Rewriting to Introduce Punctuation in the Second Grade: A Didactic Approach

Abstract

This chapter presents a didactic sequence aimed at introducing punctuation in the second grade. The teacher worked with 21 boys and girls (7 and 8 years of age). Based on Olson and Kamawar (2002) and Ferreiro and Pontecorvo (1996), we assumed that the use of punctuation would be enhanced through the writing of texts that required the students to delimit boundaries between quoted speech and narrative text. Jokes were chosen as target texts. The didactic sequence included the production of three drafts that were revised with the teacher and other students in collaborative tasks, as well as exercises specially designed to facilitate the distinction between direct and indirect speech and the inclusion of hyphens for quoted speech, capital letters and other punctuation marks. The first drafts show an almost total lack of punctuation. In second drafts, children can differentiate direct speech through the use of punctuation and through lexicalization. Final drafts include a more conventional use of hyphens, and the use of other punctuation devices to delimit clauses and sentences. The findings are related to the theoreti-cal framework and suggestions for educators are given.