Quotation Marks for Speech

Today is the day of the annual Dragonville Sandcastle Competition! Quinn the Quotation Mark Dragon has teamed up with Freddy Full Stop and is determined to build the winning sandcastle. Students can practice their punctuation by organising and telling the story of the Dragonville Sandcastle Building competition.

# Objectives:

1:Understand how quotation marks are used to punctuate speech.{.info}

2: Use quotation marks to punctuate a piece of text.{.info}


# Using Quotation Marks for Speech{.objective .objective1}

Quotation marks, also known as inverted commas or speech marks, are used in English to show direct speech. They are positioned either side of what is being said. Punctuation such as question marks and commas, go inside the quotation marks.

Students will be presented with the following punctuation dragon characters:

- Quinn (Quotation Marks)

- Freddy (Full Stops/Periods)

There are two movable speech bubbles with unpunctuated text. Students should read the speech bubbles and determine which character is speaking. They should move the interactive quotation/speech marks to the text in the speech bubbles.

# Answers:

**Speech bubble 1:**

“Don’t fall asleep Freddy!” Quinn shouted, “We still need to buy some flags to make our sandcastle even more awesome.”

**Speech bubble 2:**

Freddy woke with a start, “Hey!” he exclaimed. “ I think it looks pretty awesome as it is.”


# Using Punctuation{.objective .objective2}

Using punctuation in direct speech conveys how the spoken words should be said. This section will provide examples of when to use commas, full stops, exclamation and question marks in speech.

Students should go to the beach shop where they will find the following characters:

- Quinn (Quotation Marks)

- Quentin (Question Marks)

Written near Quentin, is a reminder of how to use question marks. There are three movable speech bubbles with unpunctuated text. Students should read the speech bubbles and determine which character is speaking. They should move the interactive punctuation marks to the text in the speech bubbles.

# Answers:

**Speech bubble 1:**

There were so many things to buy, it made Quinn’s heads spin! “I can’t decide, which flags should I choose?” she asked Quentin.

**Speech bubble 2:**

“I like the stripey ones, you should choose those.”, Quentin smiled. “But you could also choose one of our other castle accessories.” he pointed towards the shelves stacked with goods.

**Speech bubble 3:**

Quinn suddenly felt very hot and worried. She didn’t know what to choose. “I think I will come back another time.”, she whispered.


# The Dragonville Sandcastle Competition{.objective .objective3}

This section will retell the story of the sandcastle competition.

Students will be presented with the following punctuation dragon characters:

- Quinn (Quotation Marks)

- Freddy (Full Stops/Periods)

There are three movable speech bubbles with unpunctuated text. Students should read the speech bubbles and determine which character is speaking. They should move the interactive punctuation marks to the text in the speech bubbles.

# Answers:

**Speech bubble 1:**

“What’s wrong?”, asked Freddy.

**Speech bubble 2:**

“I felt so overwhelmed, there were too many to choose, and I didn’t want to make the wrong decision.”, said Quinn sadly.

**Speech bubble 2:**

Freddy gave her a hug, “Don’t worry.”, he said. “I think our castle looks awesome just the way it is, and I had so much fun making it with you!”

**Speech bubble 3:**

Freddy was right. It really didn’t matter how many flags were on their sandcastle. She had enjoyed making it and now it was time to enjoy it. “Thanks, Freddy I feel much better now!”

# Download the Teacher Notes

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# Download the Worksheet Answers

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# Download the Worksheet

[](https://avnfs.com/tunTE0HUvNzFuH7RwRQAmzX3mv1Y24s_QjQfMRzK6Vc?size=79321&type=application%2Fpdf&name=The+Dragonville+Sandcastle+Competition+Teacher+Notes+3.pdf)