Ages 8 to 12

Clear the runway, the punctuation pilots are coming in for landing. Here’s a fun activity that will encourage children to practise using speech marks.

Split the class into teams. Ask each team to imagine there are two pilots trying to land a plane. The challenge is, each time a pilot speaks, heshe starts with the next letter of the alphabet. For example: “Are we there yet?” asked Captain Dobbs; “Be there soon,” replied Captain Bob; “Can you see the runway?” and so on.

My pupils loved this. Everyone was involved and each member of the group wrote out the script beforehand. Four out of six groups got to Z within half an hour - practising correct punctuation 26 times. Two pilots from each team performed their script.

To add an extra challenge, encourage pupils to find an alternative to “said”

Marnie McCrone teaches at Sacred Heart Primary School in Girvan, Ayrshire.