The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Play-ing with Punctuation

The script consisted of just one word: Dude.

And with that, Debby Davis's third graders communicated a lot of information. As student writing partners stood ready to act before their classmates, Davis prompted them:

You run in to a friend. What do you say? Dude.

You want to know how they are. What do you say? Dude?

You find a million dollars in your pocket. What do you say? Dude!

Your friend has something disgusting on their shirt. What do you say? Dude....

Third graders, Davis explains, don't like to use punctuation very much. That's where the Lucy Calkins approach can come into play. Calkins founded the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, an organization that has influenced literacy instruction—using a workshop model—for 30 years. Many Lab teachers have trained in this approach including Lower School teacher Chantal Lambrix who has attended a Calkins workshop. More informally, over the summer Davis and Lambrix became study partners reading a new Calkins book and discussing how to apply some of the some of the strategies—including this performance technique for helping young writers see the value of punctuation to help one express and idea in writing. Right on, Dude.