Harvey's Elementary Grammar and Composition · Lesson 134 · Part 3: Part III: Punctuation, and the Appendix
94. Other marks used in writing
Goal: Your child knows the apostrophe, hyphen, caret, paragraph mark and other marks, and punctuates an unpunctuated passage.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and a pencil (or a slate)
What's in the book
Lesson 134 describes the apostrophe, hyphen, quotation marks, index, asterisk and other reference marks, brace, paragraph, section, caret, and accent marks. It ends with a suggestion to teachers, an unpunctuated passage, and review questions.
The lesson, step by step
Review
Ask: When do we use brackets?
Marks you know
Read what the book says the apostrophe and hyphen are for: the apostrophe "to denote the omission of one or more letters, or to mark the possessive case," the hyphen "to join the parts of compound words and expressions" and to divide words into syllables.
Marks you may not know
Look at the asterisk, dagger, section, paragraph and caret on the page. The book says the caret is used to show that something has been omitted. Show your child how to use a caret when correcting their own writing.
Sound marks
The book also explains marks over letters. For example:
the Macron [¯] marks a long sound, as in tone.
the Breve [˘], a short sound, as in ton.
Your child may know these from a dictionary.
Punctuate the passage
The book says:
Punctuate properly the following example, and observe the rules for the use of capitals.
It begins:
his personal appearance contributed to the attraction of his social intercourse
Copy the passage, adding capitals and marks.
Use it today
The book suggests having pupils give the rules for all the points found in their reading lesson. Do it for one paragraph.
Answers to the book's problems
The passage begins with a capital (His personal appearance...). Punctuations will vary in small ways; check that each sentence starts with a capital and ends with a period, and that commas follow the book's rules.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.