Language mechanics - capitalization/punctuation

[Gobblygook]

I’m finding a need to thoroughly review the mechanics of language with my 7th grader - specifically capitalization and punctuation (semi-colons, colons, etc.)

Any recommendations for resources? We’re fine on grammar - I just need the mechanics piece. 

[Quercus]

https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/8211/Practicing-Capitalization--and--Punctuation.html

[sweet2ndchance]

I know this might not be the most popular way to handle it but I found, by 7th grade, that it worked much better to work through a writing handbook with them and address things one issue at a time in their writing. I want to say we used a combination of Writer's Inc. Student Handbook and one my old writer's handbooks from college and the Purdue Online Writing Lab for the most up-to-date guidelines for citing sources. Things like where to place punctuation and such don't change much so my old college writing handbook and I think Writer's Inc had some info like that too if I remember right but citing sources was evolving at the time because the internet was becoming and acceptable source back then but not everyone fully agreed how to cite it yet. 

Anyways, I would pick their most glaring error and we would look it up in the handbooks or on the Purdue website and they would make notes for their writing notebook about it and we would work on only that error for a while until they were about 90% competent at catching their own mistakes or not making the mistake at all. Then I would pick the next most glaring error and we would repeat the process. All my kids who have reached or passed high school age did great with starting this type of "learn by doing" sort of informal approach to mechanics and grammar in 7th grade. Yes, sometimes I wanted to rip my hair out at some of their consistent mistakes and say "You learned this and have used this skill since elementary school, when did it fall out of your head, kid?!?" but I kept all that to myself and kept just calmly and consistently reminding them to look for "X" mistake until they found all the offenses. I can say three have grown up to be competent writers into adulthood who can sound educated and polished in writing and one still enjoys writing fiction for fun in his free time as an adult despite their seeming lack of intuitive grammar and mechanics in 7th grade.

[Clemsondana]

Critical Thinking Company's Language Mechanic or Editor in Chief?