If your students are saying “Spare me!” to another presentation, it might be time to frame your punctuation lesson in a new way! 

🎳 Bowl ‘Em Over With Our Punctuation Game

Through this activity, students will show they understand how to use appropriate end punctuation for sentences, including: 

• Period
• Exclamation point
• Question mark

To play, students will choose a card, identify which end punctuation is missing and if correct, remove a bowling pin from their set. 

Scaffolding + Extension Tips 

Challenge fast finishers who already understand the concept to rephrase the sentence to use different ending punctuation. For example, they could change the statement The cat is gray. to a question: Is the cat gray? 

Support students who need help understanding the concepts by referring them to a visual reminder of ending punctuation, such as a classroom poster (see below) or anchor chart. 

Get our 10 Best Scaffolding Strategies here! 

Turn This Activity Into More Fun Punctuation Games 

We created this resource for your writing center as an independent practice activity. You can also use it for small group and full-class instruction through scoot activities, lesson reviews, formative assessments, and more! 

We suggest these: 

🛴 Punctuation Scoot

Shuffle the bowling ball cards to randomize them and number each card before placing them around the room in numerical order. Students number a sheet of paper 1-36 to use as a recording sheet. Assign each student a starting number and set them loose. Give students an appropriate amount of time to read the phrase and write the corresponding missing punctuation on their recording sheet, then say, “SCOOT.” At this time, the students will rotate to the next card. Continue in this manner until students have made it through all of the cards. 

👯 Match Me If You Can

Print a second set of bowling pins you can cut into playing cards. In your guided reading group, divide the pin cards evenly among players. Show students a bowling ball card and have them read the phrase as a group. The student who has a matching missing punctuation pin lays it down face up. The first person to have all their cards face up wins.

👉 Knock Off

Have your students stand up and make a line across the room. Project a phrase card on the screen and use our Random Name Picker widget to draw a student’s name to provide the missing punctuation. If they are correct, they tap the person to their left or right to send them back to their seat. If the student answers the card incorrectly, they must sit out. Play continues until only one student is standing.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Print on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

Before You Download

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Punctuate your lessons with more fun punctuation activities!  

teaching resource

Punctuation Pizza Cover-up Game

Practice recognizing and using end punctuation with this set of pizza game boards and pepperoni phrase cards with missing punctuation.