included (especially considering, and forgive this sexist statement, the girls will all have their lunches anyway and it's really the boys we need to remind). After all, I think our collective sensitivities can handle using one pronoun to include both genders if it means that we can at least preserve English grammar. Right?

HAPPY NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY!

It's here! So let your inner asterisk shine; be possessive and use an apostrophe; and remember: PUNCTUATION'S MAGIC!!!

Three Days until National Punctuation Day!

Honor the period, the question mark and the exclamation point - after all, final marks count!!!

Four days until National Punctuation Day!

Countdown to National Punctuation Day - do something to honor a punctuation mark! Today, I am raising the comma to new heights and honoring...the APOSTROPHE!

National Punctuation Day - it's coming!

Wondering how to celebrate National Punctuation Day on September 24? Here are some ideas:

1 - Have a punctuation bee.
2 - Perform punctuation magic tricks (remember, apostrophes make letters disappear).
3 - Hold a punctuation mark talent show.
4 - Take the "What Punctuation Mark Are You?" quiz.
5 - Read aloud with the sounds of punctuation.

For more ideas, check out www.nationalpunctuationday.com.

Paperbacks

Good news - ALFIE THE APOSTROPHE and PENNY AND THE PUNCTUATION BEE will be available in paperback next March (currently ALFIE is in paperback only through Scholastic Book Clubs), so if you haven't bought them yet and want to save money, please get paperback copies this coming spring!!!

National Punctuation Day's - September 24!

It's August and soon students will be returning to school. And it won't be long after that until it's NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY - September 24. Use the day to have a little fun with punctuation - have a punctuation bee or a punctuation talent show or a drawing contest using only punctuation marks. Trawl through this site for tips on how to conduct these and many other activities, or contact me at moira@moirarosedonohue.net for other ideas, for instructions about punctuation magic tricks, or to schedule a school visit (especially designed for 2nd and 3rd grade)!!!

What Punctuation Mark Are You? (for kids)

1. Which job would you like best?
(a) Newspaper reporter.
(b) Movie star.
(c) Cheerleader.
(d) Clockmaker.
(e) Um, well, I’m not sure.

2. In class, do you…
(a) ask a lot of questions?
(b) know all the answers?
(c) encourage others?
(d) watch the clock?
(e) wait and answer carefully?

3. You are invited to a party…
(a) You first find out where and when.
(b) You put on your sparkliest clothes.
(c) Yay!
(d) What time?
(e) You make a list of who’s invited.

4. Which food do you like best?
(a) spaghetti
(b) ring pops and candy necklaces
(c) hot dogs
(d) fried eggs
(e) shrimp

5. Your dream vacation would be…
(a) Visiting Presidential birthplaces.
(b) Hollywood.
(c) Someplace with a great sports team.
(d) Greenwich, England
(e) Um, I have to make a list.


How to score the quiz:
If you have three or more (a)’s – Question mark. You are curious and would make a good journalist.
If you have three or more (b)’s – Asterisk. You are sparkly and fun and love parties.
If you have three or more (c)’s – Exclamation point. You are enthusiastic and cheer for your friends.
If you have three or more (d)’s - Colon. You like to be on time and worry about the future.
If you have three or more (e)’s – Comma. You are thoughtful and careful.

If you don’t have three or more of any one letter, you are an interrobang ???!!!

Musings of a Grammar Geek

Grammar and punctuation have always come easily to me. I love the order that these rules impose upon communication and I appreciate that they ensure better understanding. But a Facebook discussion yesterday about the use of the subjunctive mood verb form (if you don't know what that is, it's used to express something that is not fact, such as, "I wish I were king!") and the observation that many well-known writers choose to ignore it has made me wonder: how do we change the rules as the language changes?

Even though I love the order that rules of grammar and punctuation establish, I also believe that one of the beauties of English is that it adapts to usage. So if the subjunctive mood is an archaic holdover from Latin that isn't used much, let alone understood, do we just drop it, even if we are in the small group that understands it? Or should we have a Grammar Guru, perhaps a University chair or a cabinet-level position, who says that from now on, there is no more subjunctive mood? Then again, will a Grammar Guru quickly become a Grammar Gestapo and stifle the ability to make language shifts simply by its very nature?

In England, certain local governments observed that signage often misused the apostrophe and decided to ban apostrophes from signs. Should we have a similar local committee? Or does that encourage regional differences?

And what about permitting new uses, such as of emoticons (see article below)? Is there someone out there who can definitively say when and how to use them? Or should we just wait for another Strunk and White edition to come out?

Well, this is a dilemma. Perhaps a greater mind than mine can come up with a solution.

Haycock 2nd Grade Amazes

Wow! Penny and I just had a sizzling good visit with the second graders at Haycock. They were amazing! It was so interesting to learn about what punctuation marks they would be - one student said he'd be a colon so he could make lists! And the punctuation bee? It was almost impossible to get anyone out. Congratulations to the participants!!!!

Emoticons- the NEW Punctuation?

One of the beauties of the English language is its ability to change and to accept new words for new ideas. That ability to adapt allows us to develop a precision not found in many other languages. But when it comes to the conventions of the written word, little has changed over the years. In fact, I can’t think of a single punctuation mark we’ve added in my lifetime (of 54 years), unless you count the interrobang (???!!!), which is not commonly recognized.

But with the advent of the internet has come the use of punctuation marks to make visual expressions such as happy :), sad :( and winking ;). And some of these have become transformed into actual faces. Even as I write this, my word processing program wants to change the punctuation marks into the little faces which have become known as emoticons. And I find myself tempted to use these symbols and emoticons in writing things other than emails and text messages.

I don’t know who started these new symbols. But their widespread use raises an important question—should the written word adjust to accept these as new punctuation marks? If punctuation is designed to clarify meaning and to add emotion to writing (what else is an exclamation point for, after all?), then shouldn’t these be viewed as a welcome addition? On the other hand, might they be inappropriate in certain circumstances? I don’t imagine I’d be too happy with a mailing from a court saying, “You have been summoned to appear :).” And does the emoticon go before or after the period? Inside or outside the quotation mark? And if the use should be somehow restricted, how do we do that? Ask Strunk and White for a ruling?

I’d love to know what others think about this issue. After all, it may just be the most significant change to punctuation in centuries!

SOKY BookFest - a diversion from punctuation.

OK, this post doesn't exactly relate to punctuation. I just got in from a trip to Bowling Green to sign books at the Southern Kentucky BookFest. I had the most wonderful time meeting so many talented and interesting authors and illustrators (there were about 75!) including Susan Eaady, Steve Watkins (Golden Kite Award winner) and Michael Buckley. The event was very well attended and incredibly well organized by Tracy Harkins of Western Kentucky University. I feel so glad to have been invited to attend! And yes, OK, it was fun to sell a lot of books!

On the Web...

I'm branching out. Come find me on facebook and now on twitter!

Talent Grows at Groveton

Wow, what a wonderful day I had visiting with the kindergarten, first and second grade students at Groveton Elementary. They are an exceptionally bright group of kids. And what's more - they've got talent! The second graders did a phenomenal job with a readers' theater version of my book PENNY AND THE PUNCTUATION BEE and I couldn't have done my play, An Alphabet Story , without the help of the kindergartners. Many thanks to Ms. Vinisky and the PTA for making it happen!

HYBLA VALLEY ROCKS!

Yesterday I visited the first and second graders at Hybla Valley Elementary School. What a bright, engaged and engaging group. I had the best time. We did some magic and had a very exciting punctuation bee. Many thanks to the WONDERFUL librarian there, Denise Pinchback, who made the visit a pure joy!

QUIZ: How Well Do you Know Your Punctuation Rules?

Here's a fun little quiz to test you on some of the trickier aspects of punctuation - just fill in the missing punctuation:

Will you buy a car at the Presidents Day sale
Heres a rose for Valentines Day.
The dog wagged its long black tail
Where are you going asked Danny
Jamess shirt is gray
She writes childrens books
If you go right you will see a park if you go left you will see the store
He bought three computer parts a monitor a mouse and a keyboard

A Tolerant Approach to Punctuation?

Some writers, teachers, and librarians take a "zero tolerance" approach to punctuation. They focus on finding errors and teach by showing the dire consequences of incorrectly punctuated phrases and sentences. This approach may have some merit when dealing with adults—after all, for lack of a quotation mark, a banking law case went all the way to the Supreme Court. However, for children just learning punctuation, I suggest that a more creative approach may yield better results.

Educators are teaching the mechanics of writing, including punctuation, at younger and younger ages—apparently it was a major focus on the first grade standardized test in Georgia this spring! The problem with the traditional approach is that it's a little dry and it's too abstract. Students in the primary grades are just grasping the abstract notion that letters stand for sounds that combine to form words and sentences. Funny looking marks that somehow change the meaning of these words and sentences can flummox even the sharper students. Consequently, teaching by showing, even with cute pictures, what a phrase or sentence means with and without an apostrophe, or by teaching kids when not to use one, is not necessarily the best approach for young children. I recently spent time signing books at the International Reading Association's annual conference and I spoke to a number of teachers about how they teach punctuation. Only one told me that she liked the "error" approach to punctuation used in other books on the subject. The rest shared some of the tricks they use and were excited about trying new techniques.

In my books, I have used a positive approach to punctuation, telling stories, colorfully and enticingly illustrated, that use the function of the most common marks to give children at least a clue that can help them remember the use for the mark. For example, several teachers told me that they tell their students not to forget to use their "ALFIE" (the apostrophe) for a possessive. And when I visit schools, I explain why I chose certain jobs for certain marks (the period is a safety patrol; the question mark, the school newspaper reporter).

David Crystal, author of a plethora of books on the English language, argues against the "zero tolerance" policy towards punctuation. I am not an expert and dare not wade too far into the waters of this debate. However, when it comes to teaching children, I would challenge writers and librarians who are wedded to the more traditional notion that children are best taught by showing them errors to think creatively and to try other approaches.

So, are you a zero-tolerance person or a tolerant punctuator? How do you think punctuation can spark a child's interest? I'd love to hear your views!!!!!!

Is Punctuation Dead?

When I told a friend recently that my second book, a humorous tale of animate punctuation marks, was coming out soon, he guffawed. "Well, we all have our delusions. But really, no one cares about punctuation any more." Naturally, my first reaction was that punched-in-the-gut feeling. My next reaction was to take him off my friend list! But of course I couldn't ignore his words. Was I writing about a totally lost skill?

I recognize that I am a word and language geek, and I love grammar and punctuation. I was the only person in my college to ever take Grammar 101 as an elective. Not only that, one of my most favorite assignments as a young government lawyer was researching whether Congress had repealed what was believed to be a long-standing banking law by virtue of a missing quotation mark (that case, by the way, ultimately ended up in the Supreme Court). So, as you would expect, I can't give up easily on punctuation.

I also recognize that the rigorous grammar I was taught in school, complete with sentence diagramming, is not being taught in elementary schools. In fact, it's not being taught in high school or college either, so that those who are recent graduates of college and entering the teaching profession these days have been schooled in only the basics—parts of speech. The lack of education in the more complex rules of grammar does, in fact, diminish the ability to punctuate and to teach punctuation. After all, if you don't know what a dependent versus an independent clause is, you can't very well absorb the rules of punctuation that apply to separate them! Not only that, but the fact that so much communication takes place in the form of email, instant messaging and texting has made spelling, un42natly, somewhat irrelevant. So was my former friend right?

Then it hit me. Despite the move away from teaching grammar, despite the abbreviated language of texts and emails, kids and adults both still routinely use basic punctuation, and, in particular, the final punctuation marks—periods, question marks and exclamation points. Why? Precisely because of the abbreviated nature of modern communication. Phrases can be subject to many interpretations. For example: "My house @ 5" could mean, "Do you want to come to my house at 5?" or "I'll see you at my house at 5." or "Be at my house at 5 or else!" And the only way to know which meaning applies is to punctuate the phrase, to give it an emotional context. And that's when I realized that punctuation's not dead: it's more important than ever!

So what does that mean for teaching punctuation? Well, tying punctuation to the rules of grammar is impossible. Usage examples like those above can be helpful for older kids. But for those in elementary school learning the rudiments? I suggest my approach—animate punctuation marks with distinct personalities that match their function. Once you've met the question mark who is a newspaper reporter, or a cheerleading exclamation point, will you ever have trouble remembering how to use these marks? I don't think so. In fact, I'm sure of it!

A Great Day at VSRA!

I spoke at the VSRA annual conference today and what a wonderful time the attendees and I had talking about fun ways to engage primary students in learning punctuation! I will be posting some of activity suggestions and instructions for punctuation magic tricks and a punctuation bee shortly!