Lesson video

Hi everyone, and welcome to our lesson today.

Today's lesson is gonna have a real skills focus, where we're going to be really focused on reviewing speech punctuation in preparation for the writing the next stage of our narrative.

In today's lesson, you'll be reviewing the punctuation rules of speech first, and speech second sentences, in preparation for writing the next section of "The Highwayman." Here are some key words that we're going to use.

Direct speech, speech first, speech second, reporting clause.

Well done.

Direct speech is the term used for a person speaking out loud in a text.

A speech first sentence includes direct speech first before the reporting clause.

A speech second sentence includes direct speech second after the reporting clause.

A reporting clause tells the reader who said the speech, and how.

Today, we're going to be reviewing speech punctuation to write the next section of "The Highwayman." Firstly, we're going to review speech first punctuation, and then we're gonna move on to reviewing speech second.

We use direct speech to show that a person is speaking out loud in a text.

Direct speech is a really, really effective tool for us to use as writers.

Because, we can use it to move the story forward.

So rather than the reader telling the story, we can actually get the characters to tell the reader what's going to happen, or what's happening right now.

But we can also use speech as a way for our reader to understand a little bit more about the characters.

Now in this poem, or in this section, we are writing dialogue between Bess and the Highwayman.

So, we can use this speech as a really, really excellent opportunity to move the story forward, help tell the story to the reader, but also tell the reader how the character is feeling, and what the dynamics of the relationship between Bess and the the Highwayman is like.

Let's read this speech sentence together.

"'One kiss, my bonny sweetheart,' murmured the Highwayman, as he gazed at Bess adoringly.

This is an example of where these words are said out loud.

The words in purple are the words that are said out loud.

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart," is what the Highwayman actually said.

This is direct speech.

Direct speech is shown to the reader using inverted commas.

So this is a really important punctuation mark that we use in direct speech sentences.

This is what inverted commas look like.

The inverted commas tell us where the words the character said begin and end.

So the inverted commas go around the spoken words of the character.

The reporting clause tells us who said the direct speech and how they said it.

We can also share extra information in the reporting clause by speaker.

And, we'll talk a little bit more about how we can do that next.

What is the purpose of the reporting clause? "I'll be back by dawn," reassured the horseman.

So the reporting clause here is "reassured the horseman." Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you thought the reporting clause shows who is speaking, and chose how they are saying it.

The reporting clause does not show what they are saying, because that's the direct speech element of the sentence.

That's not what happens in the reporting clause.

Direct speech can be written in speech first, or speech second format.

"'One kiss, my bonny sweetheart,' "murmured the Highwayman as he gazed at Bess adoringly." In this sentence we can see here that the direct speech happens at the start of the sentence.

And the reporting clause goes after the direct speech.

So this is an example of speech first.

Now, I circle two very important bits of punctuation in a speech first sentence.

Firstly, when we have a direct speech, a first speech, ewl, a speech first sentence, we must finish the speech part with either a comma, which is what I did in my example.

Or, if the character is exclaiming something, we use an explanation mark.

If they are asking a question, we use a question mark.

But we must use one of those three pieces of punctuation to close the direct speech before that closing inverted comma.

Then we must also remember that at the very end of the speech sentence, at the very end of that reporting clause, we've got to finish the sentence using punctuation.

I used the full stop.

Which punctuation is missing in each of these examples? Pause the video while you decide.

In A, you might of spotted that we're missing a full stop at the end of the sentence.

As you can see, I just added it in.

In B, we were missing the closing inverted commas.

And, they're meant to go after that comma after the word dawn.

And in C, we were missing a comma, which needed to go after the word what, and before the closing inverted commas.

Well done if you spotted all three of those.

Now, it's time for your first task.

You're going to rewrite each speech first sentence.

Adding the missing speech punctuation.

Let's read them through together.

At the moment, they're quite difficult to read, because there's no punctuation in them at all, apart from capital letters for the I pronoun and Bess, because it's her name.

Let's read it together.

At last I thought you might not come exclaimed Bess when she the Highwayman arrive at the inn yard.

So that's our first speech first sentence.

And, let's read our second one now.

Seeing you again is like a dream come true replied the Highwayman.

Now, use the speech first scaffold on the screen to help you.

Rewrite each speech first sentence, and add in the missing speech first punctuation.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done, everyone.

Take a moment, and let's read through these together.

So remember, they are both speech first sentences.

We needed to start them with our open inverted commas and a capital letter.

So a capital A in At, and a capital S in Seeing.

Then, we've got the speech part, and we needed to close the speech part.

Now in the first one, I give you the clue.

The word exclaimed, hopefully you might of picked up on that clue.

If Bess exclaimed something, it means that we needed to use an exclamation mark to close her speech part of the sentence.

So we use an exclamation mark here, and then close those inverted commas, and then a full stop at the end.

In sentence number two, the Highwayman is just speaking normally.

He's replying to her.

He's not asking a question, he's not exclaiming anything.

He's just replying to her.

So here we would use just a comma to close his speech, his direct speech in the sentence.

Followed by the inverted commas, and a full stop at the very end of the sentence.

Well done if you managed to get all of those elements of speech first punctuation into those sentences.

Now, are your third task is to add an additional detail to the reporting clause of this sentence.

So, my speech punctuation is perfect.

Got "'Seeing you again is like a dream come true,' "replied the Highwayman." Technically this speech punctuation in this sentence is accurately punctuated and is correct.

However, at the standard of writing that we're wanting to produce now in our "Highwayman" unit, we want to bring this moment to life a little bit more for our reader.

So we want to give them some extra information about the Highwayman in this relative, in this reporting clause.

We can do that in a few different ways.

We can add some adverbial detail.

So explain how he replied.

Where he was, or when he did it.

When he replied.

Or, you could add a subordinate clause.

So either an adverbial subordinate, a non-finite subordinate, or a relative subordinate clause to help your reader picture what he was maybe doing as he was speaking to Bess.

Pause the video now, while you complete your task.

Brilliant work, everyone.

Now, I'm sure everyone's gonna have lots of different variations of sentence, of additional information they could add to the reporting clause.

But here are a few of my ideas.

So, we been even just using an adverb with the -ly suffix.

So, "Replied the Highwayman adoringly." That tells my reader how he replied.

So, it's an adverb of manner.

Or, we might even use a subordinate clause.

In my example, I used an adverbial subordinate clause.

"Replied the Highwayman, as he gazed at Bess, mesmerised." Take a quick look at your sentences.

Do they really help your reader picture the scene in greater detail, give a little bit more information about what's going on? Great work everyone.

And now, we're going to move on to reviewing speech second punctuation.

Direct speech can be written in speech first, or speech second format.

Now, we've already reviewed direct speech first.

So now, we're gonna focus on speech second.

In a speech second sentence, the direct speech comes after the reporting clause.

"As he gazed at Bess adoringly, "the Highwayman murmured 'One kiss, my bonny sweetheart.

'" This is the exact same information as what we gave in our first learning cycle where we looked at it as a speech first sentence.

This time we just moved the speech element to the end.

And the reporting clause is going first this time.

So, here we've got our reporting clause.

"As he gazed at Bess adoringly, the Highway man murmured." Reporting the reporting clause tells our reader who spoke and how they said it.

And then we got our direct speech.

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart." And this tells our reader what the character said.

Now, really, really importantly, in a speech second sentence, the one piece of punctuation that lots of people forget, is the comma that goes before the inverted commas.

I want you to really try to lock that into your head now.

Because don't let that be the piece of punctuation that you forget.

Have it really, really ingrained in your head.

In a speech second sentence, we use a comma before the opening inverted commas.

And we always finish the direct speech element with a piece of punctuation.

So like in my example, it could be a full stop.

If the character is asking a question, it'll be a question mark.

If they're exclaiming something, it would be an exclamation mark.

We can use this speech scaffold to help us.

This is our speech second scaffold.

Now, have a look at A and B, and select the speech scaffold that demonstrates a speech second sentence.

Pause the video while you do that.

Fantastic work, if you spotted that A was our speech second scaffold.

And we know this, because in speech second sentence, our reporting clause comes first.

And our direct speech comes second.

And that's what's illustrated here in this scaffold.

Now it's time for your task.

Re-write each speech second sentence.

Adding the missing speech punctuation.

And just like last time, let's read these two sentences together without the punctuation.

And then you'll have time to go off and complete your task.

Let's read them together, number one.

The disappointed young maiden asked when will you return Let's read sentence two.

The Highwayman explained we must say goodbye for now, but I'll be back in the morning Now, take a moment to review your speech second scaffold.

Really taking in all the punctuation you need to use.

Then, pause the video while you complete this task.

Excellent work, everyone.

So, let's review how we got on.

So remember, all speech sentences need to start with a capital letter.

And, did you spot, did you remember to use the comma before the inverted commas? Remember, that's the one bit of punctuation that catches everybody out.

So well done, if you managed to remember to use it.

So, we've got the reporting clauses.

So, "The disappointed young maiden asked, "and the Highwayman explained." And after each of those, we needed a comma.

So, after the word asked, and after the word explained.

The comma has to go before the open inverted commas.

Then, did you remember to use a capital letter for the start of the direct speech? Even though it's not a new sentence, the direct speech always need the capital, as well.

So capital W for When, and a capital W for We, in both of those sentences.

Now also, did you pick up on my clue? "The disappointed young maiden asked." She asked a question.

So her speech has to end with a question mark.

Then, closing the inverted commas.

For sentence number two, the Highwayman isn't asking any questions.

He's not exclaiming anything either.

He's just speaking normally.

He's explaining something to Bess.

So, we should end that second sentence with a full stop, following by the closing inverted commas.

Well done, if you managed to get all of that punctuation.

Now let's review this sentence.

Let's read it one more time.

"The disappointed young maiden asked, "'When will you return?'" Here, we've got a perfectly punctuated speech second sentence.

So, no worries about punctuation.

But, we want to add some additional detail to the reporting clause of this sentence.

So, let's read the reporting clause together.

The disappointed young maiden asked.

Now remember, we can build into this reporting clause some extra information, either in the form of an adverbial detail, or, with a subordinate clause.

Now, if you use the subordinate clause in your last task, so for example if you use an adverbial subordinate clause, try using a different type this time.

So if you've already used an adverbial subordinate clause, why not try a non-finite, or a relative clause? Try changing up and using different skills.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Great work, everyone.

So again, remember everyone is gonna have had different ideas for how to extend this reporting clause.

Here are some of my ideas.

So, I was thinking we could use some adverbial detail.

"With a heavy sigh," because this brings some show not tell, as well.

So it's not just saying how she asked the question.

But, not sort of saying she asked the question, but how she did it.

(instructor sighing) "When will you return?" So, it's showing that she's feeling maybe really disappointed, or exasperated, or frustrated that the Highwayman is leaving again.

Or, we could also some show not tell, with a non-finite subordinate clause, frowning.

So if she's frowning, it might being she's confused.

Or that she's feeling disappointed in some way.

"So frowning slightly, the disappointed young maiden asked, "'When will you return?'" Take a moment to review your reporting clause, and really think, "Does this help bring the scene to life "a bit more for my reader? "And, are they able to picture more clearly "what's happening in this moment?" Well done, everyone.

The line brings us to the end of our lesson.

Where today, we've been reviewing speech punctuation to write the next section of "The Highwayman." Direct speech is when a person says something aloud.

Direct speech can be written in the form of speech first, or speech second sentences.

Direct speech must be accurately punctuated.

The reporting clause explains who spoke, and how they said it.

We can add further information to the speech sentence by adding detail to the reporting clause.

Well done, everyone.

I'm hoping that you're feeling really confident now with punctuating direct speech.

Both in the form of speech first, and speech second.

Because we're gonna be using these skills to help us in our next lesson.