Year Group Specific Punctuation
Throughout the teaching of punctuation, from the earliest mark
making it is imperative that the children are always encouraged to
explain to a teacher / response partner what they have done. This
will progress into identifying specific forms of punctuation to
identify its accuracy.
Reception Class:
Mark making:
 Beginning to learn how full stops and capital letters look and to
increasingly identify them when reading;
 Beginning to apply them in writing ‘anyhow’;
 To begin to use a capital letter for the start of their own name;
Year 1
 Award of Chilli 1 certificate (for use of capital letters and full
stops in the appropriate places);
 To recognise capital letters and full stops when reading;
 To increasingly know how capital letters and full stops affect the
way a passage is read;
 To understand how question marks affect how a sentence is read
& pronounced;
 Beginning to show awareness of how capital letters and full-stops
are used correctly;
 To use a capital letter for personal pronouns I and for the start of
a sentence;
 Increasingly using full stops correctly at the end of sentences
 Being taught and being able to use (anyhow) exclamation marks
and question marks;
 To increasingly apply question marks correctly;
Year 2
 Award of Chilli 2 certificate (capital letters and full stops used
almost always correctly) what are the best strategies for these – to
include sentence starters and proper nouns?
 Working towards the correct use of question marks;
 To use commas, especially for lists and beginning to use correctly
for pausing for breath;
 Beginning to recognise speech marks (to identify in reading and
know their purpose);
 To be able to identify exclamation marks and demonstrate their
effect on the reader;
Year 3
 Award of Chilli 3 certificate (for use of capital letters, full stops
and question marks);
 To secure the use of exclamation marks and question marks in
writing;
 Beginning to use speech marks in their own writing;
 To use capital letters to mark names, headings, new lines in
poetry;
 To note where commas occur and to recognise their effect to the
reader;
 Begin to use commas after openers
 To accurately use exclamation marks for effect in writing
 To recognise apostrophes for contractions when reading and
begin to introduce in writing (teach their use)
Year 4
 To use accurately in reading and writing: Full stops, capital letters,
question marks, commas for lists, commas after openers,
exclamation marks;
 To work towards using speech marks accurately (teach explicitly);
 To work towards using apostrophes for contractions accurately;
 Increasingly use & teach commas for pauses (in reading and
writing);
 Introduce and apply: Speech marks with full punctuation;
 Apostrophes for possession (teach and recognise in reading);
 To recognise commas, semi-colons, colons, dashes, hyphens,
ellipses and respond to them appropriately when reading;
 Teach the use of subordinate clauses as ‘nice to know info’.
 Award of Chilli 4 certificate (for use of capital letters, full stops,
question marks, commas in lists and exclamation marks).
Year 5
 To consolidate and accurately use in reading and writing: full
stops, capital letters, question marks, commas for lists, commas
after openers, commas for pauses, speech marks with full
punctuation, apostrophes for contractions, exclamation marks
 Work towards: full and accurate use of apostrophes
 To recognise and begin to apply commas, semi-colons, colons,
dashes, hyphens, ellipses, brackets in reading and writing;
 The accurate use of subordinate clauses as ‘nice to know info’.
 Understand and explore: direct and reported speech, noting the
change in punctuation and the words that have been changed or
added (eg new speaker, new line; comma before speech marks);
 Award of Chilli 5 certificate (for use of capital letters, full stops,
question marks, commas in lists and clauses, apostrophes in
contractions and as a possessive and speech marks using correct
punctuation).
Year 6
 To consolidate and accurately use in reading and writing: full
stops, capital letters, question marks, commas for lists, commas
after openers, commas for pauses, speech marks with full
punctuation, apostrophes for contractions, exclamation marks
 To accurately apply (using for effect) commas, semi-colons,
colons, dashes, hyphens, ellipses, brackets in reading and writing;
 Introduce the use of semi-colons
 To be able to form complex sentences, applying the appropriate
punctuation;
 The award of Chilli 6 certificate (for full and accurate use of capital
letters, full stops, question marks, commas in lists and clauses,
apostrophes in contractions and as a possessive, speech marks (using
correct punctuation,) semi-colon use, colon use, brackets and hyphen –
being able to apply and knowing the effect it will have on the reader).