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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 13

Punctuation Power

Colons, however and ellipses

What your child practices

Using a colon before a quotation, a semicolon with words like however and therefore, and ellipses or dashes to show a pause, an omission or a break.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 7.18 · colons, conjunctive adverbs and ellipses

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Use a semicolon before however or therefore when it joins two sentences, and a comma after: “It was icy; therefore, we walked.”
  2. Use commas around however when it interrupts one sentence.
  3. Dashes show an interruption or break. An ellipsis (…) shows a pause or words left out. A colon can introduce a quotation.

Example: “The path was icy ___ therefore ___ we walked slowly.” What goes in the blanks? “Therefore” joins two complete sentences. Put a semicolon before it and a comma after. Answer: ; and ,

Punctuation Power in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 8 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Poetry Lab and before Whose Story?.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which sentence uses a dash to add emphasis?

    • She had one wish to—win.
    • She—had one wish to win.
    • She had one wish—to win.

  2. Question 2

    Which word is a conjunctive adverb?

    • and
    • however
    • because

  3. Question 3

    Which word is a conjunctive adverb?

    • since
    • consequently
    • or

  4. Question 4

    Which mark best shows a trailing-off voice? “I just thought …”

    • ellipsis
    • colon
    • semicolon

  5. Question 5

    Which sentence uses a colon correctly to introduce a quotation?

    • The poster said it best; “Be kind.”
    • The poster said, it best: “Be kind.”
    • The poster said it best: “Be kind.”

  6. Question 6

    What does the ellipsis show? “Well … maybe,” said Jay.

    • a hesitation
    • a title
    • a list

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