Quotation marks and round brackets come in pairs. Open one, then close it.
Quotation marks show the words someone says out loud. One mark goes before the words and one goes after, the way two hands hold a cup.
Round brackets hold a little extra bit: take it out, and the sentence still works.
Marks and brackets come in pairs, so if you open one, always close it.
The quotation mark is shift and the apostrophe key. Round brackets are shift and nine to open, then shift and zero to close; the keys are on the right, so hold the left shift.
These are some of the questions on the sets. The printable sheets have more and an answer key.
Two. One goes before the words and one goes after.
A little extra bit. Take it out, and the sentence still works.
The opening bracket. You open the bracket first, then close it.
Shift and the apostrophe key. Hold shift, then tap the apostrophe key, to open and to close.
Type two or three lines of a story, with the spoken words in quotation marks and one little extra bit in round brackets. Close every one you open, then show a grown-up your story.
Ask your child to read a comic aloud and point at where each voice starts and stops; if a mark is left open, ask them to find its partner.
