Colons Before Lists and Explanations

Review independent clauses before the first sheet. Use the colon sheet's complete sentence test whenever students write lists.

Add a needed colon or cross out a wrong one in 12 sentences, like The coach gave us one rule. A colon must follow a complete sentence, one that could stand alone with a period at the end. The directions on the page read: Each sentence needs one change. Add a colon where one belongs, or cross out a colon that does not belong. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade punctuation, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with semicolons and colons. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Put a semicolon at the end of the first clause, then the word however, then a comma. Semicolons Join Related Clauses joins 3 pairs this way, such as Jada practiced for weeks and She still felt nervous on stage.

When list items already contain commas, like Austin, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico, a semicolon after each item except the last shows where each item ends.

A colon must follow a complete sentence. The coach gave us one rule takes a colon, but The recipe calls for does not.