Learn how to use parenthesis with brackets, dashes and commas, then add extra information to sentences by coupling golden carriages onto a word train.
Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3
Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3
Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3
Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3
Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3
Year 5 english · 3
What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:
Parenthesis Express is an interactive game that teaches children aged 9–11 how to use parenthesis: adding extra information to a sentence with a pair of brackets, dashes or commas. It matches the Year 5 grammar and punctuation objectives in the national curriculum for England.
Each word is a train carriage, and the extra information rides in a golden carriage held in place by a matching pair of marks. Players lift that carriage out to check the sentence still makes sense, tap gaps to place opening and closing marks, and fix sentences missing their second mark.
They compare calm brackets, dramatic dashes and smooth commas, tell a dash from a hyphen, and use relative clauses that start with who or which. They also see how clear punctuation removes ambiguity, write their own sentence with parenthesis and meet Year 5 grammar words such as modal verb and cohesion.
Parenthesis is a word or phrase added to a sentence to give extra information. If you take it out, the sentence still makes sense, as in: Max, my cheeky puppy, ran into the park.
All three can hold extra information, as long as you use a matching pair. Brackets suit quiet facts such as dates, dashes add drama, and commas keep the sentence flowing smoothly.
The most common mistake is forgetting the second mark, especially the second comma. Extra information in the middle of a sentence needs one mark just before it and one just after it.
The game is designed for children aged 9 to 11 and follows the Year 5 grammar and punctuation curriculum in England. Older children revising for KS2 grammar tests will also find it useful practice.
It has six chapters, an optional warm-up and a 10-question final challenge, taking about 45 minutes in total. Every line is read aloud, and children can start at any chapter and return to the map at any time.
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