Year 6 · SPaG · Spring: Lists, colons and semi-colons
Year 6 semi-colons worksheet and PowerPoint
To use semi-colons to join related main clauses and to separate items in a list that already contains commas.
Using the semi-colon
A semi-colon (;) is a stronger break than a comma but a weaker break than a full stop. It joins two main clauses that are closely related. The next word starts with a lower-case letter.
| two related clauses | The first test was easy; the second was very hard. |
|---|---|
| no conjunction | a semi-colon takes the place of and / but, so do not add one |
| complex lists | The players came from Leeds, in Yorkshire; Cardiff, in Wales; and Belfast, in Northern Ireland. |
Examples
- Some pupils walk to school; others come by bus.
- Summer is hot and dry; winter is cold and wet.
Key words
- semi-colon
- joins two related main clauses
- main clause
- can stand alone as a sentence
- comma splice
- a mistake: two main clauses joined with only a comma
- contrast
- showing how two things are different
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 pairs of related sentences about two animals or two places. Join each pair with a semi-colon. Then write one list of places where each item contains a comma, and separate its items with semi-colons.
Pupil target: I can use a semi-colon.
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 semi-colons PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 34 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Spring term, block “Lists, colons and semi-colons”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
- Colons and semi-colons
- Writing in note form
- Punctuating bullet points
- Colons
- Choosing punctuation to mark boundaries
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