Year 5 · SPaG · Parenthesis, brackets and dashes
Year 5 using dashes to show parenthesis worksheet and PowerPoint
To use a pair of dashes to mark a parenthesis, and to check that both dashes are there.
Dashes
A dash (–) is longer than a hyphen (-). A pair of dashes marks off extra information and makes it stand out more than commas do. Put one dash before the extra information and one after it.
| pair of dashes | The explorers – tired and hungry – reached the camp. |
|---|---|
| check | Is there a dash before and after the extra information? |
| not | A dash is not a hyphen: a hyphen joins words (well-known). |
Examples
- Our cat – Whiskers – sleeps on the sofa.
- The river – swollen by the rain – burst its banks.
Key words
- dash
- a long line – used to mark off extra information
- hyphen
- a short line - that joins words
- pair
- two dashes: one before and one after
- parenthesis
- the extra information between them
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write six sentences about an adventure. In each one, use a pair of dashes to add extra information.
Pupil target: I can use a pair of dashes to add extra information.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the using dashes to show parenthesis PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 3 of 43 in the Year 5 SPaG scheme, in the block “Parenthesis, brackets and dashes”.
Other lessons in this block
- Recognising parenthesis
- Using brackets to show parenthesis
- Using commas to show parenthesis
- Parenthesis together
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