LITERACY INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS AND PARENTS WINTER 2012

From the founder of National Punctuation Day®and Punctuation Playtime®

www.PunctuationPlaytime.com jeff@punctuationplaytime.com(510) 724-9507

The Exclamation Point!The Exclamation Point!NPD Punctuation Day® contest winnersannounced, celebrated by local media

Bert Randall

Kathleen Summers

Sue Dillon

Aubrey Gonzalez

Jeanne Perdue

Sean Bradley

Ann Heinrichs

Eva McGough

Renee Hirshfield

en exceptional writers have been selected aswinners of the 2011 National Punctuation Day®Paragraph Contest, which drew a worldwideaudience of adults and students. Entries werereceived from the United States, The Nether-lands, Malta, Canada, England, and India.

The winners are:• Sean Bradley, of Dubuque, IA• Sue Dillon, of Dubuque, IA• Demorah Hayes, of Montgomery, AL• Ann Heinrichs, of Chicago, IL• Renee Hirshfield, of St. Louis, MO• Eva McGough, of Seattle, WA• Jeanne M. Perdue, of Houston, TX• Bert Randall, of Clarksburg, MD• Kathleen Summers, of Arlington, VA• Allen Young, of Orange, MA

Aubrey Gonzalez, a home-schooled 11th-graderfrom Harvest, AL, wrote the best student paragraph.

We received 220 paragraphs from 204 people inthe adult division of our contest, plus hundreds of

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NPD Punctuation Day® contest winners� From front pageparagraphs from students at 38schools worldwide, from The Hagueto Harvard.

Multiple entries were receivedfrom many schools, including 21 students from the American Schoolof the Hague, in The Netherlands.The schools are listed, along withthe contest winners and the winningparagraphs, on the NPD website:www.nationalpunctuationday.com.

Several of the winners were profiled on media websites. Twoarticles are on this page.

All of the winners received aplethora of punctuation goodies,including a National PunctuationDay® T-shirt.

There will be another contest tocelebrate the Ninth Annual NationalPunctuation Day® on September 24,2012. We hope you’ll participateand help spread the news about the importance of knowing thebasics of our language.

Media coverage of contest winners

Dubuque, IA

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Send us your photos of incorrectly punctuated signs and we will post them in our gallery on the NPD website.

“We learned more in 45 minutes than I could teach in five hours!”— J.G. LAROCHETTE, CORONADO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, RICHMOND, CA —

“Wow! This was truly meaningful and exciting for all!”— MRS. TURNER, GOV. GEORGE CLINTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, POUGHKEEPSIE, NY —

Teachers’ comments about Punctuation Playtime®

(See page 9 for program information)

Reader Joanne Archibald of Chicago sent this photo of a sign on the facade of a children’s center on south Western Avenue in the Windy City.

Dumbest Sign of the Year

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LITERACY IN THE NEWSCAL STATE CAMPUSES OVERWHELMED BY REMEDIAL NEEDS

Hyperlink

Related stories about thedemise of basic math and English skills over the last

decade may be found here:www.google.com/search?

client=safari&rls=en&q=CSU+finding+most+freshmen+

unprepared&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

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Teachers seeeffects of texting on students

PUNCTUATION IN THE CLASSROOM

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BOOK NOOK

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PUNCTUATION MANrecommendsthis book

Contest winner author of240+ children’s books

Ann Heinrichs

nn Heinrichs, of Chicago,one of the winners of thisyear’s National PunctuationDay® contest, is an award-winning author with more

than 240 juvenile non-fiction booktitles to her credit.

Her specialities include U.S. andworld history, geography, and cul-ture; ecology and ecosystems; sci-ence and nature; biographies of his-torical figures; and English grammar.

Punctuation is one of the titles inher series of grammar books. Excla-mation points, periods, questionmarks, and commas—all these arecommon forms of punctuation, andeach has the potential to prove confusing to kids learning grammar.In this book, children will learn theproper use of punctuation and findout why it's such an important con-cept to master.

Heinrichs’s guide to punctuationstarts with a claim that by the timeyou’re through reading the book,you’ll be an expert in punctuation.That’s actually fairly accurate.

Beginning with the basics likeperiods and commas, Heinrichstakes the learner through basic English sentence structure in (most-ly) simple language, big colorfulborders and definition boxes tobreak up the page, and funny

captions with pictures to help kidsapply the lesson in the chapter(each chapter is about two pageslong).

She also includes additional readings, websites, and quizzesthroughout the book (with answersin the back) so that kids can actuallywork along with this book to graspthe concepts.

Ann’s books may be found onmost online book store sites, includ-ing Amazon. A complete list of herbooks may be found on the Libraryof Congress website at: http://cata-log.loc.gov/.

When she’s not writing, Annserves the information needs ofpatrons in Chicago area speciallibraries and research libraries. Shehas a master’s degree in library andinformation science.

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NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY®

CELEBRATE PROPER PUNCTUATION

WITH OUR UNIQUE PRODUCTS• T-shirts • Latte mugs • Greeting cards •

• Punctuation posters •

T-SHIRTS AND GREETING CARDS

featuring these designs

VISIT WWW.NATIONALPUNCTUATIONDAY.COM FOR LARGER IMAGESAND ORDERING INFORMATION. WE ACCEPT MAJOR CREDIT CARDS.

LATTE MUG

PUNCTUATION POSTERSSet of 4 full-color posters for teachers andparents, featuring definitions and correctusage of 13 punctuation marks.

September 24

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Great gifts for your literate friends!

Call us at(510) 724-9507

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®

THE ASSEMBLY PROGRAM THAT TEACHESELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS PUNCTUATION

IN A FUN AND ENGAGING WAY

®

Punctuation is FUN!Punctuation is important in helping children

learn to read and write with clarityEARNING IS EASIER WHENYOU’RE HAVING FUN,

AND WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN,” says Jeff Rubin, co-creator of PunctuationPlaytime®, and founder ofNational Punctuation Day®. Jeff and his wife, Norma

Martínez-Rubin, facilitatethe 45-minute program ofnon-stop activities, games,and punctuation learning.Punctuation Playtime®

takes a subject that childrenmight roll their eyes at andmakes it an engaging, enjoyable, and memorable learningexperience.

Jeff and Norma believethat reaching children at thebeginning of their scholasticcareers is critical in helpingthem develop the readingand writing skills that willbe a key not only to theiracademic success, but alsoto their professional successas adults.Games such as The

Punctuation Relay and Pinthe Punctuation Mark on the Sentence reinforce theprogram’s important punctu-ation lessons.Students learn best when

they have FUN! The children will remember this pro-gram — and the lessons they learned — for a lifetime!

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JEFF RUBIN, 1517 BUCKEYE COURT, PINOLE, CA 94564(510) 724-9507

JEFF@PUNCTUATIONPLAYTIME.COM WWW.PUNCTUATIONPLAYTIME.COM

“Your program completely supports our curriculum content. You havewrapped up the best in teaching to bring to our students. I love the fact

that you are not afraid to teach young children great skills!”— SALLY FELDMAN, WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, POINT RICHMOND, CA —

Punctuation PlaytimePunctuation Playtime

Jeff Rubin, founder of Punctuation Playtime® and National Punctuation Day®, isThe Newsletter Guy, owner of the Pinole, CA-based newsletter publishing firm ofthe same name (www.thenewsletterguy.com). Jeff has written and designed more than 1,800 newsletters for companies in a

wide variety of industries since beginning his business in 1981. Previously, Jeff was a newspaper reporter, columnist, and editor for papers in

New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and California. His freelance articles haveappeared in Family Weekly, Runner’s World, Basketball Weekly, Consulting Today,and Professional Speaker magazines.Jeff is a professional speaker (www.JeffRubinSpeaks.com) and a former member

of the National Speakers Association. He speaks about marketing, integrity, andcustomer service for owners of small businesses.

Norma Martínez-Rubin is a veteran of EAST BAY IMpRoV classes and a bornlaugher. She has a gentle way with children, dogs, and her husband, Jeff. Norma holds an MPH from UCLA and an MBA from John F. Kennedy

University, in Pleasant Hill, CA.Norma owns Evaluation Focused Consulting (www.evaluationfocused.com),

which conducts health program evaluations for foundations, health maintenanceorganizations, and corporations with community benefit interests. She provides ahigh level of qualitative data that enables her clients to maximize the effectivenessof their community health initiatives.

Punctuation Playtime®

Facilitators

nderstanding the rules of punctuation helps children learn to read and comprehend what they read. Statistics show that students who read welldo better in school, get better jobs, earn more money, and live more satisfying and productive lives.”

JEFF RUBIN, FOUNDER, PUNCTUATION PLAYTIME®

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Punctuation Playtime® praised by Teachers’ Choice Award panele entered the Punctuation Playtime® instruc-tional DVD for teachers in the 2008 Teachers’Choice Award competition sponsored by Learning Magazine. While the DVD did not win

an award (only 15% of the entries win), the DVD gotvery positive comments from the panel of teachers thatreviewed it.

Here’s a sampling of those comments:WWHAT ASPECTS OF THIS PRODUCTDID YOU LIKE THE MOST?

• I like the reinforcement of punc-tuation outside of a textbook lesson.Also, the suggestions could easilybe used for an observational evalua-tion of lessons.

• I liked the supplemental materi-als that came with it. I like the songs.

• Using an assembly program is acute way of introducing students toa difficult concept.

• I like the idea of using music tointroduce the topic of punctuation.

• The students at the assemblyseemed to be having a really goodtime. I liked the interactive games. Iliked the two songs that came withthe program to teach punctuation. Itis certainly a different way toapproach a curriculum piece.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THISPRODUCT?

• I learned that too often I forgetto re-teach and enhance lessonswith activities. It doesn’t take muchmoney or time to follow up a lessonwith one of these activities.

• Students can learn about sub-ject matter in different ways. In thiscase, the use of an assembly pro-gram may pique their interest inpunctuation.

• The use of games and activitieshelp make teaching the topic ofpunctuation fun.

• Students were actively engagedwith interactive games and activities.

HOW WILL YOU APPLY INFORMA-TION FROM THE PRODUCT IN YOURCLASSROOM?

• I will integrate the punctuationposters with my English series I amalready using.

• Many (of this program’s) ideascould be used in other curriculumas enhancement and re-teaching. Iwould use products they can do ontheir own, at their own desks.

• I will incorporate some of thegames demonstrated in the video.

IF FUNDS WERE AVAILABLE, WOULDYOU RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT TOA TEACHER AT THE APPROPRIATEGRADE/AGE LEVEL?

• Yes. The ideas presented weregood, solid grammar rules.

• If a school/PTA had money topay for this program it looks like itcould be lots of fun for students.

• If a school had extra funds, itwould be fun to have Mr. Rubincome and do an assembly program.

• The games and activities pro-vided on the CD could be put touse in the classroom for students ingrades 1-6.

• If a PTA had funds to purchasethis program, I’d recommend it.

See page 12 for ordering information.

How we help young students learn about punctuation

Two ways to get Punctuation Playtime®

Book us for programsWe love working with young students. Please call us

about coming to your school. Call us at (510) 724-9507, or e-mail Jeff at

Jeff@PunctuationPlaytime.com.

Pin the Punctuation Mark on the Sentence—here at Roundout Elementary School, northof Chicago—is one of the most popularPunctuation Playtime® activities.

Purchase our instructional DVDWe also offer the program to schools and libraries

as a training DVD. It takes teachers and facilitators stepby step through our activities and learning objectives

so they can replicate the program in their classrooms andassemblies.

The DVD can be shared for cooperative teaching. Severalgrades in one school can learn important writing and literacy skills. Teachers and facilitators can reinforce andsupport each other. It’s a great value!

With either option, you’ll receive a CD with:• A Teachers’ Activity Kit (12 punctuation activities)• A Kids’ Activity Kit (23 punctuation activities to be

done individually and with parents)• A set of four, 4-color punctuation posters for the

teacher to hang in his/her classroom• The Punctuation Rap® music and lyrics• The sentences for Pin the Punctuation Mark on the

Sentence.

Order online at www.PunctuationPlaytime.comWe accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit cards.

If you prefer paying by check, make it payable to “Punctuation Playtime” and mail it to:Punctuation Playtime, 1517 Buckeye Court, Pinole, CA 94564

Price includes shipping in the United States. To Canada or Mexico add $5; to other countries add $10.

Order the DVD/CD package for only $299

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earning is easier when children are having fun,and they have a lot of fun with Punctuation Playtime®.

We facilitate a 45-minute program of non-stop activities, games, and punctuation learning.Punctuation Playtime® takes a subject that

children might roll their eyes at and makes it anengaging, enjoyable, and memorable learning experience.

We believe that reaching children at the beginningof their scholastic careers is critical in helping themdevelop the reading and writing skills that will be key

not only to their academic success, but also to theirprofessional success as adults.

The children will remember the lessons theylearned in this program for a lifetime!

Punctuation Playtime® meets Language Arts state standards.

Book us now for spring 2012 and fall 2012 programs.Call (510) 724-9507.

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