A Colon Before a Quotation (Grades 7 and 8)
PrintPrint this worksheet, clean and free, at stepsies.com.
A Colon Before a Quotation (Grades 7 and 8)
Colons before quotations for Grades 7 and 8: quote a made-up field guide, Reedmere Pond Notes, choose the sentence with the colon in the right place, the words that can come before a colon, the place for a colon, and the sentence that needs one, then add a colon and write two sentences that introduce quotations with one. With an answer key.
Type the answers or write with a mouse, touchpad or finger. The work stays on your device.
Your first print is free, with no sign-in. Then 10 sheets a month with a free account. Prints on Letter paper, or print on A4.
Teach it first
A Colon Before a QuotationA teaching handout to hand out before this sheet: the rule, worked examples and common mistakes.- Pages
- 2
- Last updated
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Answer key
- Included
- Printing
- Tinted accents, also fine in black and white
- Related curriculum
-
Write a time with a colon between the hour and the minutes, introduce a list with a colon after a complete sentence, join two independent clauses with a semicolon, set off extra words with dashes or parentheses, and show words left out of a quotation with an ellipsis.
Reviewed by Mr. James Anderson, Teacher and Mr. Michael Sullivan, Teacher. How we check worksheets
How to use this sheet
- Read each sentence aloud and listen for the pauses and the tone.
- Have the child give a reason for each punctuation mark: the end of a question, a list, a pause after an opening word.
- Have the child check their own writing for one mark at a time, rather than every mark at once.
- For times, have the child say the hour, then the minutes, with the colon between: 3:15.
Common mistakes
- Putting a comma wherever they would pause, even between a subject and its verb.
- Joining two complete sentences with a comma. Use a period, a semicolon, or a comma and a conjunction.
- Using an exclamation mark for every sentence that is not a question.
- Putting a colon straight after a verb, as in "We need: eggs and milk." The words before a colon should be a complete sentence.
