Suggests the use of toys to help children learn to use prepositions. Also describes a group activity in which children work together to punctuate a piece of writing. (TJ)

Presents a functional description of punctuation as a delimiter of words, sentences, and paragraphs, and as a semantic and extralinguistic indicator. (AM)

A daily dictation period provides continuous reinforcement of spelling and writing mechanics for elementary school students. (DD)

Outlines some of the major differences in the use of punctuation between French and English, discussing such items as the period, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, and quotation marks. (MSE)

Traces the development of punctuation and the understanding of its role over the centuries. Throughout its existence, punctuation has played the dual role of recording prosodic contours and syntactic structure. Past research and discussion has not provided a coherent picture. A model of punctuation based on systematic observation is needed. (175…

Suggests a system for teaching punctuation, in which the independent clause is recognized as the fundamental building block of all language. Maintains that punctuation is not based on rules but on principles governing the relationship between one independent clause and the next. (TB)

In this paper, the author explains the simplification of a theory of punctuation for college-level instruction. He describes a systematization of the punctuation marks that has pedagogical possibilities. He concludes by stressing that the notion of a hierarchy of punctuation marks is not a difficult one for college students; after all, the…

This article presents several punctuation activities that help students practice dialogue-writing skills. Teachers can help their students become intrepid reporters by providing them with story ideas or by inviting them to develop their own "scoops." In addition, comic strips can also be used for dialogue-writing practice.

Research with adults has shown that the distortion of visual word features, and in particular of the multiletter features within words, hampers word recognition. In this study, "CaSe MiXiNg" was employed to examine the effect of disrupting visual word features on the acquisition of orthographic knowledge in children. During the training, 18…

Article emphasized the need for using humor in the classroom and how it can serve the teacher by helping with his instruction of subjects sometimes difficult to teach. (RK)

An analysis of the punctuation of the eighth edition Library of Congress Subject Headings reveals that the hyphen, coma and parentheses are most often used. Examples of these and the use of the apostrophe, dash, and period are discussed. (Author/MBR)

The second in a series of articles on abbreviations, such as UNESCO or SNCC. Topics treated are: formation, pronunciation and capitalization; special characteristics of the formation of abbreviations; abbreviations specially made for a purpose, such as advertising; and those which show a bit of humor. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Considers the conventions of quotation marks--or "perverted commas"--and identifies seven uses, including shudder quotes (slang or inappropriate words) and scare quotes (used for attention or emphasis). Notes that quotation marks influence meaning and that finding a personal voice entails using language without quotes. (MM)

Illustrates some of the problems and the advantages of three programs designed for language arts instruction: "English Volume I" (MECC), "English SAT 1" (Microlab), and "Vocabulary Prompter" (Jagdstaffel). (AEA)