Punctuation for 3rd Grade. Commas.

By now, you’ve probably seen silly examples that show the importance of correct comma usage like “Let’s eat grandma!” versus the sentence “Let’s eat, grandma!” which show that despite its small structure, the comma is strikingly important to clarifying meaning in a sentence. As displayed in this example, this squiggly, small punctuation mark notates a brief pause that has the power to change the meaning of the entire sentence. The comma, although a small punctuation mark, is arguably one of the most important in grammar; yet, it is also one of the most overused and incorrectly used in English grammar. Luckily, silly sentences like these can help your child understand why commas are so important. In addition, learning some of the rules for when to use a comma in a sentence can help your child master using them. This article will show you some of the rules for comma usage, introduce you to learning activities that will help you and your child learn more about this powerful punctuation mark, and help your child gain confidence in crafting sentences.

A comma is a punctuation mark that separates ideas and phrases in order to make your sentence easier to read and understand. A comma is different from a period.  A period completely ends a sentence and tells you that the next sentence is a new idea. A comma is more like a pause in a sentence. It tells you that there is a short break in the idea, but that the ideas still go together. Сheck out our punctuation worksheets to practice these rules.

Commas are used in many different ways. A comma is used to help us separate items in a list of three or more things. We might also use commas when we are writing our address. We also use commas when we are writing the date.

When someone is writing a letter, he or she needs to use commas. When someone is writing a sentence about several things they might buy at the store, he or she uses commas. If you write a story and you want to show that a character is speaking, you might use a comma and punctuation marks to separate the words that the character said from the phrase that tells you who said it.  Commas are used in many sentences, and they help us organize our ideas.

It is important to know how to use a comma because using a comma incorrectly can make your sentences difficult to understand or say something that you were not meaning to say.

It can be tricky to know when to use a comma, so understanding the comma rules can help. There are several different rules that can help you remember when to use a comma. 

How to Use a Comma

• Use a comma to separate the month and day from the year. If the date comes at the beginning or the middle of the sentence, use a comma after the year as well.

For example:

1. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
2. On December 15, 1971, the Bill of Rights was ratified.

• Use a comma to separate the street address from the street name, and also to separate the name of the city from the state.

For example:

1. Walt Disney World Resort is in Orlando, Florida.
2. The Empire State Building is located at 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York.
3. There is a famous Opera house at 2 Macquarie Street, Sydney, Australia.

• Use a comma to separate (in writing) the words that someone said aloud from the phrase that tells who said it. Notice that the comma comes before the quotation mark and not after it.

For example:

1. "I want to go to Disneyland," said Beth.
2. “I would be happy to go too,” replied Judy.

There are many learning materials that can be used to test your child’s learning. Here are some third grade worksheets that can be used for practice. To begin, have your child practice using commas in addresses to separate the street address, city, state, and country by completing the worksheet called Commas in Addresses. This worksheet will measure their ability to use a comma to separate important information in addresses and assess whether or not they are able to recognize the differences between street addresses, U.S. cities and states, and the name of the country.

If they have successfully completed this worksheet, they can move on and begin the second worksheet: Commas in Dates.

This punctuation worksheets for 3rd grade gives them more exposure to how commas are used by asking them to determine whether or not the comma is used correctly in the sentence.

If they were able to complete this challenge successfully, they are ready to work on the final task, a third worksheet: Halloween Punctuation: Commas and Quotation Marks.

This assessment combines holiday fun with an activity that tests your kid’s knowledge of another comma rule: how to use commas correctly when working with quotation marks.

A great way to provide structured learning for your children is Kids Academy Classroom. Check out this interactive ELA Classroom with the Commas in Addresses lesson: OPEN THE CLASSROOM. 

After clicking "Next", you'll find a set-up interactive lesson with a video and worksheets. 

Kids Academy allows teachers and parents to assign selected activities and lessons to their kids in just a couple of clicks. Go directly to the Classroom page and create a quick classroom on any topic you want!  After students complete the lesson, you'll get access to a report about their performance. Check out our Classroom Guide article for more information! 

For more free worksheets and interesting games on the topic above, install the Talented and Gifted app.