Using Periods

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The sentence you just read ends with a period.

A period (.) is a punctuation mark. A period can be found at the end of a sentence. A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. A sentence needs to have a subject — a person or thing doing or receiving action — and a predicate, the action that the subject does or receives.

Periods are used at the end of sentences that are statements, that tell a simple fact, like the example above. Let's watch this short video about periods, Punctuation Explained (by Punctuation!) | Scratch Garden to learn more about periods:

Check out the sentences below. All of these sentences end with periods and are complete thoughts. Each sentence is a statement about what is happening in the picture below. Read the sentences below aloud with your parent or teacher:

• The monkey is climbing.
• The monkey has black fur.
• The monkey is in a tree.

Take a look at the picture below. What do you see? Tell your parent or teacher a complete sentence about what the picture shows:

Here is a great sentence that could go along with the picture: The giraffe is eating leaves. What did the sentence you just read end with? Tell your parent or teacher.

The sentence ended with a period. This sentence is a complete thought. The sentence is a statement that tells you about what the giraffe is doing.

See if you can come up with a sentence that tells about the dog in the picture below. Tell your parent or teacher your sentence.

Here are some examples of sentences you could make about the picture below. Read the sentences aloud with your parent or teacher:

• The dog is running.
• The dog is wet.
• The dog has black fur.
• The dog is splashing.

All of these sentences end with a period. A period tells you when a complete thought is finished. Anytime you see a period you need to remember to pause or stop, then continue reading. Read the sentences below aloud with your parent or teacher. Practice pausing after every period.

The horses are running. Some horses are brown. There is one white horse.

Did you pause after each sentence?

All the sentences above are complete thoughts. Each sentence makes a statement about what is happening in the picture above.

You are ready to start writing sentences that end with periods! Move on to the Get It? section to practice writing complete sentences.