Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Punctuation sequence

Every Line the Same

Bullet points punctuated consistently

Lesson 15 of 16
Year 6 45 min

Objective

Lay out a bulleted list with a stem line ending in a colon, choose an appropriate ending for the bullets, and apply it consistently to every line.

Board title: Punctuating bullet points  ·  Say it: “Today we're laying out bulleted lists properly: a stem line ending in a colon, then the same ending on every single bullet, all the way down.”

Curriculum

  • Y6: punctuation of bullet points to list information
  • Y6: using a colon to introduce a list (revisited)
  • Terminology: bullet points · colon · consistency
  • STA domain: G5.14

Success criteria

  • write a stem line that ends with a colon
  • give full sentences a full stop on every line
  • leave short items with no end mark at all
  • make every bullet follow on from the stem

Key vocabulary

bullet point · stem · colon · consistent · end mark · list

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter: put • soup. • bread • gelato, on the board, three bullets, three endings. What has gone wrong? Let them argue for the full stop, the comma and nothing; do not resolve it.
9 min
Model the stem and its colon, The special today is:, then the decision: sentences or short items? Punctuate one list both ways (• wash their hands. against • soup), reading stem-plus-bullet aloud as one sentence every time.
7 min
The Recipe Card, Spicy band. Treat the opening semicolon level as a two-minute recap, then live on level 2, the bullet level. Class votes before you tap; ask which line breaks its list's rule each round.
6 min
Trap and votes: back to the mixed-endings menu, each line looks fine alone, so make them read DOWN the list, not across. Four votes, a child names the broken line before each reveal (answers: a-left, b-right, c-right, d-left).
15 min
Worksheet, independent. Circulate on Task 3 and ask each child to name their list's rule, sentences or short items, before you read a single bullet: the tell is a list that changes its mind halfway down.
3 min
Plenary: one child reads their Task 3 stem and bullets aloud while the class listens for a broken line. Then the class quiz: how many rules do Polpetta's three bullets follow, and which one should he keep?
On screenSPAGhetti → The Recipe Card → Spicy. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. Spicy opens on semicolons in long lists, treat that as a two-minute recap, because level 2 is today's content: choosing how a set of bullets should end. Level 3 mixes every boundary mark; save it for the quickest finishers. ~8 items in 10 minutes with discussion.
SPAGhetti · Punctuation sequence · Lesson 15 of 16  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils Every Line the Same · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the four lists aloud and vote with thumbs. Then build one list on the board twice, as sentences and as short items. The lesson still works.
If they're on devicesLesson code BULLF (on the worksheet footer) opens the right game, locks the café until 10 items are done, then unlocks it as the reward.

Misconceptions to watch for

Mixed endings down one list. • soup. • bread • gelato,, each line looks fine alone, so they never read DOWN the list. One list, one rule, chosen before writing. A full stop on every line or nothing on every line are both fine; only the mix is wrong. This is the error the whole lesson exists to kill.

A capital letter starting every bullet. • Soup • Bread, word processors do this automatically, so it looks official. Short items carry on from the stem in lower case unless they are names. Blame the software, then fix it.

"But a colon needs a whole sentence." They learned that rule for prose, and a stem like You will need: seems to break it. Name the exception honestly: in a layout, the bullets complete the stem's sentence down the page. On a card it is right; in the middle of a paragraph it is still wrong.

Bullets that break away from the stem. Every table should get: • a menu • the waiter smiles. Read the stem plus that bullet as one sentence and it collapses. Every bullet must finish the stem's sentence the same way.

The three sheets

Same four tasks on every sheet, in the same order, with the same look. Only the demand changes. Print the one each child needs; nobody does two.

Mild

Same four tasks as every other sheet, same order, same look, the demand is lower, not the dignity. Shorter passage in Task 2, and in Task 3 a word bank or words to tick, with printed sentence starters. Give it to anyone who needs a way in, and expect them to move up.

Medium

The core sheet. Give this to most of the class. No word bank; in Task 3 pupils choose from a few close options, then use one in a sentence of their own.

Spicy

Same four tasks, more demand, a longer passage with a subtler error, and Task 3 asks for two things at once. Not extra work; harder work. Nobody should be doing Spicy and the Medium sheet.

Adaptive teaching

  • Support: short-item lists only, nothing on every line. Task 1, then Task 3 orally with a scribe. Game stays on the bullet level.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; give a ruler to track down the list line by line while checking endings.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, the same content twice, as a bulleted list and as one prose sentence with a colon and commas, and which suits a poster.
  • EAL: read stem-plus-bullet aloud as one sentence every time, the grammar of the stem does the explaining that the terminology cannot.

Play it

Lesson code BULLF at playspaghetti.com. The code is printed on the bottom of every pupil sheet with a QR, and Class Quiz in your dashboard opens the plenary quiz for this lesson pre-picked.

SPAGhetti · Punctuation sequence · Lesson 15 of 16  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora