Have the children examine a text. Ask them to notice the different places they find certain punctuation. Have the students write down what they think each punctuation mark's purpose is. Discuss as a class. For example, find a text with many semi-colons. Ask the students to extrapolate what a semi-colon's purpose is. Afterwards, instruct them what semi-colons actually do if they haven't guessed or have gotten it wrong.
Pair each child with a partner. Have one child say a sentence to his partner, who must write it down, attempting to accurately portray what was said and how it was said. This exercise is geared toward a child developing skills for understanding tone and its relation to punctuation. For instance, if the student is speaking plainly about a subject, the writer should end the sentence with a period. If the student is animated, the writer should use an exclamation point.
Split up the class into two or more teams. Make a game board similar to the game show, Jeopardy. Use index cards to make the categories and questions. On the front side of the index card, write the amount of points the question is worth. On the back, write a question pertaining to the use of punctuation. When one team chooses a card, have the student answer your question, e.g., "Where is the wrong punctuation in the following sentence: I ate, the flowers?" The team with the most points wins a prize.
September 24 is National Punctuation Day. Jeff Rubin, its founder, suggests taking a walk around the block and pointing out store signs with poor punctuation use. Before you take your class on a walk around the school, investigate your route to ensure you'll find pit stops for your class. You don't want to take them on a useless journey.