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

All the Speech Marks

Direct speech, fully punctuated

Lesson 8 of 14
Year 4 45 min

Objective

Punctuate direct speech in full: a capital to open the speech, end punctuation inside the closing inverted comma, a comma between the speech and the reporting clause whichever comes first, and a new line for a new speaker.

Board title: Punctuating speech  ·  Say it: “Today we're putting every mark in a line of speech exactly where it belongs, and keeping the mark that ends the speech inside the closing speech mark.”

Curriculum

  • Y4: inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech, comma after the reporting clause, end punctuation within the inverted commas
  • Y3: inverted commas to punctuate direct speech (taught in Lesson 7; assumed secure)
  • Terminology: inverted commas · direct speech · reporting clause
  • STA domain: G5.7

Success criteria

  • put the end mark inside the closing speech mark
  • use a comma before the name of the speaker
  • use a comma after the speaker when they come first
  • start a new line when a new person speaks

Key vocabulary

inverted commas · direct speech · reporting clause · comma · end punctuation

Run of the lesson

4 min
Recap Lesson 7 in one line, the marks go round the spoken words, then show the starter cards: "I am starving", said Ben against "I am starving," said Ben. Which comma is in the right seat? Leave it hanging.
10 min
Model both orders one under the other: "Dinner is ready," called Dad. then Dad called, "Dinner is ready." The new idea is the full stop turning into a comma and staying inside; flip the order and the comma moves outside. Then the survivors: a ? and a ! do not change, which is why "Watch out!" cried Sam. looks different and is still right.
9 min
Places, Please! on the whiteboard, Spicy band, same content with more rounds. Before you tap, ask which came first, the speech or the speaker. The distractors are exactly the errors you are teaching against, a missing comma, a mark left outside, so make the class name the fault, not just point at the right card.
5 min
The four vote pairs: read each wrong version aloud and land hard on the pause, the full stop is doing a job for words it is not standing next to. A child says WHY before each reveal (answers: a-right, b-left, c-right, d-left).
14 min
Worksheet, independent. Circulate on Task 3: on Spicy the split-speech sentence is the assessment, and the tell is a capital sneaking onto the second half, "The soup," said Nonna, "Is ready." In Task 2, one line's mark survives untouched, so catch anyone demoting a ! or ? to a comma.
3 min
Plenary: two children read a Task 3 exchange, a line each, so the new speaker is heard as well as seen. Then the class quiz: Polpetta copied out The chef said, "Taste the soup"., which words does that full stop belong to?
On screenSPAGhetti → Places, Please! → Spicy. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. Read the bank first: the bands are round counts rather than year tiers, so Spicy is the same content with more rounds. The distractors are exactly the errors you are teaching against, a missing comma, a mark left outside, so make the class name the fault, not just point at the right card.
SPAGhetti · Punctuation sequence · Lesson 8 of 14  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils All the Speech Marks · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the four pairs aloud and vote with thumbs. Or write one sentence of speech on the board with every mark missing and rebuild it together, one mark at a time.
If they're on devicesLesson code TALKD (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

The end mark outside the closing marks. The chef said, "Taste the soup". The stop ends the spoken words, so it goes in with them. Ask which words the mark belongs to and the answer places it.

No comma after the reporting clause. Mum said "Come inside." They punctuate the speech carefully and forget the joint. Say the sentence aloud: there is a breath after said, and the comma is that breath.

A full stop where the comma should be. "I am starving." said Ben. The commonest error in the year. Only a full stop changes into a comma, a question mark or exclamation mark survives untouched, which is why "Watch out!" cried Sam looks different and is still right.

New speaker, same line. Two voices in one block and the reader loses who is talking. Watch the over-correction too, a new line for every sentence, spoken or not. One rule only: a new speaker starts a new line.

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: give the sentence with the words in place and only the marks missing. Game on Mild for the Lesson 7 recap.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; read Task 2 aloud before they edit, pausing hard at every comma.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, an exchange of four lines where the speech and the speaker swap order each time.
  • EAL: the reporting clause order is what confuses, not the marks. Practise saying both orders aloud before writing either.

Play it

Lesson code TALKD 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 8 of 14  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora