The art of learning punchtuation
THERE’S a strange chanting sound that can be heard from the corridors of Eastfield Primary School.
The voices are clear and synchronised, interchanging between a short, sharp “ha” tone and a slow, soft “chi”, which almost ends in a whisper.
No, it is not a lesson in self-defence but the art of Kung Fu punctuation.
For the past week, the year five pupils at this Northampton school have been using this tactic as a way of improving their writing skills.
Bizarre as it sounds (and I know there were cries of “what?” in my office), each punctuation mark is associated with an action and a sound.
A full stop is translated into a swift punch-like action with their right and a quick “ha” noise.
Applying punctuation is one element of sentence writing; however, it is the school’s attempts at transforming what is seen as a dry subject into an interesting and entertaining one that literally gets the children on their feet.
Class teacher Peter Smith said: “We introduced this into a couple of years ago after some pupils from my then class went to the Steelbacks Study Centre to do some literacy work.
“They came back really excited and enthusiastic about Kung Fu punctuation. At the time, I didn’t know much about it, but it did get me thinking, so I researched into it and made my own version for the class, following the same principals with accompanying music.
“First, we do a run-through of the punctuation moves, and then I would show them a sentence without punctuation marks on a PowerPoint presentation for them to correct, which they discuss in small groups before going through the exercise as a whole class.
“The pupils have only had a few sessions on learning the moves for punctuation marks, but they’ve managed to pick it up very quickly.
“It’s not something which is done on a regular basis, but now and again at the start of any topic work which requires some form of writing, such as writing a report.”
Kung Fu punctuation was created by Ros Wilson, who is well-known in education circles and the author of the Big Writing skills programme.
It may stop the flow of reading, but it does emphasis the function behind each punctuation mark.
Mr Smith said: “This is more about reinforcing what they have already learnt about punctuation lower down the school and serves as a reminder . . a bit like a booster session.
“It’s good because the children are using a practical approach to learning using actions. For some, it works better than the normal way of teaching.”
“The children definitely enjoy it, and lessons should be fun because punctuation is a vital part of writing.”
Meanwhile, at Bridgewater Primary School, in Abington, Northampton, class 2 Matisse in year two started mastering the basics to Kung Fu punctuation last term.
Assistant head Laura White, who is responsible for year two, said: “We’ve never used it before at Bridgewater, so we thought we’d give it a go and try a different strategy
“The children really enjoy it because it helps them put the punctuation marks into actions and acts as a reminder when they are writing.
“Kung Fu punctuation is one of many approaches to teaching children, and learning punctuation is a necessary skill and part of the many elements, such as adjectives and nouns, in forming sentences.
“Writing is a national agenda for everybody, and if we can hook children at an earlier age, then it becomes easier for them.
“The key is to make them enthusiastic about writing so they are motivated to write.”
So, what do the children think about Kung Fu punctuation?
Maddie Ashton, aged six, said: “I like it because it helps me with my writing. I like doing the capital letter and question mark.”
James Kendrick, aged seven, said: “When I do speech marks, I have got to try to balance on one foot and can easily do that. I can also do the apostrophe which is a bit like doing the comma, but higher up.
“It helps me to write so I learn to use more punctuation in my writing.”
The Steelbacks Study Centre, based at the county cricket ground, in Abington, Northampton, has used the martial arts- style strategy in the past as part of a wide range of aids to improve literacy.
Co-ordinator Lynn Harrison said the sessions had often ended in mini-tournaments where a pair from each team engaged in rounds of correcting English.
She said the strategy had a two-fold learning process.
“Firstly, it’s about recognising the different punctuation marks and, secondly, it’s about learning their functions.
“Punctuation and grammar are about following rules, but it can be boring for kids, so it’s important to make it fun.”
Watch the video of 2Mattise showing their Kung Fu punctuation moves on our website, www.northamptonchron.co.uk
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Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
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lady muck
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 11:03 PMThe chanting I would like to hear is the times tables.....perhaps it has been re-introduced ?
willi eckaslyke
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 08:08 PMIn the old days, those regular school sessions involving the teaching of punctuation were known as English lessons...(soppy statement of the week so far: "Writing is a national agenda for everybody")
Finker
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 02:51 PMSounds fun, if it works then why not, getting kids properly interested is half the battle.
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