Year 6 · SPaG · Spring: Parenthesis, dashes and hyphens
Year 6 parenthesis: commas, brackets and dashes worksheet and PowerPoint
To use commas, brackets or dashes to mark parenthesis in a sentence.
Parenthesis
A parenthesis is extra information added to a sentence. It can be taken out and the sentence still makes sense. It is marked with a pair of commas, brackets or dashes.
| commas | My teacher, Mrs Khan, is very kind. |
|---|---|
| brackets | My teacher (Mrs Khan) is very kind. |
| dashes | My teacher – Mrs Khan – is very kind. |
| remember | Always use a pair: one mark before and one after. |
Examples
- The dog, a brown spaniel, barked.
- The river – swollen by the rain – burst its banks.
Key words
- parenthesis
- extra information inside a sentence
- brackets
- curved marks ( ) that enclose a parenthesis
- dash
- a long line – that can mark a parenthesis
- pair
- two marks: one before and one after
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 a short description of your favourite place. Add a parenthesis to at least four sentences: use commas, brackets and dashes at least once each.
Pupil target: I can add a parenthesis with commas, brackets or dashes.
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 parenthesis: commas, brackets and dashes PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 27 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Spring term, block “Parenthesis, dashes and hyphens”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
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