CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2b
The Standard
Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
What This Standard Means
Students need to know when a colon is the right punctuation mark before a list or a quotation. They should understand that the words before the colon must usually form a complete sentence, not a sentence fragment.
Mastery looks like using colons cleanly in their own writing, especially in essays, responses, and notes. Students often get stuck by placing a colon after phrases like “such as” or “including,” or by using a colon when the setup does not stand alone.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students sentence strips with setups, lists, and quotations, then have them match and punctuate correct colon examples.
- Prompt students to revise three bland sentences by adding a colon before a list or a quoted line.
- Show five sentences on the board and ask students to mark each colon correct or incorrect, with one-word reasons.
- Use a recipe, sports article, or product review to find how colons introduce lists or quoted comments.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2b
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2b
Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2a
Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.2a
Use punctuation to separate items in a series.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.2b
Use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.