Year 6 · SPaG · Autumn: Commas
Year 6 commas to make the meaning clear worksheet and PowerPoint
To use commas to avoid ambiguity and to separate the name of the person being spoken to.
Commas and meaning
A comma is a small mark that can make a big difference. Without it, a sentence can mean something quite different, or something nobody meant at all.
| speaking to someone | a comma before the name: Let’s eat, Grandma. |
|---|---|
| after an opening phrase | a comma shows where the main part begins: After we ate, the dog barked. |
| a list | commas separate the items: I like cooking, my family and my cat. |
| ambiguity | a sentence that can be read in two ways: a comma can fix it |
Examples
- Let’s eat Grandma. / Let’s eat, Grandma.
- After we ate the dog barked. / After we ate, the dog barked.
Key words
- comma
- a mark that separates parts of a sentence
- ambiguous
- can be understood in two ways
- addressing
- speaking to someone by name
- fronted
- put at the front of a sentence
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: Find or invent three sentences that mean something different with and without a comma. Write both versions and say what each one means.
Pupil target: I can use a comma to make my meaning clear.
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 commas to make the meaning clear PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 24 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Autumn term, block “Commas”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
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