Quotation Marks

Quotation marks serve multiple purposes in writing: they enclose direct speech or quotations, set off certain titles, and occasionally indicate words used in special or ironic ways. Fourth-grade instruction should focus primarily on using quotation marks to denote dialogue in narrative writing, teaching the complete punctuation pattern for quoted speech (including comma placement and capitalization rules) rather than just the quotation marks themselves. Teach the distinction between direct quotation ("She said, "I'm hungry.") and reported speech (She said she was hungry.), emphasizing that quotation marks are only used when reproducing the exact words someone said or wrote. Implement targeted activities like dialogue journal writing where students practice formatting conversations between characters, text marking exercises where they identify correctly punctuated dialogue in mentor texts, or collaborative storytelling that requires integrating and punctuating character speech. Address common challenges such as confusion about punctuation placement relative to quotation marks (commas and periods inside, question marks dependent on context) through explicit instruction and visual models showing correct patterns. Connect quotation mark instruction to reading and writing narrative texts by analyzing how skilled authors use dialogue to develop character, advance plot, and create voice, encouraging students to study and emulate these techniques in their own stories. Extend learning by introducing quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles, songs) and for words used in special ways once basic dialogue punctuation is mastered, building toward the more complex citation skills needed in upper grades.