Colons Jeff Anderson

Invitation to Notice: In your writer’s notebook, jot down what you notice about the punctuation in the following text examples.

She took everything in then, and I with her: the house with the sloping roof, the evergreens leaning over it, the dark shadow that was the woodpile on the front porch. P. 91 –Patricia Reilly Giff, Pictures of Hollis Woods The morning the Reeds’ baby died was June 5: a day shimmering with light, the smell of lilacs hanging sweetly in the willow tree behind the house where Alyssa was hiding. P. 1 –Susan Shreve, Blister How easy it was to disappear: A thousand trains a day entered or left Chicago. P. 11 –Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City

: Colon Announces a surprise or a list. Acts as a drum roll for something to follow. Capitalizes the first word after a colon only if it’s a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence.

BrainPop Colons

The colon’s official theme song: “Anticipation” by Carly Simon

Invitation to Imitate: Four hours and fifteen minutes to go: heart thumping, foot pounding, sweat rolling down my face, shivering from head to toe. My stomach sank as I thought about it. The presentation.

Invitation to Write: Go back to your own writing and see if there is anywhere that you want to create anticipation for your reader by adding a … “drum roll please” using colon.

Draft: I couldn’t believe it. My sister threw the sand at the seagull. Invitation to Edit: Draft: I couldn’t believe it. My sister threw the sand at the seagull. Revised after lesson: In one unbelievable second, my sister: scooped up a handful of sand, tightened her grip, pulled her arm back as if she were a pitcher throwing a baseball to the batter, and flung the sand straight toward the seagull.