Many kids already know the classic "Red Light, Green Light" game. In the traditional version, a leader stands with his back to a group of children lined up many feet behind him. When he says, "green light," they run toward him. When he says, "red light," he turns around and anyone he sees moving must return to the starting line. The first child to cross the starting line wins. Modifying the game to include physical representations of what punctuation does -- such shouting, slowing down or looking puzzled -- helps children learn intuitively. You may have to modify the rules a little, adding in a "yellow light" or other options.
A large difference between periods, exclamation points and question marks is how they affect sentences when spoken aloud. While reading a story to children, highlighting the punctuation in the narrative shows its importance. This works best in stories with a lot of dialogue.
Children let their imaginations run free during story time, and changing up the story not only keeps them more attentive, but actively involves them in learning. You can cover up the punctuation to see if the class can guess how a sentence should sound; saying a sentence in different ways, as examples, will help.
Baking treats in the shape of punctuation marks offers a delicious way to learn and a one-of-a-kind rainy day activity. For example, you might bake sugar cookies in the shapes of periods, question marks and exclamation points. Number-shaped cookie cutters double as punctuation: For the exclamation point, you can use a "1"; for the question mark, a "2" with the tail broken off; and an "0" for the period.
Many teachers use music in their instruction, and basic punctuation is easily conveyed in song. National Punctuation Day, celebrated every September 24, is a holiday started by Jeff Rubin, a man annoyed by terrible grammar. On his website, NationalPunctuationDay.com, he offers an example of a "Punctuation Rap" teachers can use.