PUPILS have made their mark in creative writing with a hip-hop, pop and rock master class in punctuation and prose.
Students at Barnard Castle Preparatory School danced, sang and rapped their way through an interactive instruction in semicolons, ellipses and question marks with grammar guru Barrie McDermid.
Using cartoon animations, on the spot quizzes and catchy songs, students were taught the key elements of punctuation, helping them to get to grips with literacy by raising attainment with entertainment.
Preparatory School Year 6 teacher Ruth Thompson said: “Our pupils have had a lot of fun today but more importantly have learnt some really valuable lessons about punctuation.
“The variety of teaching approaches, through song, dance, films and grammatical information, was superb and delivered in a way that will have the children singing about brackets and speech marks for the rest of the day.”
The one-hour Punctuation Show also gave students the opportunity to show off their own knowledge answering questions on subordinate and main clauses, the correct use of commas, when and where to use apostrophes and how to divide writing into paragraphs.
Pupil Seth Crisp, nine, of Staindrop, said: “The punctuation show was awesome! I really liked answering the questions and it will help me with my written work.”
Katie Riddell, ten, of Barningham, said: “I liked all of the songs. They were really catchy and I think they will stick in my head for a very long time.”
Former English teacher, Mr McDermid, of Lanchester, added: “The shows give pupils a positive association with literacy and allow them to have a great deal of fun while they are learning.
“The children here at Barnard Castle Preparatory School have been fantastic and their behaviour throughout was impeccable.”